AUSTRALASIA. 



63 



colony are leather and skins, tallow, and pre- 

 served and salted provisions. 



There were obtained, in Victoria, in 1884, 

 778,618 ounces of gold, valued at 3,114,472. 

 The total quantity of gold raised from 1851 to 

 1854 is estimated at 52,992,768 ounces, valued 

 at 211,971,072. The estimated number of 

 miners at work in the gold-fields at the end of 

 1884 was 28,430, of whom 5,359 were Chinese. 

 The yield of gold in 1885 was 784,000 ounces. 



There were 4,020 miles of telegraph lines, 

 comprising 8,055 miles of wire, open at the 

 end of 1884. The revenue from telegraphs was 

 89,077 in 1884 ; the number of messages sent, 

 1,594,296. 



The railways in Victoria all belong to the 

 state. At the end of June, 1884, there were 

 1,624 miles of railway completed, and 71 miles 

 in progress. By the railway construction act 

 of 1884, 62 new lines, of an aggregate length 

 of 1,201 miles, were authorized. The total cost 

 of the whole of the lines, exclusive of the 

 stores and materials on hand at the end of 1884, 

 was over 22,000,000. On this the net profit 

 was 3'98 per cent. The gross receipts in the 

 year 1884 amounted to 2,196,150, the expen- 

 diture to 1,335,800, or 60'82 per cent., and 

 the profits to 860,350. 



The post-office of the colony forwarded 33,- 

 403,884 letters, 5,767,781 packets, and 15,143,- 

 067 newspapers in the year 1884. The postal 

 revenue, including the receipts from telegraphs, 

 was 356,817 in 1884. 



Legislation. The closing period of the ses- 

 sion of 1885 was marked by an angry assault 

 of the opposition on the Government, attended 

 with all-night debates and unparliamentary re- 

 criminations. A reciprocity treaty between 

 Tasmania and Victoria, permitting the free 

 interchange of products of the two colonies 

 containing not more than 5 per cent, of foreign 

 material, is the first substantial step toward in- 

 tercolonial federation. A factories and shops 

 bill was enacted, requiring shops to close every 

 evening at seven o'clock, except on Saturday. 

 On Feb. 16 the coalition under Duncan Gillies 

 resigned, and Mr. Gillies was charged with the 

 formation of a new ministry. Parliament was 

 dissolved on Feb. 20, and new elections were 

 appointed for March 5. They resulted in the 

 return of 54 Ministerialists, 18 of the Opposi- 

 tion party, and 14 Independents. The most 

 important measure of the session of 1886 was 

 the irrigation bill, passed Sept. 30. It author- 

 izes the Government to borrow 4,000,000 for 

 the construction of works to supply at least 

 3,242,000 acres of land with water. The pro- 

 ceeds of the loan are to be lent to local trusts, 

 which will construct the works, and have pow- 

 er to levy rates to pay the interest. The rates 

 required are estimated at about eleven shillings 

 per acre of the land supplied. Irrigation- works 

 are expected to be extended over Australia, if 

 found successful in Victoria, and to prevent 

 such droughts as that in which 12,000,000 

 sheep perished in the single colony of New 



South Wales in one year, and thus double or 

 treble the productive capacity of the island- 

 continent. The Assembly placed a duty on 

 woolen goods of 20 per cent 



South Australia. The ministry, reconstructed 

 on June 7, 1886, is composed as follows : Chief 

 Secretary, J. B. Spence; Colonial Treasurer, 

 John Cox Bray ; Commissioner of Public 

 Works, L. L. Furner ; Commissioner of Crown 

 Lands, J. H. Howe ; Minister of Education, 

 J. A. Cockburn; Attorney-General, John W. 

 Downes. The Governor is Sir William C. 

 F. Robinson, who was appointed November, 

 1882. The revenue of the colony for 1885 was 

 2,157,931, derived from customs duties, posts 

 and telegraphs, railways, and territorial re- 

 ceipts. The expenditures for the same yearwere 

 2,430,513 ; the main portion of which is on 

 account of the public works, railways, and in- 

 terest on the public debt. The estimated rev- 

 enue for 1886 is 2,344,124, and expenditures 

 2,407,584. During 1885-'86 an addition of 

 270,000 is expected from a new tax on land 

 and income, being two years' receipts. Later 

 estimates showed a large deficit, in consequence 

 of which the Government proposed to reduce 

 salaries, but abandoned the intention when 

 the revenue prospects improved. A deficiency 

 of 809,000 was expected. The public debt 

 of the colony, dating from 1852, amounted, on 

 July 1, 1885, to 17,034,200. 



The area of the colony is 903,425 square 

 miles. The total population on Dec. 31, 1884, 

 was estimated at 312,781164,877 males and 

 147, 904 females. During 1884, there were reg- 

 istered 11,847 births, 4,789 deaths, and 2,555 

 marriages. There were 17,290 immigrants and 

 16,082 emigrants. 



The total value of the exports to various 

 countries, exclusive of bullion and specie, 

 amounted in 1884 to 6,623,704. The imports 

 were valued at 5,749,353. The chief articles 

 of export are : Wool, the exports of which in 

 1884 amounted to 2,618,626; wheat and flour, 

 2,491,896; copper and copper-ore, 375,325, 



Of the total area, 578,272,000 acres, 10,670,- 

 572 acres were alienated at the end of 1884. 

 The total land inclosed amounts to 53,444,411 

 acres, of which 2,785,490 acres were under 

 cultivation in 1884-'85; of this, 1,942,453 acres 

 were under wheat. The gross produce of 

 wheat in 1884- '85 was 14,621,755 bushels. In 

 1884, 473,535 gallons of wine were produced, 

 of which 50,080 gallons were exported. The 

 live-stock in 1885 numbered 168,420 horses, 

 389,720 cattle, and 6,696,406 sheep. In 1884 

 there were 1,785 pastoral leases, holding 144,- 

 723,200 acres. 



The colony had 1,060 miles of railway open 

 for traffic, and 262 miles of lines in course of 

 construction, in December, 1884. In the same 

 year the colony had 5,291 miles of telegraph 

 lines in operation, with 9,067 miles of wire. 

 There is also a line running from Adelaide to 

 Port Darwin, across the center of the conti- 

 nent, a distance of 2,000 miles, in connection 



