AUSTRALIA. 



65 



1886 was 9.078,869, being larger than in any 

 previous year, and more than twice that of 

 The expenditure on railroads, includ- 

 ing tramwa.v>. wns i'l,71 |! .-t''5 ; on post and 

 telegraphs, 610.651 ; on other puhlic works, 

 1.248,877; on the puhlic debt, partly for ex- 

 tinction of loans, '1,579.689; on public in- 

 struction, 741,121: on other services, 3.- 

 :. The total expenditure in 1887 was 

 8.614.276. with an e-timated revenue of 8,- 



26. The revenue for 1888 is expected to 

 reach 8,511,725, while the expenditure is es- 

 timated at V2:'.:>35. The public debt has 

 grown from .7.*3'V230 in 1860. and 14,903.- 

 919 in 1880, to 41,034,249 in March. 1887. 

 Of the total debt in<>re than 25,000,000 was 

 raised for railroad construction. 



The colony was a penal settlement before 

 1840, and in 1828 nearly half of the total 

 population of 36,598 were transported felons. 

 In 1881, when the last decennial census was 

 taken, the population was 751,408. comprising 

 411.149 males and 340.319 females. The in- 

 crease in ten years had been at the rate of 4 - 9 

 per cent, per annum. In the six years ending 

 with 1886 the net immigration averaged 30,000 

 a year, the number of immigrants in that year 

 being 70.388; of emigrants, 41,896. Thenum- 

 ber of births in 1886 was 36,284, and of deaths, 



7. showing a natural increment of 21,697. 

 The death-rate in 1887 was 13-15 per 1,000. 

 Sydney, the capital, had an estimated popula- 

 tion of 332,709 at the end of 1886. The popu- 

 lation of the colony on Jan. 1, 1888, was esti- 

 mated at 1,042.917. 



The exports in 1886 amounted to 15,556,- 

 213. of which sum 12.884,200 represent the 

 exports of domestic produce, including specie. 

 The total value of imports \v 

 The imports of gold and coin were 1.873.235. 

 and the exports. l..V,t2.340. The export of 

 wool to Great Britain was 134.929.740 pounds, 

 valued at 5,259.309, the exports of this prod- 

 uct to all countries being valued at 7.201.976. 

 The next most important exports were coal, of 

 the value of 947.002, and tin. of the value of 

 725.368. after which came sheep, silver, cat- 

 tle, textiles, skins, and copper. The number of 

 sheep in the colony on Jan. 1, 1887, was 39,- 

 169,304. The gold product in 1886 was 355.- 

 600. The number of factories in the colony in 

 1886 was 3,694, employing 45.783 operatives. 

 The fiscal policies of New South Wales, which 

 has low import duties, and Victoria, which 

 maintains a high protective tariff, are often 

 contrasted to illustrate the advantages of free 

 trade, though without taking into consideration 

 the greater area and natural resources of the 

 former. The manufacturing interests are nearly 

 equal in both colonies. Victoria excels in boot 

 and shoe factories, flour-mills, and iron and 

 furniture manufactures, but in many branches 

 New South Wales has the advantage. The 

 horse-power of the factories in the latter colo- 

 ny is 25,192 against 20,160 for Victoria: the 

 value of the plant, 5,002,000 against 4.054.- 

 VOL. xxvin. 5 A 



000. Woolen-mills are not profitable in either 

 colony, and recently the Victorian Parliament 

 has added 5 per cent to the duty on woolens, 

 which was before 15 to 20 per cent. 



There were 1,890 miles of railway in opera- 

 tion in 1886, which had been built at a total 

 cost of 24.962,972. The earnings for the year 

 were 2,160,070, and the expense-, 1. 492,992. 

 The telegraphs had 20,797 miles of wire, con- 

 structed at a cost of 666,028. 



Rich silver-mines have been discovered near 

 the border of South Australia in a district 

 called Broken Hills. The ore-deposits extend 

 over more than twenty miles, and mauy com- 

 panies have been formed and mines opened. 

 The report of a week's run of the principal 

 mine in March. 1888, showed 1,709 tons of ore 

 treated, and 73,659 ounces of silver extracted. 



Victoria. The Constitution was granted in 

 1854. Unlike Xew South Wales, which en- 

 joys universal suffrage, Victoria limits the 

 privilege of voting by a property qualification. 

 The Governor is Sir Henry Brougham Loch, 

 who was appointed on April 10, 1884. Sir 

 William Foster Stawell was appointed Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor on Xov. 6, 1886, and in the event 

 of the death or absence from the colony of the 

 Governor will assume the administration of the 

 Government. The Cabinet is made np as fol- 

 lows: Premier, Minister of Mines, and Minis- 

 ter of Railways, Duncan Gillies; Chief Secre- 

 tary and Commissioner of Water-Supply. Al- 

 fred Deakin ; Attorney-General, H. J. Wrixon ; 

 Commissioner of Public Work?. J. Nimmo ; 

 Minister of Justice, Henry Cuthbert; Commis- 

 sioner of Trade and Customs. W. F. Walker; 

 Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey, 

 J. L. Dow : Minister of Public Instruction, 

 Charles H. Pearson ; Minister of Defense, Sir 

 James Lorimer; Postmaster-Genend, F. T. 

 Derham ; Ministers having portfolios with no 

 offices attached, James Bell and D. M. Davic-s. 



The public revenue for the year that ended 

 June 30. 1887, was 6,733,867; the expendi- 

 ture, 6.665,863. The yield of customs duties 

 i'2.132.361; the income from railway-, 

 2.453,345 ; from posts and telegraphs, 418.- 

 295; from crown lands. 587,100. The inter- 

 est and expenses of the debt absorbed 1.272.- 

 591 of the total expenditure; the working ex- 

 penses of the railroads were 1.364,400, of 

 other public works 887.827. and of the postal 

 and telegraph service 578,451 ; the cost of 

 public instruction, 670,856. The revenue for 

 the fiscal year 1887- 1 88 is estimated at 7,444.- 

 000. and the revenue 6,906,000. The public 

 debt in June, 1887, amounted to 33,119.164. 

 of which 25.404.847 were raised to build 

 railroads. 5,004.791 for irrigation works, 

 1,105. 557 for school-buildings, and 1.603,- 

 969 for other public works. Interest is at the 

 average rate of 4 per cent. 



The estimated population on Jan. 1, 1888, 

 was 1,036.118, having increased from 862,346 

 in 1881. The number of births in 1886 was 

 30.S24; deaths, 14,952 ; marriaces. 7,737. The 



