g ought, at no distant period, to occupy the attention of our
Legislature.

18. The pearl shell and pearl fishery may be said to have sprung into
existence within the last few years. It employs a fleet of cutters and
schooners, chiefly of small size, on the north-west coast, Port Cossack
being the head-quarters. At Sharks Bay also there are a number of smaller
boats. A licence fee on boats and a tax on shells has been imposed by the
Legislature; laws for the protection of aboriginal divers and Malays have
been enacted. I shall immediately have a Government cutter on the
north-west coast for police and customs purposes, which will also be
useful in cases of shipwreck amongst the islands and inlets, and in
searching for and reporting the position of reefs, of anchorages, and of
new banks of pearl oysters. It will probably hereafter become advisable
to let areas for pearling under certain regulations as in Ceylon, but
this could not well be done with our present means and knowledge.

19. To turn now to the more settled industries, first in importance is
that of agriculture. It is chiefly in the hands of men of little capital,
and is carried on in a very slovenly way by the greater part of them. Bad
seasons, an over-great reliance on cereals, which have for several
successive years been seriously affected by the red rust, and a neglect
of other products suitable to the soil and climate, added in too many
cases to careless and intemperate habits, have until lately rendered the
position of many of the small farmers a very precarious one. Last year,
however, was more favourable, and they to a great extent recovered
themselves. The lesson of the past has not been altogether lost; they
have also been much assisted by the new Land Regulations, and a few
prosperous seasons will, I sincerely trust, put this class, which ought
to be a mainstay of the colony, into a really prosperous condition.

20. The cultivation of the vine is a profitable pursuit, and the quantity
of land fitted for that purpose is very great; both soil and climate are
eminently favourable to the growth of the grape. Recent legislation has
given some encouragement to wine-growers by facilitating the sale of
home-grown pure wine. The quantity of land laid down in vineyards is
slightly increased, but the class of settlers that are most numerous in
Western Australia do not readily take to industries that are new to them,
however profitable they may be, nor can they