54 



AUSTRALIA. 



climate adapt the Downs especially for wheat, 

 barley, oats, and the vegetables and fruit of 

 the temperate zone ; the coast-lands producing 

 corn, and most of the fruits and spices of the 

 snbtropic zone. The exhibition of the Horti- 

 cultural and Agricultural Society of Drayton 

 and Toowoomba, in February, 1869, in the 

 Darling Downs, has proved the country to be 

 excellent for producing wheat and other cere- 

 als. On the other hand, the exhibition of the 

 Agricultural Society of East Moreton, opened 

 at Brisbane, showed excellent specimens of 

 grapes, oranges, lemons, gigantic sugar-caue, 

 rich cotton, and fragrant tobacco. The cotton 

 equals our Sea Island staple in fineness and 

 evenness, but is not as strong. Its export rose 

 from 14,344 pounds in 1862 to 412,741 pounds 

 in 1867. There were, in 1866, only 2,884 acres 

 of cotton ; in 1867 there were 8,149 acres ; so 

 that its export in 1868 can hardly have been 

 below a million pounds. The colony is rich in 

 valuable woods. 



The colony is particularly favorable for 

 farmers with small means, and they have been 

 well provided for by the legislature. Besides 

 the favorable conditions for the purchase or 

 lease of large tracts (as high as 10,000 acres), 

 any father of a family can occupy 80 acres of 

 agricultural land or 160 acres of pasture-land, 

 by paying for five years nine pence a year per 

 acre of the former, or sixpence for the latter 

 kind of land. The discovery of gold has 

 essentially improved Queensland. The city of 

 Nashville, in the gold district of Gympie, al- 

 ready contains 10,000 inhabitants. New and 

 rich quartz strata were found in March, 1869. 

 To develop this industry, however, an uninter- 

 rupted supply of water is needed. The export 

 of gold from Queensland amounted, in 1868, 

 to 163,000 ounces. The Peak Downs contain 

 copper strata of great extent. A rich stratum 

 of galena was discovered, in February, 1869, 

 in the Burnett district. The population was 

 about 100,000 persons in 1868. Railroads 

 and telegraphs are controlled by the Colonial 

 Government. The telegraph was, in March, 

 1869, advanced as far as Tadesville, on Cleve- 

 land Bay, and will soon, by a submarine ca- 

 ble to Java and Singapore, connect Australia 

 with Europe, etc. Public instruction has re- 

 ceived early attention, there being many pri- 

 mary and grammar schools. 



Western Australia is separated from the 

 other colonies by the great interior desert. It 

 is now the only Crown colony in Australia. 

 Its length from north to south is 1,200 miles, 

 its width 800 ; the entire length of the coast is 

 2,000 miles. The Darling and Roe Mountain- 

 ranges traverse the colony from north to south, 

 have a height of 1,5.00 to 2,000 feet and a width 

 of 20 to 25 miles. Beyond them are the wide, 

 v.ndulating grass prairies, with extensive pas- 

 tures, but slightly wooded and well watered by 

 the rivers Swan, Canning, Albany, and Augus- 

 tus. Farther east begins the great desert. The 

 land produces potatoes, vegetables, and fruits 



AUSTRIA. 



of all kinds. The climate is healthy and very 

 favorable to European settlers, who are en- 

 couraged by very favorable conditions. The 

 extensive forests furnish woods of great value. 

 The colony is as yet but little explored. Be- 

 tween the Murchison and the Upper Irwin, at 

 a distance of 40 miles from the sea, a district 

 of 4,000 square miles contains coal, copper, and 

 lead in abundance. Pearl-fishing is very ad- 

 vantageous. According to official statements, 

 each European manager obtains about a ton of 

 shells a month, which is worth 100 on the 

 spot. The country abounds in fish. The ex- 

 port from this colony to England was, in the 

 first months of 1869, very lively in wool, pearl 

 shells, copper-ore, gum ; timber is sent to 

 Southern Australia and "Victoria, railroad-ties 

 to India, horses to Singapore, Madras, and Cal- 

 cutta. The exports amounted, in 1868, to 

 107,636, the imports to 212,488. The popu- 

 lation, in 1867, was 23,231 persons, two-thirds 

 of whom were males. There were 33 public 

 schools. The revenues of the colony were, in 

 1868, 83,038 ; the expenses, 82,294. 



Southern Australia is chiefly important 

 for sheep-breeding, agriculture, and mining. 

 The Crown had sold, in 1868, over 3,000,000 

 acres; 241,712,459 acres (378,300 square miles) 

 remaining still unsold. Its area is three times 

 as large as Great Britain and Ireland. Breed- 

 ing sheep and cattle is the most important busi- 

 ness, the squatters forming an aristocratic class 

 and living in a princely style. The yield in 

 wheat amounted, in 1868, to more than 5,000,- 

 000 bushels. The colony is immensely rich in 

 copper ; it exported to England, in 1868, 14,841 

 tons of copper-ore. The port of Wallaroo is a 

 thriving town of 5,000 inhabitants. The cap- 

 ital of the colony is Adelaide. The population 

 amounts to about 180,000. The imports from 

 England rose, in 1868, to 1,177,638. The 

 government consists of a Governor, a Legisla- 

 tive Council, and a House of Assembly. Both 

 Houses of the Legislature are chosen by the 

 people. The Council consists of 18 members, 

 the Assembly of 36. 



The exports of England to Australia amount- 

 ed, in 1868, to 12,071,435; 1,105,400 of 

 which were paid for fancy goods, 971,003 for 

 clothing, 966,697 for cotton goods, 649,058 

 for woollens, 324,455 for linen, 924,507 for 

 boots and shoes, 477,295 for beer. The ex- 

 port of Australian staple articles to England, 

 in 1868, shows: for hides, 14,641 tons; raw 

 copper, 93,000 cwt. ; tallow, 215,418 cwt. ; 

 wool, 155,745,199 cwt. The gold imported 

 from Australia and New Zealand to England 

 amounted, in 1868, to 6,989.594. The total 

 exports from England to Australia rose, in 

 1865, to 12,339,241. 



AUSTRIA, an empire in Europe. Emperor, 

 Francis Joseph L, born August 18, 1830 ; 

 succeeded his uncle, Ferdinand I., on December 

 2, 1848. Heir-apparent, Archduke Rudolph, 

 born August 21, 1858. In this article we 

 treat of the affairs belonging to the Austrian 



