"The paper manufactory, situated at Collingwood, George's River, near the old town of Liverpool, appears at present to be carried on with increasing vigour. The buildings and works, which are extensive and of the best description, are connected by a siding, with the Great Southern Railway. It will however, be satisfactory to many of our readers, to learn that after many checks and disheartenings, there at length appears encouraging tokens of a permanent success.

A visit to these works would well repay the trouble to any one who feels an interest in the progress of the colony. When the humiliating, we might say disgraceful, absence of manufacturing industry amongst us, in comparison with other and younger colonies, is taken into consideration, the interest taken in viewing such an establishment as this should be proportionately enhanced.

It has been said, and with how much truth, all who have had opportunities and are capable of intelligent observation, can abundantly testify, that our people as a whole are the most wasteful and unthrifty in the world. It is undeniable that immense waste takes place amongst us. We do not wish to include in this waste, extravagance in the consumption of luxuries, and otherwise expensive habits, though that might also to some extent be added to our indictment but rather the waste of many valuable productions of the soil, which in any other country would be, and are profitably utilised. For instance, enormous quantities of fruits and flowers are annually allowed to decay, while we import large quantities of spirits, preserved fruits, perfumes, &c., from the neighbouring colonies and other countries - the very commodities which, if we were enterprising as other people, we should ourselves export. The same want of enterprise distinguishes us from other communities in almost every branch of industry for which the country may be considered peculiarly adapted. Commerce - trade - dealing - and other kinds of speculation not to say gambling, have received attention, both from our people and their legislature, to the almost entire exclusion of production, particularly those kinds of productive industries which give employment to the masses, and which alone give stability and permanence to prosperity, virtue and happiness. Our boasted educational appliances, and vast expenditure, is and will be little better than a mockery, so long as industrial education is excluded in our schools. Agricultural knowledge, both scientific and practical, should be attainable through the provision of the State. This kind of education is, at least, not secondary to any other. In fact under the peculiar circumstances of our climate and colonization, it becomes, politically, of as great importance as any, if not, indeed, as important as all others combined. Yet we have not only made no such provision, but we have actually fostered the more questionable and more demoralizing pursuits of speculative trading at the expense of agricultural development. With a prosperous husbandry, manufactures and commerce must also prosper. Without it both must in the long run come to grief. Let encouragement and fostering care be accorded to our infant farming and manufacturing industries, at any rate such as are shown to be well adapted to our circumstances, and the surest and safest means of securing commercial and general prosperity will be established. But to continue discouraging, as we have been accustomed to do, the main source, root, and foundation of our national prosperity for the sake of trade alone, must eventuate in national disaster and degradation. To accomplish what we desire in this respect, no protection, as that is generally understood, would be needed. Indeed, such protection would be injurious to our progress. It should be our aim rather to enable the people to produce commodities at a cheap rate, so as to compete in our own and other markets with such productions as are suitable to our climate. To do this the State must take educational action. This should be done, even if necessary at a cost greater than that now expended upon mere book learning, which, however desirable and proper it may be, is seldom of much advantage unless accompanied by proper industrial training. The one kind of education is quite as much the affair of the State as the other. And if only one were to be taken in hand by it we should most certainly prefer that which would while adding to the general welfare, enable the recipients to procure the first and main necessity of humanity.

But to return to the paper works. It is pleasing to notice, as we have said, that this undertaking is showing signs of progress. The chief requisite to success is of course an abundance of raw material. Various rushes and sedges, found on the banks of the river and in swamps in the neighbourhood, are utilized; amongst them Cyperus hydra, or Ga-ingale rush, according to Baron Von Mueller, the best Australian fibre-plant known, and from which paper of the finest quality can be made. On the morning of our visit to these works, a short time since, we saw also, besides some of these rushes, the large leaves of the gigantic lilly Doryanthus excelsa, lying ready for manipulation. Our visit being so early as six o'clock in the morning, we saw only the workspeople, and of course made no inquiries, so that we cannot say anything as to the value of this plant for paper making. If however, it be as valuable as it has long been thought to be, very large quantities could be procured at no great distance from the mills. These are large tracts between Liverpool and the tops of the Illawarra range, where this plant grows in great abundance. And it will bear the cutting off of its large leaves every year, without suffering any injury. Besides this, if it were found particularly suitable, it could be cultivated near this or other mills with the greatest facility, and at a mere nominal expense. The land near Liverpool is of little present value, and might be thus turned to account. We believe that the gigantic lilly would thrive well, and if once planted in deeply tilled land, an annual crop of ten to fifteen tons of leaves could be gathered yearly for an indefinite period without further culture. Might it not be a wiser step for the proprietors of the paper mill to plant an acre or two for trial? So with the Cyperus. ( Our correspondent seems not to be aware that this plant has been not only proved to be exceedingly well suited for making printing paper, but that large quantities of paper have actually been made from it at the Liverpool Mills - some of which has been used in the printing of this journal - Ed. ) The flats on the side of the river opposite the mill are not worth above one or two shillings per acre per annum. Hundreds of acres of the Cyperus could be grown on this land with a very moderate outlay in the first instance, to make it capable of being flooded from the river when required; after which it would, without further expense, yield successive crops for many years. No doubt, if trials were made with these, and perhaps other fibre plants, the landed proprietors of the locality would soon follow suit, and thus the paper works might be expanded so as to supply all our paper wants. We think, too, that if such experiments were made, the Legislature should aid both in securing suitable information and advice, and in bearing at least a portion of the expense, of course, on suitable conditions - for Government inspection and reports.

We noticed that large tanks are being excavated for the purpose of filtering and storing filtered water, which we understand is preliminary to the manufacture of papers of superfine quality. The river water is frequently discoloured by freshes, so that this filtering has been rendered necessary.

We would strongly recommend thoughtful citizens to spend an hour or two at these interesting works. Visitors cannot fail to gain instruction and, probably, new ideas may be engendered which may result in advantage to themselves, the paper industry, and the colony." ( From a Correspondent. )

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