AUSTRALASIA. 



39 



459,119 tons, foreign. The total number cleared 

 was 3,263, of 3,455,061 tons, of which 2,933, of 

 2,994,250 tons, were British or colonial, and 330, 

 of 460,811 tons, were foreign. The merchant fleet 

 of the colony consisted of 488 sailing vessels, of 

 52,948 tons, and 494 steamers, of 68,331 tons. 



The number of vessels entered at Victorian ports 

 was 2,008, of 2,472,745 tons, of which 378, of 

 895,384 tons, were British, and 1,498, of 1,274,958 

 tons, were colonial. The total number cleared 

 was 2,043, of 2,483,992 tons, of which 832, of 

 900,703 tons, were British and 1,531, of 1,278,668 

 tons, were colonial. The merchant shipping of the 

 colony comprised 250 sailing vessels, of 39,715 

 tons, and 149 steamers, of 61,967 tons. 



In Queensland 615 vessels, of 602,006 tons, were 

 entered, and 598, of 596,313 tons, were cleared, in 

 1898. The number entered from the United King- 

 dom was 58, of 95,702 tons; from Australasian 

 ports, 420, of 400,741 tons. In the coasting trade 

 6,588 vessels, of 3,524,904 tons, were entered. The 

 registered shipping of the colony in 1898 com- 

 prised 149 sailing vessels, of 10,075 tons, and 91 

 steamers, of 12,943 tons. 



In South Australian ports 1,068 vessels, of 

 1,722,358 tons, were entered and 1,083, of 1,760,167 

 tons, were cleared during 1898. The shipping of 

 the colony consisted of 107 sailing vessels, of 

 28,413 tons, and 222 steamers, of 22,573 tons. 



In the ports of Western Australia during 1898 

 there were 633 vessels, of 1,199,894 tons, entered 

 and 631, of 1,189,732 tons, cleared. The shipping 

 of the colony consisted of 133 sailing vessels, of 

 5,799 tons, and 28 steamers, of 5,551 tons. 



In New Zealand 233 vessels, of 293,873 tons, 

 were entered and 210, of 218,990 tons, cleared at 

 Auckland in 1898, and at Wellington, the other 

 principal port, 153, of 263,774 tons, were entered 

 and 138, of 268,312 tons, cleared. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. In the 

 Australian colonies the railroads and telegraphs 

 are public property, as well as the wharves and 

 docks, the tramways in cities, the waterworks and 

 irrigation works, and the land also, excepting the 

 relatively small areas that have been sold to agri- . 

 cultural settlers. The railroads of New South 

 Wales, on June 30, 1899, had a total length of 

 2,707 miles. The capital expenditure was 37,- 

 992,276; gross earnings for 1 1899, 3,145,273; 

 working expenses, 1,690,442. 



The railroads in operation in Victoria at the 

 end of 1898 had a total length of 3,123 miles, built 

 at a cost of 38,602,304. The receipts for the 

 fiscal year were 2,608,896, and expenses 1,646,- 

 054. The net profits were 2.49 per cent, on the 

 cost and 2.71 per cent, on the borrowed capital, 

 while the average rate of interest paid by the 

 Government is 3.90 per cent. About 9,000,000 

 has been paid out of the revenue in the course 

 of a series of years to meet deficits in the railroad 

 accounts. There were 43,090,749 passengers and 

 2,408,665 tons of freight carried in 1898. 



In Queensland there 2,742 miles of railroads in 

 operation in 1898, which had cost the Government 

 18,545,631 to build. The receipts for 1898 were 

 1,263,153; expenses, 728,161. Including the 

 expenses of raising loans, etc., the total expendi- 

 ture, including that on 58 miles not yet opened, 

 was 20,215,894. 



South Australia had 1,870 miles of railroad open 

 to traffic at the close of 1898. 



In Western Australia there were 1,850 miles of 

 railroad in operation on June 30, 1899, including 

 495 miles of private line. 



The railroads of New Zealand had a length of 

 2,257 miles on March 31. 1899, including 167 miles 

 of private lines. The receipts of the Government 



railroad were 1,469,665 and the expenses 929,- 

 737. There were 4,955,553 passengers and 2,744,- 

 441 tons of freight carried. The total capital 

 expenditure up to that date had been 17,190,967. 

 The number of letters carried in the mails of 

 New South Wales during the year ending June 



30, 1898, was 75,650,065; postal cards, 1,331,630; 

 newspapers, 42,570,850; packets, 16,497,334; 

 money orders, 410,772, for 1,432,373; postal 

 notes, 420,113. 



The post office in Victoria showed for 1898 re- 

 ceipts amounting to 531,367, including telegraph 

 and telephone receipts, and 498,192 of expendi- 

 ture. 



The Queensland post office in 1898 carried 

 19,723,905 letters, 11,647,822 newspapers, 5,130,733 

 packets, and 238,240 parcels ; receipts, 182,207. 



In South Australia the postal traffic for 1898 

 was 19,391,816 letters, 1,501,802 packets, and 

 8,803,194 newspapers. 



The post office of Western Australia carried 

 13,132,988 letters, 296,712 postal cards, 7,390,294 

 newspapers, and 3,261,436 packets in 1898. 



The New Zealand post office in 1898 forwarded 

 34,737,316 letters, 917,631 letter cards, 1,479,964 

 postal cards, 16,822,704 books and parcels, and 

 15,095,487 newspapers, and issued 318,370 and 

 paid 229,720 money orders. The receipts of the 

 postal and telegraph department for the year 

 ending March 31, 1899, were 445,770, and ex- 

 penses 390,197. 



New South Wales had 13,242 miles of telegraph 

 lines, with 35,630 miles of wire, at the beginning 

 of 1899. The capital cost was 989,423. The 

 number of telegrams dispatched in 1898 was 

 2,866,570; receipts, 428,995; net revenue, 158,- 

 062. 



The telegraph lines of Victoria had a length of 

 6,599 miles, with 14,729 miles of wire, in 1898. 

 The number of messages sent in that year was 

 1,806,184. The receipts were 97,565. 



Queensland had 10,088 miles of telegraph lines, 

 with 18,565 miles of wire. The number of private 

 messages was 1,061,068, besides 151,967 foreign 

 messages received. The receipts were 88,727. 



The telegraphs of South Australia had a length 

 of 5,874 miles, including telephone lines; the 

 length of wire was 14,858 miles. 



The length of telegraph lines in Western Aus- 

 tralia at the end of 1898 was 5,886 miles, with 

 8,650 miles of wire. The number of dispatches 

 sent during the year was 1,178,928; revenue, 

 79,754. A cable is to be laid from Freemantle 

 to Cape Colony. 



The telegraph lines of New Zealand on March 



31, 1899, had a total length of 6,736 miles, with 

 18,746 miles of wire. The number of messages for 

 the year was 2,960,738. The telephones as well 

 as the telegraphs belong to the Government, and 

 the receipts from both were 145,295. 



Australian Federation. When Australia 

 was first settled the seat of government was in 

 the original colony of New South Wales, estab- 

 lished in 1788, until Van Dieman's Land, now 

 Tasmania, set up an independent administration 

 in 1825. This example was followed successively 

 by Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, 

 and lastly Queensland. Before the Victorian Gov- 

 ernment was founded in the Port Philip Settle- 

 ment, which took place in 1850, Earl Grey said 

 that a central authority to decide questions of in- 

 terest to Australia collectively was necessary, and 

 in 1856 he introduced proposals for constituting 

 such a central authority; but at that time they 

 met with no general support. From the time of 

 the establishment of the Dominion of Canada, in 

 1867, Sir Henry Parkes labored to bring about a 



