66 



AUSTRALIA. 



death-rate in 1887 was 15-70 per 1,000. The 

 excess of births over deaths in that year was 

 only 6'4 per cent. Immigration lias declined 

 since the withdrawal of the aid given by the 

 colony before 1874. In 1886 there arrived by 

 sea 93,404 persons, against 76,976 in 1885, and 

 departed 68,102, against 61,994. About half 

 of the population live in towns. The capital, 

 Melbourne, contained 390,000 inhabitants in 

 1887. 



The imports in 1886 were 18,530,575, which 

 was about the average value for five years ; but 

 the exports fell off from 15,551,758 in 1885 

 to 11,795,321 in 1886. The imports of wool 

 amounted to 2,331,599, and the exports To 

 4,999,662; imports of timber, 1,170,539; 

 of woolens, 892,868 ; of cottons, 1,027,674. 

 The exports of gold were 1,954,326. The 

 quantity of wool shipped to Great Britain was 

 93,889,887 pounds. 



The state railroads in June, 1887, had a to- 

 tal length of 1,880 miles, besides 316 miles in 

 course of construction. The cost of the lines was 

 26,479,206. The receipts in the year 1886-'87 

 were 2,453,087; the expenses, 1,427,116. 

 There were 4,094 miles of telegraph lines, with 

 10,111 miles of wire at the close of 1886. 



South Australia. According to a law that 

 went into force in 1881 the Legislative Council 

 consists of twenty-four members, of whom 

 eight retire every three years, and are re- 

 placed by new members, two from each of 

 the four districts, who are voted for on one 

 ticket by the whole colony. The House of 

 Assembly numbers fifty-one members, who are 

 chosen by universal suffrage. 



The Governor is Sir William F. C. Robinson, 

 who was appointed in February, 1888. The 

 heads of the six ministerial departments are as 

 follow : Premier and Treasurer, Thomas Play- 

 ford, Chief Secretary, James Gordon Ramsay; 

 Attorney-General, Charles Camden Kingsron ; 

 Commissioner of Crown Lands, Jenkins Coles; 

 Commissioner of Public Works, Alfred Catt; 

 Minister of Education, Joseph Colin Francis 

 Johnson. 



The revenue in 1S87 was 1,869,942; the 

 expenditure, 2,165,245. The public debt, all 

 of which was raised for public works, amount- 

 ed, on Dec. 31, 1887, to 19,168,500.' 



The population on Dec. 31, 1886, was esti- 

 mated at 312,758, comprising 162,980 males 

 and 149,778 females. The number of births 

 registered in 1886 was 11,177; deaths, 4,234; 

 marriages, 1,976. The number of immigrants 

 was 17,623 ; of emigrants, 25,231. At the end 

 of 1887 the population was computed at 312,- 

 421, showing a loss of 337. The population of 

 the Northern Territory is not included in these 

 estimates. The death-rate in 1887 was 12'62 

 per 1,000. 



The value of imports in 1886 was 4,852,- 

 750; of exports, 4,489,008. The exports of 

 wool were valued at 1,955,207; of wheat and 

 flour, 626,610 ; of copper and copper-ore, 

 230,868. 



The mileage of railways in December, 1886, 

 was 1,381. There were 417 miles in progress. 

 The length of telegraph lines was 5,459 miles ; 

 the length of wires, 10,310 miles. 



Queensland. The Constitution dates from 1859, 

 when the colony was separated from New South 

 Wales. The members of the upper house are 

 nominated for life ; those of the popular branch 

 are elected by restricted suffrage. The Gov- 

 ernor, Sir Anthony Musgrave, was appointed 

 in April, 1883. The composition of the minis- 

 try is as follows: Premier, Chief Secretary, 

 and Vice-President of the Executive Council, 

 Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, who is also Colonial 

 Treasurer; Postmaster-General, Walter Hora- 

 tio Wilson; Attorney-General, Arthur Rut- 

 ledge ; Secretary for Mines and Public Works, 

 William Oswald Hodgkinson; Colonial Secre- 

 tary and Secretary for Public Instruction, 

 Berkeley Basil Moreton ; Secretary for Public 

 Lands, Henry Jordan; without portfolio, Sir 

 James Francis Garrick. 



On May 1, 1886, the colony contained 322,- 

 853 inhabitants, of whom 190.344 were males 

 and 132,509 females. There were 10,500 

 Chinese and 10,165 Polynesians in the total, 

 which does not include the aborigines, number- 

 ing about 12,000. The increase since the cen- 

 sus of 1881 was 109,328, equal to 51-20 per 

 cent. The estimated population on June 30, 

 1887, was 354,596. According to the census 

 of 1886, 55,890 persons were engaged in agri- 

 culture, 51,489 in industries, 7,040 in profes- 

 sional pursuits, 19,790 in commerce, and 171,- 

 163 were wives, children, and domestic serv- 

 ants. The number of births in 1886 was 

 12,582 ; deaths, 5,575 ; marriages, 2,785. The 

 population of Queensland on Jan. 1, 1888, was 

 computed to be 366.940. The death-rate for 

 1887 was 14 56 per 1,000. The average den- 

 sity of population in 1884 was 0'478 per square 

 mile, that in the northern division of 255,400 

 square miles being 0'24, in the central division 

 of 223,341 square miles 0'17, and in the south- 

 ern division of 189,751 square miles 1-16. The 

 northern division contained 52,339 inhabit- 

 ants, the central, 38,821, and the southern, 

 221,693. 



The total value of imports in 1886 was 6,- 

 103,227; the value of exports, 4,933,970. of 

 which sum 1,413,908 represent wool, and 

 855,510 sugar. Other exported products, 

 besides gold, are hides, tin, preserved meat, 

 silver-ore, and pearl-shell. There were 54,010 

 acres under sugar-cane in 1886, and of this area 

 34,657 acres yielded 58,545 tons of sugar valued 

 at 1,125,284. 



At the end of 1886 there were 1,555 miles 

 of railway completed and 637 miles under con- 

 struction. Their capital cost was 1 0,71 6,352 ; 

 the receipts in 1886 were 640,845, and tlu 

 running expenses 476,966. 



The length of telegraph lines was 8,225 

 miles, with 14,443 miles of wire. 



Western Australia. The Government is ad- 

 ministered by a Governor assisted by a Legis- 



