AUSTRALASIA. 



43 



18 t.> Australia, 588,134 to tho ( T nit,-d 

 State-, and II |:!.?<i? to tin- islands of the Pacific. 



Tin- chief exports of Fiji in 181)0 were: Sugar, 

 of ih.- value of 244,655; copra, 42,901; ami 

 bananas !:.">?. -VI: I. 



Navigation. The number of vessels and tho 

 tonnage entered and cleared at the ports of tin; 

 .several rc>|nuir> in 1890 are given in the follow- 

 ing table : 



Communications. At the close of 1890 

 there were 2,182 miles of railroad in operation 

 in New South Wales. The capital expenditure 

 up to June 30, 1891, was 31,r68,617. The re- 

 ceipts were 2,974.421 in 1890 and the expenses 

 1,831,371, being 61-57 per cent, of the gross 

 earnings. The telegraphs of the colony had 23,- 

 698 miles of wire, put up at a cost of 743,698. 

 The number of telegrams in 1890 was 3,592,519. 

 The receipts were 222,307 and the net earn- 

 ings 193,707. The receipts of the post-office 

 were 427,330, and the expenses 435,545. The 

 number of letters was 57,707,900 : of newspapers, 

 40,597,200 ; of packets, etc., 8,939,600. 



The railroads of Victoria at the close of 1890 

 had a length of 2,688 miles, not including 215 

 miles still unfinished. The capital cost up to 

 the middle of 1890 was 34,370,031. The gross 

 receipts for the preceding twelve months were 

 3.131,866, and the working expenses 2,132,158, 

 which was 68-08 per cent, of the gross earnings. 

 The net profits averaged 3-18 per cent, of the 

 borrowed capital, on which the average interest 

 is 4-14 per cent., and were only 2-91 per cent, of 

 the capital invested. The colony had 6,958 miles 

 of telegraph lines, with 13,490 miles of wire. 

 The number of dispatches during the year 1890 

 was 3,114,783. The net receipts were 138,969. 

 The post-office forwarded 62.526,448 letters, 

 7.491.316 packets, and 22.729.005 newspapers. 

 The postal receipts were 526,400, and expendi- 

 ture 637.784. 



The railroads of Queensland had a total length 

 of 2.142 miles, to which 601 miles under con- 

 struction were soon to be added. The cost up 

 to the middle of 1891 was 14,226,070. The re- 

 ceipts for the previous year were 821,226. and 

 expenses of working 631,749. There were 9.830 

 miles of telegraph and 17,437 miles of wire. The 

 number of messages was 1,329,925. The receipts 

 were 91.780, and working expenses 120.556. 

 The number of letters carried in 1890 was 14.- 

 709,504; of newspapers, 14,463.726; of packets,. 

 2.047.446; postal receipts, 130.984; expenses,' 

 203.046. 



South Australia had 1.750 miles of railroad 

 completed on Pec. 31, 1890, and 54 miles in 

 course of construction. Tn this colony the rail- 

 roads pay an average profit of 5 per cent. The 

 telegraph lines had a length of 5.623 miles, with 

 12,178 miles of wire. The post-office forwarded 



16.794,679 letters, 1,251,414 packets, and 0,460,- 

 975 newspapers. 



Jn Western Australia there were 589 miles of 

 railroad open for traffic and 12 miles under con- 

 st met inn. besides 295 miles that were begun and 

 369 miles being surveyed. The telegraphs had 

 a length of 2,921 miles, with 3,46!) miles of wire, 

 and 516 miles more were nearly ready. Tin-re 

 were 196,536 messages sent during 1890. which 

 brought in a net revenue of 10,890. The num- 

 ber of letters and postal cards that j 

 through the post-office was 3,175,651. 



Tasmania's completed railroads had a length 

 of 399 miles, to which 74 miles were soon to be 

 added. There were 2,004 miles of telegraph, with 

 2.701 miles of wire. During 1890, 353,548 mes- 

 sages were sent at a cost of 18.783, while the 

 receipts were 19,075. The number of letters 

 carried in the mails was 5,535,667 ; the number of 

 newspapers, 4,941,571. The post-office receipts 

 were 41,759, and the expenses were 46,137. 



New Zealand on March 31, 1891, had 699 miles 

 of railroads on the North Island and 1,143 miles 

 on the Middle Island, the total length being 1,958 

 miles, including 114 miles of private lines. The 

 revenue of the Government lines for the year 

 was 1,121,701, and the expenditure was 700,- 

 703, or 62-47 per cent, of the gross earnings. 

 The total expenditure up to that date was 15,- 

 344,223. The telegraphs had a length of 5.060 

 miles, with 12,771 miles of wire. The number 

 of dispatches in 1890 was 1,961,161. The receipts 

 amounted to 110,697, and the expenses to 104,- 

 391. The number of letters and postal cards 

 mailed was 43.069,051 ; of packets. 7,546,966 : of 

 newspapers, 18,684,242. The receipts were ll>9,- 

 735, and expenses 85,006. 



New South Wales. The members of the 

 Legislative Assembly in New South Wales, as in 

 most of the colonies, are now paid a salary, which 

 was fixed by the act of Sept, 21, 1889, at 300 

 per annum. The Legislative Council, the mem- 

 bers of which are nominated by the Government, 

 numbered 67 in 1891, and the Legislative Assem- 

 bly, which now monopolizes most of the legis- 

 lative functions, numbered 141. The Governor 

 of New South Wales is the Earl of Jersey, who 

 received his appointment in October, 1890. The 

 Premier and Colonial Secretary of the Ministry 

 constituted in December, 1891, is George E. 

 Dibbs, who was knighted during an official visit 

 to England in 1892. The Colonial Treasurer is 

 John Lee; the Attornev-General, E. Burton; 

 Secretary for Lands. H. Copeland; Secretary for 

 Public Works. W. J. Lyne ; Minister of Public 

 Instruction. F. B. Sutter ; Minister of Justice, R. 

 E. O'Connor; Postmaster-General, John Kidd ; 

 Secretary for Mines and Agriculture, T. M. Slat- 

 tery ; Vice- President of the Legislative Council 

 and Government Representative in the Legisla- 

 tive Council, J. E. Salomons. 



Victoria. The Legislative Assembly is elect- 

 ed by universal manhood suffrage. It is com- 

 posed of 95 members, who are elected for three 

 years. The Legislative Council consists of 48 

 members, elected under a low property qualifica- 

 tion, one third of whom retire every two years. 

 The Governor is the Earl of Hopetoun. who en- 

 tered on the active discharge of the office on Feb. 

 13, 1892, though appointed more than a year 

 previously. The ministers at the beginning of 



