AUSTRALASIA. 



61 



of cable. The post office carried 5,897,161 letters, 

 4,692,676 newspapers, 1,212,122 packets, and 166,- 

 066 postal cards. 



The rejection of the income and land-tax bills 

 by the Legislative Council after they were car- 

 ried through the Assembly left the Government 

 with a deficit of 363.243. ' The land-tax bill was 

 reintroduced, and on April 10, 1894, the minis- 

 try was defeated by a vote of 16 to 15. A new 

 Cabinet was organized on April 12 as follows : 

 Premier, Sir E. N. C. Braddon ; Treasurer, P. 0. 

 Fysh ; Chief Secretary, William Moore ; Attor- 

 ney-General, A. L. Clark; Minister of Land, 

 Works, and Mines, A. T. Pillinger ; without .port- 

 folio, C. O'Reilly. 



New Zealand. The Legislative Council con- 

 sists of 46 members, nominated by the Govern- 

 ment, formerly for life, but since. 1891 for seven 

 years. They receive 150 salary. The members 

 of the House of Representatives are elected for 

 three years by universal suffrage. Women were 

 admitted to the franchise in 1893. There are 70 

 members representing European districts, and 4 

 Maoris. They are paid 240 per annum. 



The Governor is the Earl of Glasgow, appointed 

 June 7, 1892. The ministry at the beginning of 

 1894 was composed as follows : Premier, Minister 

 of Public Works, and Minister of Native Affairs 

 and Defense, R. J. Seddon ; Attorney-General, 

 Colonial Secretary, and Minister of Marine. Sir 

 P. A. Buckley ; Minister of Education and of 

 Labor, and Commissioner of Stamp Duties, W. 

 P. Reeves ; Minister of Lands and of Immigra- 

 tion. Minister of Agriculture, and Commissioner 

 of Forests, J. Mackenzie; Colonial Treasurer, 

 Postmaster-General, Electric Telegraph Com- 

 missioner, and Commissioner of Trade and Cus- 

 toms, J. G. Ward; Minister of Justice and Min- 

 ister of Mines, A. J. Cadman ; without portfolio, 

 J. Carrol], representing the native race, and W. 

 Montgomery. 



The area of the islands is estimated at 104,471 

 square miles. The European population in 1891 

 was 626.658, of whom 332.877 were males and 

 293,781 were females. The population of the 

 North Island was 281,445, and of the South Is- 

 land 344,913. The total population in 1891 was 

 668,651, of whom 41,993 were Maoris and 4,444 

 Chinese. The population of Auckland, the cap- 

 ital, was 51,127. with the suburbs. Of the total 

 population, 14 45 per cent, were primary produ- 

 . cers, 11-25 per cent, industrial, 6'89 per cent, com- 

 mercial, 3-98 per cent, domestic, 2'52 per cent, 

 professional, 59'67 per cent, dependent, and T24 

 per cent, undefined. In 1892 there were 4,002 

 marriages, 17.876 births, and 6,459 deaths; ex- 

 cess of births, 11,417. The excess of immigrants 

 over emigrants was 4.958. Education is compul- 

 sory in the settled districts. In 1892 there were 

 1.302 primary schools, with 3,180 teachers, 122.- 

 629 pupils, and an average attendance of 99,070. 

 Instruction is purely secular. 



The revenue of the Government for 1892 was 

 4,389,251, of which 676,369 was derived from 

 direct and 1,716,427 from indirect taxation, 

 1,154,592 from railways, 299,603 from the 

 post office and telegraphs. 192,410 from other 

 ordinary sources, and 349,850 was territorial 

 revenue. The total expenditure was 4.044.690, 

 of which 1,601,706 was for the public debt, 

 690,627 for railways, 408,208 for public in- 



struction, 283,693 for postal and telegraph 

 service, 164,371 for constabulary, militia, and 

 volunteers, 672,157 for other 'ordinary pur- 

 poses, and 223,928 was territorial expenditure. 

 Out of loans 408.436 was expended. In 1891 

 the system of direct taxation was changed. In- 

 stead of a property tax on land and chattels 

 above 500, a land tax at the same rate Id. in 

 the pound was laid upon land, with exemption 

 of improvements, mortgagees being taxed for 

 their interest in the property, and a surtax on 

 large properties graduated from %d. on values 

 between 5,000 and 10,000 to IK on estates 

 worth 210,000 and upward. The personal 

 property was replaced by an income tax. The 

 debt on' March 31, 1893, was 38,144.070. 



Out of 66,710,320 acres, 20,364,209 had been 

 alienated before 1893. The area of valuable land 

 remaining in the hands of the Government is 

 about 34,000,000 acres, of which 10,000,000 acres 

 are forest. The area under cultivation in 1893 was 

 9,713,745 acres, of which 8,262.045 acres were 

 meadow and pasture. The crop of wheat in 1891 

 was 8,378,000 bushels, raised from 381,245 acres. 

 The live stock consisted of 18.227,186 sheep, 

 831,831 cattle, and 308,812 hogs. The produc- 

 tion of butter in 1890 was 16,310,012 pounds, and 

 of cheese 9,975,698 pounds ; of frozen meat for 

 export in 1892, 869,600 hundredweight. The 

 mineral products are gold, silver, coal. Kauri 

 gum, manganese, and antimony. 



The value of imports in 1892 was 6,943,056, 

 and of exports 9,533,851. The values of the 

 principal exports were: Wool, 4,313,307; frozen 

 meat, 1,033,377; gold, 951,963; grain, 860,- 

 151; Kauri gum, 517,678; hides and leather, 

 371,297: butter and cheese, 318,204; tallow, 

 165,513 ; timber, 87,581 ; preserved meat, 69,- 

 420; grass seed, 59,110; bacon and hams. 16,- 

 088. The imports from the United States in 

 1892 were 381,627 in value, and the exports to 

 the United States 520,797. 



The finances of this colony are in a very satis- 

 factory state. The estimates of revenue for 1 893- 

 '94 were exceeded by the receipts, while the ex- 

 penditure was kept within the appropriation. 

 The new land and income taxes had been col- 

 lected without difficulty. After paying 250,000 

 out of the revenue for public works there re- 

 mained a surplus of nearly 300,000. The first 

 elections in which the women of New Zealand 

 exercised their newly acquired right of suffrage 

 passed off quietly in perfect order after a canvass 

 in which the liquor question, the various theories 

 regarding religious instruction in the public 

 schools, and all the subjects of political contro- 

 versy were earnestly discussed in public meet- 

 ings, which the wom'en generally attended. Over 

 80 per cent, of the women on the rolls voted. In 

 March occurred the first voting under the licens- 

 ing law enacted in 1893. In each parliamentary 

 district the voters, comprising all the adult men 

 and women, decided whether the existing licenses 

 should be continued for three years or whether 

 the number should be reduced by one fourth, or, 

 by three fifths majority, if all licenses should be 

 annulled. The Prohibitionists were very zealous 

 and well organized, and in two districts they 

 gained the requisite majority, while in Port Chal- 

 mers, Wellington, Christchu'rch,and other places 

 they lost by only a few votes, and polled more 



