AUSTRALASIA. 



63 



the elections left three vacancies in the Cabinet, 

 which were filled by the appointment of Mr. Lee ns 

 Minister of Justice, Mr. Hague as Minister of Educa- 

 tion, and Mr. Parker as Postmaster-General. 



Victoria. The Legislative Council is composed 

 of 48 members, of whom one third retire every two 

 years : they are elected by limited suffrage. The 

 Legislative Assembly has 95 members, elected for 

 three years by universal male suffrage. 



The Governor is Lord Brassey. appointed in 1895. 

 The Cabinet in the beginning of 1898 was composed 

 as follows : Premier and Treasurer. Sir George 

 Turnjer; Chief Secretary and Minister of Education, 

 A. J. Peacock; Attorney-General, Isaac Isaacs; 

 Solicitor-General, Sir Henry Cuthbert; Commis- 

 sioner of Trade and Customs, President of the Board 

 of Land and Works, and Commissioner of Crown 

 Lands and Survey, R. W. Best ; Postmaster-General, 

 J. G. Duffy ; Minister of Defense, W. McCulloch ; 

 Minister of Mines and Water Supply, H. Foster; 

 Minister of Agriculture and Commissioner of Public 

 Works, J. W. Taverner ; Minister of Railways and 

 Minister of Public Health, H. R. Williams ; without 

 portfolios, A. McLean and S. Williamson. 



Abundant rains arrived in June, 1898, to end a 

 drought in the south of Australia, which was accom- 

 panied by the severest heat felt in forty years, and 

 by destructive bush fires in Victoria and Tasmania. 

 The Victorian Government has plans for the irriga- 

 tion of the country on a vast scale, for the erection 

 of public cold-storage warehouses for meat and 

 dairy products, and for subsidizing a company to 

 develop the wine industry by establishing central 

 vaults for blending and storing wines. British 

 capitalists complain because they have to pay an 

 income tax in Australia as well as in England on 

 the interest derived from Australian investments. 

 Sir George Turner replied that the colonial tax 

 was legitimate, and that the English Government 

 should cease to levy a double tax. 



Queensland. The Legislative Council consists 

 of 41 nominated life members, the Legislative As- 

 sembly of 72 members elected for three years. The 

 Governor is Lord Lamington, appointed in 1895. 

 The Executive Council was composed in the begin- 

 ning of 1898 as follows : Premier, Vice-President of 

 the Executive Council, Chief Secretary, and Treas- 

 urer, Sir Hugh Muir Nelson ; Secretary for Agricul- 

 ture. A. J. Thynne ; Minister for Lands, J. F. G. 

 Foxton : Postmaster-General and Secretary for 

 Railroads, J. R. Dickson ; Secretary for Mines, 

 Robert Philp; Secretary for Public Instruction and 

 Secretary for Public Works, D. H. Dalrymple ; 

 Home Secretary, Sir H. Tozer; Attorney-General, 

 "". J. Byrnes; without portfolio, W. H. Wilson and 



. H. Barlow. 



In Queensland agriculture is advancing rapidly. 

 The acreage of sugar cane in the north is increasing, 

 but grain cultivation in the temperate zone shows 

 the most remarkable development. The acreage of 

 wheat increased 50 per cent, in 1897. The Govern- 

 ment in 1898 threw open for agricultural settlement 

 1.000,000 acres more of pastoral lands. Sir H. M. 

 Nelson in March resigned the premiership to accept 

 the presidency of the Legislative Council. The 

 Cabinet was reorganized with Mr. Byrnes as Pre- 

 mier. 



Sonth Australia. The Legislative Council has 

 24 members, a third of whom are replaced every 

 three years by popular vote. The House of Assem- 

 bly consists of 54 members elected for three years. 

 In 1894 the franchise was extended to women. 

 There were 138,344 registered voters in 1896. 



The Governor is Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. ap- 

 pointed in 1895. The ministry was composed at 

 the beginning of 1898 as follows : Premier and At- 

 torney-General, C. C. Kingston ; Chief Secretary, 



J. V. O'Lophlin; Treasurer. F. W. Holder; Com- 

 missioner of Crown Lands, L. O'Loghlin ; Commis- 

 sioner of Public Works, J. G. Jenkins: Minister of 

 Education and of Agriculture, J. A. Cockburn. 



Western Australia, The Legislative Council 

 consists of 24 members elected for six years. The 

 Legislative Assembly has 44 members, who serve 

 for four years. The Governor is Col. Sir Gerard 

 Smith, ap'pointed in 1895. The Cabinet in the be- 

 ginning of 1898 was composed of the following 

 members ; Premier, Treasurer, and Colonial Secre- 

 tary, Sir John Forrest ; Minister for Mines, E. H. 

 Wittenoom; Commissioner for Railways and Direct- 

 or of Public Works, F. II. Piesse; Commissioner of 

 Lands, George Throssell ; Minister of Education, 

 Henry Bruce Lefroy; Attorney-General, Richard 

 William Pennefather. 



The water scheme for supplying the mines, which 

 the energetic Premier is determined to carry out, 

 will cost 2,250,000 and 300.000 yearly to" keep 

 up, but will pay for itself within twenty years. 

 The gold production of the colony is already greater 

 than that of Victoria and Queensland combined, 

 and the annual trade amounts to 10.000,000. A 

 decree of the Government prohibiting diggers from 

 working alluvial deposits below 10 feet from the 

 surface on land leased from mining companies 

 created such indignation among the miners that 

 they mobbed Sir John Forrest when he visited 

 Kaigoorlie in March. Mr. W r ittenoom resigned the 

 Ministry of Mines to succeed Sir Malcolm Fraser 

 as agent, general in London, and Mr. Lefroy was 

 transferred on April 29 to the vacant ministry, 

 while George Randell became Minister of Educa- 

 tion and Posts and Telegraphs and at the same 

 time Colonial Secretary, relieving Sir John Forrest 

 of the work of this office. The new post of Minister 

 for the Aborigines was given to H. L. Prinsep. 

 When the Legislature met on June 16 a bill WHS 

 presented amending the tariff so as to give prefer- 

 ential treatment to British goods. 



Tasmania. There is an elective Legislative 

 Council of 18 members. The House of Assembly 

 has 37 members elected under a low property and 

 income qualification for three years. The electors 

 for the Council form 4.43 per cent, of the total pop- 

 ulation and those for the Assembly 18.26 per cent. 

 The Governor at the beginning of 1898 was Viscount 

 Gormanstown, appointed in 1893. 



The ministry was composed in the beginning of 

 1898 of the following members : Premier, Sir E. N. 

 C. Braddon; Chief Secretary. W. Moore; Treasurer, 

 Sir P. 0. Fysh ; Attorney-General, D. C. Urquhart : 

 Minister of Lands and" Works, A. T. Pillinger; 

 without portfolio, Thomas Reibey. 



New Zealand. The Legislative Council cen- 

 tains 46 members, nominated for life previous to 

 Sept. 17, 1891, and since then for seven years, and the 

 House of Representatives has 74 members, elected 

 for the duration of Parliament by the votes of all 

 citizens, male and female. The Maori community 

 is represented by 4 members. The registered vote 

 for the 70 European members in 1896 was 339.230, 

 of which number 196.925 were men and 142,305 

 women, and for the native members 13,008 of both 

 sexes. 



The Governor is the Earl of'Ranfurly, appointed 

 Aug. 10, 1897. The Cabinet in the beginning of 

 1898 was composed as follows: Premier, Colonial 

 Treasurer, Postmaster-General and Electric Tele- 

 graph Commissioner, Minister of Native Affairs, and 

 Minister of Labor, R. J. Seddon ; Acting Colonial 

 Secretary, Commissioner of Stamp Duties, and 

 Representative of the Native Race in the Executive 

 Council. J. Carroll ; Minister of Justice, Minister of 

 Industry and Commerce, and Minister of Defense. 

 T. Thompson ; Minister of Lands, Minister of 



