AUSTRALASIA. 



51 



in Queensland at the beginning of 1900, nearly all 

 the property of the Government, which had ex- 

 pended 19,110,725 in their construction. The 

 gross earnings in 1900 were 1,373,07(5, and the 

 operating expenses 844,101. 



The railroads of South Australia at the end of 

 1899 had a total length of 1,883 miles, including 

 146 miles in the Northern Territory. 



There were 1,850 miles of railroads in operation 

 in Western Australia on June 30, 1900, including 

 495 miles of private railroads. 



The railroads of Tasmania had a length of 547 

 miles in 1899. 



The postal traffic of New South Wales in 1899 

 was 75,318,608 letters, 1,408,140 postal cards, 46,- 

 806,560 newspapers, 13,986,590 packets and book 

 parcels, 654,474 parcels, 421,085 money-orders, for 

 1,436,927, and postal notes for 449,948. 



The postal revenue of Victoria, including re- 

 ceipts from telegraphs and telephones, was 555,- 

 650, and expenses were 491,686. 



The Queensland post-office handled 21,181,287 

 letters, 11,633,266 papers, 5,77 1 J,013 packets, and 

 268,895 parcels in 1899; revenue, 200,726. 



The number of letters that passed through the 

 post-office in South Australia was 19,765,396 in 

 1899*; packets, 1,531,400; newspapers, 8,937,040. 



In Western Australia 12,629,554 letters, 343,999 

 postal cards, 6,287,018 papers, and 3,015,995 

 packets were sent through the post-office in 1899. 

 The postal and telegraph expenses were 230,700. 



The postal traffic of Tasmania in 1899 was 

 9,748,055 letters, 1,811,344 packets, 6,293,018 

 papers, and 288,558 postal cards; receipts, 78,- 

 055; expenses of posts and telegraphs, 78,094. 



The telegraphs of New South Wales on Jan. 1, 

 1900, had a length of 13,663 miles, with 35,630 

 miles of wire, constructed at a cost of 1,051,987. 

 The number of messages in 1899 was 3,112,063; 

 gross receipts, 475,438; net revenue, 168,758. 



The length of telegraph lines in Victoria on 

 June 30, 1899, was 6,747 miles, with 15,125 miles 

 of wire. The number of messages in 1898 was 

 1,889,488. There were 13,591 miles of telephone 

 wire. 



The telegraph lines of Queensland at the close 

 of 1899 had a length of 10,202 miles, with 18,968 

 miles of wire. The number of despatches sent 

 during the year was 1,208,489, and 201,562 ex- 

 ternal despatches were received; receipts, 98,- 

 074; expenses of telegraphs and post-office, 347,- 

 713. 



The South Australian telegraph lines had a 

 length of 5,691 miles in 1899, including telephones, 

 with 16,937 miles of wire. 



The telegraphs of Western Australia had a 

 length of 5,941 miles, with 8,749 miles of wire, on 

 Jan. 1, 1900. The number of messages in 1899 

 was 1,136,513; net receipts, 79,716. 



The telegraphs of Tasmania had in 1900 a 

 length of 2,004 miles, with 3,252 miles of wire, 

 including 428 miles of cable; number of messages, 

 250,958; length of telephones, 8l5 miles; total re- 

 ceipts, 23,897. 



Defense. The military forces in the colonies 

 in 1899 numbered 31,861 men of all ranks, includ- 

 ing 1,859 British regulars, 12,447 militia, and 17,- 

 555 volunteers and reserves. In New South Wales 

 there were 835 regulars, 4,395 militia, and 4,756 

 volunteers and reserves; in Victoria, 393 regulars, 

 3,404 militia, and 2,102 volunteers and reserves; 

 in Queensland, 287 regulars, 2,999 militia, and 

 7,417 volunteers and reserves; in South Australia, 

 30 regulars, 700 militia, and 661 volunteers and 

 reserves; in Western Australia, 35 regulars and 

 730 militia; in Tasmania, 29 regulars, 219 militia, 

 and 1,788 volunteers and reserves; in New Zea- 



land, 250 regulars and 4,117 volunteers and re- 

 serves. Sir John Forrest, in June, 1901, reported 

 the defense forces of Australia at 61,233 men and 

 15,000 cadets. 



The sum appropriated for defense in New South 

 Wales in 1900 was 280,058, including 31,897 

 of permanent expenditure from loans, but exclud- 

 ing 158,748 for the military contingent in South 

 Africa. Victoria spent 197,585 in 1899; Queens- 

 land, 36,065 in 1900; Western Australia, 22.789 

 in 1899; Tasmania, 13,394. The contingents 

 furnished by the Australasian colonies to aid 

 Great Britain in the Boer war had a total strength 

 of 8,360 men. New South Wales sent 1,378 regu- 

 lars and 1,280 bushmen, with 2,546 horses; Vic- 

 toria, 521 regulars and 905 bushmen, with 1,608 

 horses; Queensland, 417 regulars and 707 bush- 

 men, with 1,361 horses; South Australia, 245 regu- 

 lars and 330 bushmen, with 548 horses; Western 

 Australia, 233 regulars and 243 bushmen, with 522 

 horses; Tasmania, 127 regulars and 188 bushmen, 

 with 192 horses; New Zealand, 1,274 regulars and 

 523 bushmen, with 2,660 horses. In the Chinese 

 operations there participated 260 men from New 

 South Wales and 200 from Victoria and a gunboat 

 from South Australia. 



The naval force in the colonies of Australasia 

 in 1900 consisted of 5 deck-protected cruisers and 

 2 torpedo gunboats of the royal navy, 2 of the 

 cruisers being in reserve; 1 old monitor, 5 torpedo- 

 boats, and two unarmored gunboats belonging ta 

 Victoria; 2 torpedo-boats in New South Wales; 



1 cruiser and 1 auxiliary steamer in South Aus- 

 tralia; 1 gunboat in Western Australia; 2 gun- 

 boats and 2 destroyers in Queensland; 1 torpedo- 

 boat in Tasmania; and 4 torpedo-boats and 4 

 auxiliary steamers in New Zealand. The crews in 

 New South Wales numbered 579; in Victoria, 309; 

 in Queensland, 740; in South Australia, 162; in 

 Tasmania, 39; in New Zealand, 1,004; total, 

 2,833 men. The British squadron on the Austra- 

 lian station, with headquarters at Sydney, num- 

 bered 9 vessels. A fleet of 5 fast cruisers of 2,575 

 tons displacement the Katoomba, Tauranga, 

 Ringarooma, Mildura, and Wallaroo and 2 tor- 

 pedo gunboats of 735 tons the Boomerang and 

 Karakatta was equipped for service in the Aus- 

 tralian seas under an agreement made with the 

 Imperial Government in 1887, according to which 

 the colonies which entered into the arrangement 

 pay 5 per cent, interest on the cost of the vessels 

 and the expenses of maintenance, the latter not to 

 exceed 91,000 a year. The charge on the colonies 

 in 1900 was 126,000, of which New South Wales 

 contributed 38,130, Victoria 32,699, Queens- 

 land 13,559, South Australia 10,419, Western 

 Australia 4,807, Tasmania 5,124, and New 

 Zealand 21,262. These vessels are now obsolete, 

 and some new arrangement will be made with 

 the commonwealth. The cost of additional naval 

 forces in 1900 was 95,300, of which 60,300 

 came from the imperial exchequer. Fortifications 

 have been erected by the colonies to protect their 

 principal harbors, and all have shared in the ex- 

 pense of building naval strongholds at King 

 George Sound and Thursday island. Rear- 

 Admiral Beaumont, commander-in-chief of the 

 British fleet on the Australian station, advised 

 the Commonwealth Government against the crea- 

 tion of naval reserves, considering the system oy 

 which the Imperial Government provides ships 

 and men to be more effective and economical. 

 Two first-class and 4 second-class cruisers, with 



2 cruisers in reserve, are the force recommended to 

 be maintained by the Federal Government. 



The Federal Parliament. The Earl of Hope- 

 toun, Dec. 19, 1900, a few days after his arrival, 



