AUSTRALASIA. 



57 



rent account holders receive 10 per cent, in one 

 month, 5 per cent, six months later, and 5 per 

 rent. ijimrtiTly thereafter until they are paid in 

 full with :u per criit. intetvM ; or they may take 

 4-pW-ONlt. deposit receipts payable inonc, t\v<>, 

 three, four, and live ynirs. Fixed de|K)sit hold- 

 ers receive deposit receipts bearing 4J per cent, 

 interest, the receipts payable in five, six, seven, 

 and ci.irht. years. The plan of the Australian 

 Joint .Stuck Bank provided for the payment of 

 all existing customers of the bank in cash to the 

 extent >f t'100, and several other banks made a 

 Mmilar provision. The scheme of reconstruc- 

 tion of the Queensland National Bank was on 

 entirely different lines. It provided for the call- 

 ing up of 8 per share on the capital ; the re- 

 duction of the nominal capital of the bank from 

 2,000,000 divided into 200,000 shares at 10 

 each to 1,600,000, divided into 200,000 shares of 

 8 each, the reduction to be effected by cancel- 

 ling the paid-up capital to the extent of 2 per 

 share upon each of 160,000 shares which had 

 been issued, and by reducing the nominal amount 

 of all shares in the bank's capital to 8 per share ; 

 and for the subsequent increase of the so-reduced 

 capital to 3,000,000 by the creation of 175,000 

 new shares of 8 each, such new shares to be 

 disposed of at such times and to such persons 

 ana on such terms as the directors of the bank 

 may deem advisable. On June 29 the Com- 

 mercial Bank of Australia, the Bank of Victoria, 

 the National Bank of Australasia, the City of 

 Melbourne Bank, the Commercial Banking Com- 

 pany of Sydney, and the Australian Joint Stock 

 Bank had resumed business ; the Colonial Bank 

 of Australasia resumed July 10, and the Queens- 

 land National Bank reopened its doors for gen- 

 eral business : while several other banks were in 

 an advanced stage of reconstruction. To the 

 shareholders of the suspended banks reconstruc- 

 tion was undoubtedly favorable, as it saved the 

 greater expense of liquidation, and relieved them 

 from paying in at once the amounts for which 

 they were liable on their shares, and distributed 

 these amounts over a long period of time. To 

 the depositors who were forced by the plan to 

 become shareholders it was not so favorable. 

 The banks as a rule kept as much as possible of 

 the deposits in the form of proprietary capital, 

 and retained large options as to the repayment 

 of the remainder. The depositors, however, ac- 

 cepted reconstruction as the only alternative for 

 eventually getting back their money. Most of 

 the banks which were forced to suspend are once 

 more doing business, but as a result of the stu- 

 pendous financial calamity in which they have 

 participated, banking capital to the extent of 

 nearly 20,000 has, by the depreciation of shares, 

 been wiped out, while deposits to the amount of 

 of about 70,000,000 have been locked up for a 

 period of years. 



New South Wales. The Earl of Jersey, who 

 was appointed Governor of the colony in Octo- 

 ber. 1890, resigned in January, 1893, and Sir R. 

 W. Duff was appointed to the governorship, and 

 entered upon his office on May 29. The new 

 Governor is a Scotsman, who has had upward of 

 thirty years' experience in the British Parlia- 

 ment. The ministry in office at the beginning 

 of 1893 was as follows : Premier and Colonial 

 Secretary, Sir George R. Dibbs ; Colonial Treas- 



urer, John See; Attorney-General, E. Barton; 

 Secretary for Lands, II. Copt-land; Secretary 

 for I'ublic Works, W. J. Lyne; Minister of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, K. H. Suitor; Minister of Jus- 

 tice, R. E. O'Connor; Postum-ler-flt -nerul, John 

 Kidd; Secretary for Mines and Agriculture, T. 

 .M. Slattery; Vice- President of the Executive 

 Council and Representative of the Government 

 in the Legislative Council, Sir J. E. Salomons. 

 Mr. Salomons resigned Jan. 25, on account of a 

 difference with his colleagues, and was succeeded 

 by Dr. J. N. MacLaurin. An attack was made 

 upon the ministry, on account of the financial 

 statement made by the Treasurer, but the motion 

 of want of confidence was not carried. The state- 

 ment showed an existing deficit of 1,150,000. 

 The Premier formulated a scheme for the equal- 

 ization of income and expenditure which in- 

 cluded an increase of taxation and a reduction 

 of expenses. The expenditure of 1893 was to be 

 less by 795,000 than that of 1892, and a new 

 source of income to be found in the imposition 

 of an income tax on a graduated scale. On in- 

 comes from 200 to 500 it was proposed to lay 

 a tax of 4d. in the pound ; from 500 to 1,500, 

 Qd. ; from 1,500 to 5,000, Sd. ; and on all above 

 the latter amount, Wd. It was also proposed to 

 reduce by 5 per cent, the salaries of all public 

 servants receiving over 200 per annum, and 

 also to lay a tax upon the property of absentees. 



Victoria. The Governor is the Earl of Hope- 

 toun, who entered on his office in November, 

 1889. The Shiels ministry was defeated on a 

 direct vote of want of confidence moved by Mr. 

 J. B. Patterson, who was invited to form a new 

 ministry. The Executive Council was reconsti- 

 tuted as follows: Premier, Chief Secretary, and 

 Minister of Railways, J. B. Patterson; Attorney- 

 General, Sir Bryan O'Loughlen ; Solicitor-Gen- 

 eral, Mr. Isaacs ; Treasurer, Godfrey Downes Car- 

 ter ; Minister of Customs and Education, John 

 Campbell ; Minister of Defense and Health, Rob- 

 ert Reid ; Minister of Mines and Water Supply, 

 J. H. McColl ; Postmaster-General, Agar Wynne ; 

 Minister of Agriculture and Public Works, W. 

 T. Webb ; ministers without portfolios, Messrs. 

 Baker, Richardson, Abbott, and Cooke. The 

 new Premier has for many years represented 

 Castlemaine in the Legislative Assembly. He 

 has been twice Minister of Public Works, and 

 was Minister of Railways in 1880-'81, and Min- 

 ister of Customs in 1889-'90. 



In this colony, as in New South Wales, the 

 condition of the public finances engaged at the 

 beginning of the year the most serious attention. 

 The specific charge on which the Shiels Govern- 

 ment was overthrown was that it had failed to 

 carry into effect any scheme of consistent re- 

 trenchment. Mr. Patterson announced that the 

 policy of the new Government would be rigid 

 retrenchment which would bring the expenses 

 of the colony within the revenue. He antici- 

 pated that the deficit would amount in June 

 to 1,800,000. He promised large reductions in 

 the civil service ana reform in the land admin- 

 istration by encouraging co-operative settlement. 

 For increasing the revenue the Government pro- 

 posed either an income tax or the temporary 

 expedient of laying a small duty on imports now 

 admitted free. In pursuance of this programme 

 the Legislative Assembly voted to reduce the 



