

; \1. VSIA. 



N, w Sonth WalML The Parliament consist* 



Ugi^latix 



f..r l,f,. ami a Legialatfo Asseml mem. 



:-; >rtt. diatricu '. three rear* bj 



manhood suffrage. The numl 



tor* in Ju .Jovrnor: 



count IUM.|.!.-n. appointed in ! 



at the Uv 



.ier. Tremmrvr. and Minister f.. r 

 .f Houstoun Reid; Chief Secretary, Jaroea 

 .oy-General. John Henry 



Wat -lo-'I'h 11 



mil r Public Works, James Henry 



f Public Instruction and of 

 UU.r and Industry. Jacob Garrard ; I' 

 General. Joseph Cook; Secretary for Mine- and 

 :th: Minister of .!.. 



lent of ; 

 c,,uneil ami Representative of the (J. 



.relative Council. Andre* 

 When nil the Australia! 

 land ; art in tin jubilee a 



trace was agreed tr, in accordance with which no 

 ncrkms legislative proposals of a controversial na- 

 ture were put forward by the acting premiers, and 

 no "irn the mini-' made 



I iv the <: Mr. Hrunker. who filled the 



place of tl.e Premi. : - MM h Wales eiicoun- 



dinVultics in D with the collection 



of land and income taxes, though on the whole the 

 revenue returns were satisfactory, showing a total 

 revenue of 9.309.000 and an increase of 57,000 

 - uing. on the whole, the free- 



trade INI]; rninent. The session of 



Parliament was opened in April. One of the laws 

 passed abolishes the payment of school fees. 



\ letorla. The legislative Council has 48 mem- 

 ber*, elected under a projerty qualification, and the 

 Legislative Assembly 5 members, elected by univer- 

 sal adult male suffrage. There were 138,393 elect- 

 op* for the fon 180 for the latter on 

 the roll in 18UO. The Governor is Lord P,ra~. \, 

 appointed in 1805. The Cabinet was composed as 

 follows at the beginning of ' niei and 

 Treasurer, George Turner: Chief Secretary and 

 f Public Instruction. A. .1. Peacock; 

 .il. Isaac Isaacs; Solicitor-General, 

 ithbert; Commissioner of Trade and Cu-- 

 President of the Board of Land and Works, and 

 f Crown Lands and Survey. U. W. 

 Best; Postmaster-General, J. (i. Duffy : Minister of 

 m. W. M.Cuil.K-h: Minister '.f Mines and 

 il. Fo-t.-r: Minister of Agriculture 

 and Commissioner of Public Work-. .1. W. Taver- 

 f Railways and Minister of Health, 

 H. I{. Williams: Ministers without jK.rt folio-. A. 

 McLean. l>a . ..: ; & Wiiiiam^m. 



The recovery from former depressed conditions 

 was more marked in 189? than in any j r. \ i-.u- 

 jrear. The clearing-house return- wl-re much 

 larger. The banks paid up a large share of the 



Australian banking 



crisis. The coin deposits exceeded any -mi. 

 rtouslr recorded. amounting to H.900,000 in Janu- 

 ary Later there were hearr shipment* of gold, 

 especially after imports of wheat set in from the 

 I States. The production of gnld ha> 

 ated 111 all the Australian 



.'i during 1890 was 84.000 ounces 

 abore that of IWtt. There were new alluvial mines 

 disoorered near the New South Wales border, and 

 auriferous rock in several new districts. The out- 

 put for 180? promised to exceed am \ ield 

 venty years, The revenue of Victoria for 

 1897 amounted to 6,600.000. an it. E 1 7".- 

 000. The increase in railways was 200.000. and 

 in customs 25,000. The question of meat exports 



has occupied the attention of the public authorities 



as well a-s the j.r.'.i . \vral colonies. The 



\ iet..ria. in n conference with Mr. 



he Mini- 1 ultmv. airrecl that 



-.'li'ulil .-ii| - . ronir.'l all in.-. 



in order ! in-ure their perfect enndition. A 



bill was passed )<ro\idine; for (iovernmenl :: 



tion. T Imtter. meat, rali- 



M! fruit cxjM.rted from the colony. 



ult of an agreement with the oilier 



Australian pivcrnnients, which promised similar 



-e| produce from all llie 



Dies. A trial -liipnn-nt of N'ictorian tobacco was 

 iderwl bjrthc (Jovernmenl i-\pi-rt to I.e ernial 

 to ih. I, leaf. The Parliament opened in 



the middle of .June, and closed at the end of A 



t" cnaMe the delegate- to attend tile second federal 



convention. The principal business liesiiles the 

 budget estimates was the ;' inn of t he fed- 



eral bill i; -ary in all the coloni,-, |, v ihe 



dissolution of the Adelaide convent ion. < Mie of t lie 

 new labor laws of Victoria forbid-, working 1 



in the nmrning or after Ihe in the evening. 

 The new factories act authori/e> joint board> of 

 employers and employed to fix a minimum 

 ..h trade. The Labor party has pressed 

 State bank, reform of the Council, taxation ,,f un- 

 improved land, and a referendum. My hi- n--w 

 -ented to Parliament in September. 

 Turner appealed to the i lerate poli- 

 ticians, breaking away from th with 

 \\ hom he ha- been in alliance. 



(Queensland. ! ' !._:.. < 'oiincil coi. 

 of :>! members, appointed for life, and the Legisla- 

 tive Assembly ,,f ;-,> members. 



adult male suffrage. Th- 'civd 



(lectors at the end of 1SS.". The (tovenior Of 



-land i- Lord Lamingtoii. apjiointed in isji."). 

 The Cabinet in the beginning oi 1 s '.'? \\a- com- 

 posed as follow-; IVeini- ''.-1,1,. ,,t of the 



.live Council. Chief Secretary, and 

 Sir Hugh Muir Nel-on: Minist- 

 Foxton : Postmaster-Genera] and for 



Agriculture. A. .1. Thynne ; Seer. 1 Min.> 



and for Railways. Robert Philp : I for 



Public Instructi.'.n and for Public Works I). II. 

 I>alrymple; Home Sn-rrtary. II.T"/r: Aitoriiey- 

 (o-ne'ral. T. .1. Mvriie: Mini-ter- without portfolios, 

 W. 11. Wilson, Sir Thomas Mdlwraith, and A. II. 



Barlow. 



Queensland alone of the Australian colonies suf- 

 fered a decline in its revenue in 1M7. the total re- 

 :.;i::.-ju(i. or l'28,400 less than in 

 1896. The industrial condition-, h" 

 altogether unfavorable, though the pastoralists sus- 

 : los-es due to the tick plague and agriculture 

 suffered from drought. The sugar indu-tn 

 cording to the report of the Land Conuni ion. was 

 holding its own notwithstanding adverse coiidi- 

 and counted an export lor tin- >ear of up- 

 \var-l of 70,'KK) ton-. The coffee and tobacco indu-- 

 Arll.and there was a hopeful tend- 

 ency in the mining ii. !! a< in agriculture. 

 The output of gold was estimated for tl, 



.Native nasiofl b. -an "in the 

 half of .June. < \iing to the f the 



Premier in Kngland nothing of importaii'' 



ctecL A moderate and i."inical policy in 



:he main railroad lines wa- prop 



The Premier eonfern-d with the other colonial pie- 



:n London with a view to providing against 



Asiatic immigration and concerning the adminis- 



(ruinea and the Solomon (.-lands. 



nmittee appointed to itudy the qneation of a 



:e unanimously affirmed the practicabil- 



:.--ed colonists : 



been sent by the Government to England, the Con- 



