66 



AUSTRALASIA. 



structing at a cost of 100,000. Sir Napier 

 Broome floated in London a loan of 525,000. 

 There are several singular features in the 

 social and economical conditions of Western 

 Australia. The German settlers are numer- 

 ous. North from the capital, among the fer- 

 tile plains of the interior, a monastery of 

 Spanish Benedictines, called the New Norcia 

 Mission, has been established a long time. The 

 mission rents extensive grazing rights in the 

 Victoria plains from the Government. Among 

 the extremely various natural resources of the 

 colony are valuable pearl-fisheries. The total 



Sopulation of this, the largest of the Austra- 

 an colonies, with an extent of 975,920 square 

 miles, is only 32,500 souls. The finances of 

 the colony are flourishing. The expenditures 

 are increasing rapidly, and the revenue still 

 more rapidly. There was a surplus of 136,- 

 000 at the end of March, 1885. 



Tasmania. The Premier is Adze Douglas ; the 

 Governor, Maj.-Gen. Sir G. Cumine Strahan, 

 appointed in August, 1880. The colony of 

 Tasmania has an area of 26,215 square miles. 

 The population is estimated to have increased 

 from 114,762 in 1880 to 130,541 in 1844. The 

 bank deposits increased nearly fourfold in the 

 same period. The total valuation of property 

 increased in ten years from 604,347 to 837,- 

 916. The imports in 1883 amounted to 1,832,- 

 637, the exports to 1,731,599. Wool was ex- 

 ported of the value of 450,367 ; tin, 376,446 ; 

 gold, 173,561; preserved fruit, 96,069; green 

 fruit, 80, 155. The Government has sold 4,292,- 

 757 acres, and leased 1,902,414 as sheep-runs. 

 The mileage of railroads in 1883 was 167, of 

 telegraph-lines, 1,273, with 1,543 miles of wire. 



The revenue in 1883 was 562,189, the ex- 

 penditure 533,036 ; the public debt in July, 

 1884, 2,385,600, raised mainly at 6 per cent 

 for public works. 



Bfew Zealand. The ministry at the beginning 

 of 1885 was composed as follows : Premier and 

 Colonial Treasurer, also Commissioner of Cus- 

 toms, H. A. Atkinson ; Minister of Lands and 

 Immigration, William Rolleston ; Minister of 

 Native Affairs, John Bryce ; Colonial Secretary 

 and Minister of Education, Thomas Dick ; Min- 

 ister of Public Works, E. Mitchelson ; Attorney- 

 General and Minister of Justice, E. T. Conolly, 

 Postmaster-General and Commissioner of Tele- 

 graphs, K. Oliver. The Governor is Lieut.- 

 Gen. Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, 

 appointed in Nov. 1882. The Agent General 

 of New Zealand in Great Britain is Sir Francis 

 Dillon Ball. 



The population in 1881 was 534,032, includ- 

 ing 44,099 Maoris and 5,004 Chinese. The pop- 

 ulation on Jan. 1, 1884, exclusive of aborigines, 

 was 540,877, comprising 294,665 males and 

 246,212 females. The number of marriages in 

 1883 was 3,612; births, 19,202; deaths, 6,061. 

 The net immigration in 1883 was 10,029. 



The total value of imports in 1883 was 7- 

 974,038, of exports, 7,095,999. The export 

 of wool was 68,149,430 pounds, valued at 3,- 



014,211. The export of grain, mainly oats and 

 barley, was valued at 1,351, 651 ; skins, mainly 

 sheep and rabbit, 166,132 ; gum, 336,606 ; 

 tallow, 233,557; timber, 149,256; frozen 

 meat, 118,328. Of the total imports 65 per 

 cent, came from Great Britain, 19 per cent. 

 from Australia, and 5 per cent, from the United 

 States. Duties on imports yielded 1,414,181. 



The gold product in 1883 was 222,899 ounces, 

 value 892,445 ; the coal product, 421,764 tons. 



The area of the colony is 66,777,280 acres. 

 Up to the end of 1883 17,430,021 acres had 

 been sold by the Government, and 11,638,569 

 acres were rented by the Crown for pastoral 

 purposes. The number of occupied holdings, 

 exclusive of Crown leases, was 30,832, cover- 

 ing 10,309,170 acres of freehold and 4,827,727 

 acres of leasehold property. Three quarters 

 of the land was farmed in large holdings of 

 from 1,000 to 100,000 acres and over. The 

 acreage under grain in 1884 was 673,567, the 

 product of wheat 9,827,136 bushels, of oats 

 9,231,339 bushels. The number of sheep in 

 1884 was 12,985,085, against 13,834,075 in 

 1883 ; the number of cattle 698,637, of horses 

 161,736, of swine 200,083. 



There were open to traffic 469 miles of rail- 

 roads in the North Island and 926 in the South 

 Island, besides 91 miles of private lines, 1,486 

 miles in all. The outlay of the Government 

 on railroads up to March 31, 1884, was 12,- 

 057,972. The rate of profit in 1883 was about 

 2| per cent., which was less than in former 

 years, owing to a lowering of the tariff. The 

 length of telegraph lines on Jan. 1, 1884, was 

 4,074 miles, with 10,037 miles of wire. 



The revenue for 1884-'85 was 3,820,000, 

 the expenditure 3,790,000. The revenue for 

 1885-'86 is estimated at 4,130,000, the ex- 

 penditure at 4,100,000. A new loan of 372,- 

 375 is to be raised to meet expenses up to 1887. 

 The debt in March, 1884, was 32,367,711. 



The Maori Question. In 1884 certain Maori 

 chiefs visited England and presented to the 

 Government a memorial setting forth that the 

 treaty of Waitangi secured them in their chief- 

 tainship, in their lands, their forests, villages, 

 and fisheries, and promised that laws were to 

 be given to them in like manner as they are 

 given to the people of England. This covenant 

 they alleged has been trampled upon by the 

 Colonial Government in numerous particulars 

 enumerated in their memorial. In a separate 

 petition Chief Tawhiao prayed that the pro- 

 ceeding of the colonial land courts with re- 

 spect to the lands of the Maoris might not be 

 confirmed until the return of the deputation. 

 Lord Derby answered that Her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment was unable to interfere with the courts 

 of law. The first memorial he transmitted to 

 the governor, Sir William Jervois. The reply, 

 containing documents bearing on the subject, 

 and the observations of the Colonial Govern- 

 ment, was received May 8, 1885. The colonial 

 ministers in their memorandum confined them- 

 selves to the period since 1865, when British 



