AUSTRALASIA. 



47 



expenditures, 6,605,901. Of the revenue 

 2,633,510 came from taxes, and the rest 

 from the railroads, telegraphs, crown lands, 

 and similar sources. The expenses of the pub- 

 lic debt amounted to 1,285,904, and 1,413,- 

 690 were expended on railways, 968,284 on 

 other public works, and 549,671 on posts and 

 telegraphs. The expenditure for public educa- 

 cation amounted to 642,070. The public debt 

 at the end of 1885-'86 amounted to 30,127,- 

 382. The average rate of interest paid is 4^ 

 per cent. The revenue for 1886-'87 amounted 

 to 6,733,000 ; that for 1887-'88 is estimated 

 at 6,906,000, and the expenditure at 7,444,- 

 000. The receipts are to be increased by a 

 duty of Ss. 6d. per cwt. on cane-sugar, and 6s. 

 on beet-sugar, and by increased timber duties. 



A centennial exhibition is arranged to be 

 held in Melbourne, to begin on August 1, 1888, 

 and remain open six months. 



South Australia. The Legislative Council, 

 elected by limited suffrage, can not be dissolved 

 by the executive. Each of the fifty-two mem- 

 bers is elected by the entire colony, but the 

 seats are apportioned among four districts. 



The House of Assembly consists of fifty-two 

 members, elected by universal manhood suf- 

 frage. The Governor, who received his ap- 

 pointment in November, 1882, is Sir "William 

 0. F. Kobinson. The House of Assembly 

 passed a vote of want of confidence in the 

 government on June 8, 1887, and a new Cabi- 

 net was formed, composed as follows: T. 

 Playford, Premier and Treasurer ; James Gor- 

 don Ramsay, Chief Secretary ; A. Cott, Com- 

 missioner of Public Works; C. C. Kingston, 

 Attorney-General ; and Mr. Johnson, Commis- 

 sioner of Education. 



The area of the colony is 903,425 square 

 miles. The estimated population on Dec. 31, 



1885, was 313,423 persons, of whom 163,641 

 were males and 149,782 females. 



The value of imports in 1885 was 5,548,- 

 403 ; of exports, 5,636,255. The leading arti- 

 cles of export are wool, of the value of 1,417,- 

 245 in 1885; and wheat and flour, of the value 

 of 2,162,513. The area of cultivated land is 

 2, 785,490 acres, of which 1,942,453 are devoted 

 to wheat, producing 14,621,755 bushels in 

 1884-'85. There are 226,130 square miles held 

 under pastoral leases. The number of sheep 

 in the colony in 1885 was 6,696,406. 



The railroad mileage in 1885 was 1,063 

 miles of completed lines and 718 under con- 

 struction. There were 1,063 miles of telegraph 

 lines and 9,378 miles of wire. 



The revenue for the year ended June 30, 



1886, was 2,279.038; the expenditure, 2,- 

 383,289. The revenue for 1886-'87 was esti- 

 mated at 2,218,124, and the expenditure at 

 2,214,563. The actual receipts, however, 

 only amounted to 1,868,000, leaving an accu- 

 mulated deficiency of 1,080,000. The public 

 debt amounted to 17,020,900 on Dec. 31, 

 1885. The entire amount was raised for pro- 

 ductive public works. 



Queensland. The members of the Legislative 

 Council are nominated by the Crown for life, 

 and those of the Legislative Assembly elected 

 by the people without restriction of suffrage, 

 holders of real estate having votes in the dis- 

 tricts where their property is situated as well 

 as in their places of residence. The Governor 

 is Sir Anthony Musgrave, who was appointed 

 in April, 1883. The ministry consists of the 

 following members : Sir Samuel Walker Grif- 

 fith, Premier, Chief Secretary, and Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the Executive Council ; James Robert 

 Dickson, Colonial Treasurer ; Thomas MacDon- 

 ald-Patterson, Postmaster-General; Arthur 

 Rutledge, Attorney-General ; William Miles, 

 Secretary for Public Works; Berkeley Basil 

 Moreton, Colonial Secretary and Secretary for 

 Public Instruction; Charles Boydell Dutton, 

 Secretary for Public Lands. 



The colony has an area of 668,497 square 

 miles and an estimated population on June 30, 

 1886, of 330,090 souls. The number of immi- 

 grants in 1885 was 34,334, including 679 

 Chinese and 1,929 Polynesians. The emigra- 

 tion was 22,768, including 1,238 Chinese and 

 1,903 Polynesians. The Chinese immigration 

 in 1883 was 2,951, and the decline is caused by 

 restrictive legislation. The number of births 

 in 1885 was 11,672; of deaths, 6,235; of mar- 

 riages, 2,842. 



Of the total area of the colony, 7,728,568 

 acres, or less than 2 per cent., had been alien- 

 ated by the Government up to the end of 1885. 

 There were 307,290,880 acres leased for pastor- 

 al purposes in 1885, the number of runs being 

 9,292. The number of sheep in the colony 

 was 8,994,322. Under the new land act of 

 1884 agricultural leases for not more than 1,280 

 acres will be granted for fifty years, and pastor- 

 al leases for a maximum of 20,000 acres to 

 run thirty years. 



Ths total value of imports in 1885 was 6,- 

 422,490; the value of exports, 5,243,404. 

 The export of wool was valued at 1,779,682 ; 

 of sugar, 720,921. The area devoted to the 

 cultivation of sugar-cane in 1885 was 59,186 

 acres. The produce of 38,557 acres was val- 

 ued at 1,075,235. The quantity of gold pro- 

 duced in 1885 was 310,941 ounces. 



At the end of 1885 there were 1,434 miles 

 of railroad, in which the Government had in- 

 vested 9,484,654. There were 558 miles 

 more in course of construction. The railroad 

 receipts during 1885 amounted to 691,541, 

 and the working expenses to 444,140. The 

 number of letters sent through the post-office 

 in 1855 was 9,776.407. The mileage of tele- 

 graph lines was 7,533 at the end of 1885 ; of 

 wires, 12,290. The number of messages dur- 

 ing the year was 1,082,183. 



The revenue of the Government during 

 1885-'86 was 2,868,295; the expenditure, 

 3,090,160. The revenue for 1886-'87 was 

 2,870,000 ; the expenditure, 3,263,000. The 

 public debt on Dec. 31, 1885, amounted to 

 19,320,850. 



