AUSTEALIA. 



55 



tus is brought close to the observer. The 

 committee found that by this instrument the 

 light even of large stars was collected into 

 small, hard, and perfectly circular disks free 

 from rays. The fifth and sixth stars in the 

 trapezium of Orion were not only plainly seen 

 but were very bright. The light-collecting 

 power was very satisfactory. The planetary 

 nebula in 46 M. was revealed as a ring bright 

 even as the dazzling ground of the surround- 

 ing stars, which were as brilliant as the Plei- 

 ades appear in ordinary instruments. 



AUSTEALIA. The five English colonies 

 on the continent of Australia, as well as the 

 neighboring colonies of Tasmania and New 

 Zealand, continue to advance rapidly in popu- 

 lation, commerce, and wealth. The province 

 of Victoria had, hi 1836, 177 souls ; in 1841, 

 11,738 ; in 1851, 77,345 ; in 1861, 540,322 ; and 

 in 1867, 659,887. New South Wales, settled 

 in 1788 as a penal colony, numbered in 1803 

 but 7.097. In 1821 it had 29,783; in 1840, 

 129,463; in 1850, 265,503. In 1866 it had 

 431,414, notwithstanding that the new prov- 

 inces of Victoria and Queensland had been with- 

 drawn from its territory a few years before. 

 The latter, from a population of 30,059 in 1861, 

 increased to 96,172 in 1866. South Australia, 

 from 17,366 persons in 1844, possessed 63,700 

 in 1850, and 172,880 in 1867. Tasmania, from 

 14,192 in 1825, rose to 98,455 in 1867. The 

 population of the European settlements in New 

 Zealand in 1864 amounted to over 172,000, an 

 increase of seventy-four per cent, from 1861, 

 while in 1851 the number of Europeans was 

 only 25,807. In 1867, it amounted to 220,192. 

 The English race predominates everywhere, 

 followed by the Irish, Scotch, German, and 

 Chinese. The inequality of the sexes was 

 formerly a great cause of complaint. In 1838 

 there were but fourteen females to every hun- 

 dred males, but in 1866 there were seventy-five 

 to each hundred. The rapid increase of the 

 tropical province of Queensland, the hottest 

 of all the settlements, proves that the British 

 race can labor hard and thrive well under a 

 burning sun, without resorting to the com- 

 pulsory labor of dark-skinned races. Every 

 thing indicates that Australia is becoming a 

 great empire. 



The Australian trade, during the five 

 months of 1868, presented upon the whole an 

 increased activity. Thus the value of the 

 British goods and produce taken by the Aus- 

 tralian colonies to May 31, 1868, was 4,251,- 

 144, as compared with 3,407,723 in the cor- 

 responding five months of 1867, and 5,502,014 

 in the corresponding five months of 1866. The 

 increased demand was shared in by all the 

 colonies of Australia properly so called, but the 

 value of English exports to Tasmania, in the first 

 five months of 1868, was only 25,867, as com- 

 pared with 41,414 in the corresponding period 

 of 1867, and to New Zealand 544,503, against 

 610,846 in the corresponding perion of 1867. 

 The whole of Australia is equal in extent to 



Europe, and, together with Tasmania (15,000,- 

 000 acres) and New Zealand 77,000,000 acres, 

 extending from 11 to 47 south latitude, 

 affords almost every variety of climate, and 

 can produce every necessary, and even luxury, 

 that civilization requires. 



Our latest statistical advices from all the 

 above colonies, except New South Wales, are 

 to the end of 1867, or two years later than 

 those published in the ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA 

 for 1867. The following are some extracts 

 from the official reports: 



The population of New South Wales in 1866 

 was 431, 414; the deaths registered were 7,361, 

 or 17.5 per 1,000 of population was the death- 

 rate of the year. The births were 16,950. 

 The marriages were 3,462. The aspect of the 

 year's registration was unfavorable. Instead 

 of the births receiving an addition of 600 dur- 

 ing the year, the returns exhibited an actual 

 deficit of more than half that number. The 

 marriage rate was depressed ; and the deaths 

 were 765 in excess of the number registered in 

 1865. It is worthy of remark that the immi- 

 gration into the colony in 1866 from the United 

 Kingdom showed a larger falling off than in 

 any previous year, the total being 1,852, of 

 whom 1,204 were assisted. 



The value of the imports was 9,403,192 ; 

 of the exports, 9,913,839; being a slight ad- 

 vance on those of the previous year, and aver- 

 aging 23 12s. 5d. per head of population. The 

 value of articles of colonial produce was 

 6,057,585. The imports averaged 22 8s. Id. 

 per head of population; 3,352,768 was the 

 value of the imports from the United Kingdom. 

 The value of the wine imported amounted to 

 128,202; the exports under this head were 

 3,847. The wine produced in the colony in 

 1866 was 168,123 gallons. There was a de- 

 crease in the quantity of gold brought to the 

 mint by escort. In 1862 the quantity was 

 575,538 oz. ; in 1866 it was only 241,489 oz., 

 showing a decrease of 334,049 oz., of the value 

 of 1,284,259. The quantity of coal raised in 

 the year was 774,238 tons, of the value of 

 324,049, or 188,713 tons in excess of the quan- 

 tity raised in 1865. The quantity shipped in 

 1866 was 540,905 tons. The quantity of cop- 

 per exported was 278 tons, of the value of 

 20,790. The number of vessels that entered 

 the ports of the colony in 1866 was 2,099; 

 their tonnage was 730,354, being about double 

 that of 1857. The number of outward clear- 

 ances was 2,259, with an aggregate of 784,381 

 tons. The financial statistics show that coin 

 and bullion in the banks and Mint amounted to 

 1,356,776. The paper currency in circulation 

 in 1866 averaged 674,507. Since the opening 

 of the Mint in New South Wales, there have 

 been 5,584,669 oz. of gold, of the value of 

 21,864,668, received for coinage, and 20,- 

 328,000 of coin has been issued, exclusive of 

 1,528,574 of bullion. In 1866, 739,362 oz. of 

 gold were sent to the Mint for coinage, repre- 

 senting a value of 2,935,923. The depositors 



