538 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 



not for the individual colonies, as no attempt is made to take 

 a complete account of persons passing from one colony to 

 another overland. 



The fact, however, remains that, whilst in each one of the 

 colonies every death which occurs is supposed to be registered 

 and every departure to be recorded, and elaborate machinery 

 is provided by the respective Governments to give effect to 

 those operations, as many as 220,757 persons in ten years, 

 or an average of over 22,000 per annum, managed to 

 disappear from the eastern half of the Australian Continent 

 without their departure being noticed. 



How is this leakage to be accounted for ? The deaths 

 which escape registration must necessarily be few, a§ in all 

 the colonies it is illegal to bury a corpse until the death has 

 been registered, and there is every reason to believe that 

 this law is not evaded. The loss referred to must therefore 

 take place by sea. 



The captain of each vessel arriving in any Australian port 

 is required to furnish a list of the number of passengers his 

 vessel brings ; and the captain of each vessel departing from 

 any such port is required to furnish a list of the number of 

 passengers his vessel takes away. These lists are, doubtless, 

 very nearly correct so far as the arrivals are concerned, but 

 not so as regards the departures, — the lists relating to which 

 are systematically defective, as is admitted by the Customs 

 and Immigration Authorities, and by the captains of the 

 vessels themselves. The manner in which the defects occur 

 is as follows : — 



All passengers who take their passages beforehand, or are 

 known to be in a vessel when she sails, are included in the 

 list furnished to the Government ; but it almost always 

 happens that passengers come on board at the last moment, 

 even up to the time of the vessel's sailing, and are not known 

 to be on board until after the vessel is at sea. They are 

 then discovered or make themselves known, pay their passage 

 money, and are duly entered in the list presented at the port 

 of the vessel's destination. 



From enquiries I have made I am led to believe that these 

 defects occur but rarely in vessels sailing to distant countries, 

 but they occur very commonly in those engaged in the 

 intercolonial trade. I am informed that quite a number 

 of persons whose business or inclination frequently leads 

 them to travel backwards and forwards between the colonies 

 by sea habitually neglect to take their passages beforehand, 



