AUSTRALASIA. 



The fruit of Victoria and Tasmania, both fresh 

 and dried, finds a ready market in England. 



Navigation. There were 3,345 vessels, of 

 3.331,877 tons, entered during 1897 at the ports 

 of New South Wales, 2,996, of 2,837,143 tons, 

 being British and 349, of 494,734 tons, foreign. 

 The number cleared was 3,120, of 3,412,554 tons, 

 of which 2,775, of 2,913,314 tons, were British and 

 345, of 499,240 tons, foreign. The shipping regis- 

 tered in the colony comprised 475 sailing vessels, 

 of 54,671 tons, and 496 steamers, of 66,750 tons. 



The number of vessels entered at Victorian 

 ports was 1,888, of 2,437,190 tons, of which 359, 

 of 846,250 tons, were British and 1,371, of 1,242,- 

 918 tons, were colonial; the number cleared was 

 1,882, of 2,428,182 tons, of which 357, of 848,547 

 tons, were British and 1,370, of 1,249,306 tons, 

 were colonial. The shipping registered as be- 

 longing to Victoria was 259 sailing vessels, of 

 40,637 tons, and 149 steamers, of 55,737 tons. 



The number of vessels entered in Queensland 

 ports was 642, of 569,610 tons; the number 

 cleared was 654, of 559,290 tons. The shipping 

 of the colony comprised 90 steamers, of 12,884 

 tons, and 138 sailing vessels, of 9,874 tons. 



In South Australian ports 1,178 vessels, of 

 1,774,476 tons, were entered and 1,191, of 1,785,- 

 673 tons, were cleared. The shipping of the col- 

 ony consisted of 217 steamers, of 22,229 tons, and 

 109 sailing vessels, of 30,641 tons. 



The number of vessels entered in Western 

 Australian ports during 1897 was 721, of 1,196,- 

 760 tons; cleared, 707, of 1,181,072. The regis- 

 tered shipping comprised 17 steamers, of 3,898 

 tons, and 135 sailing vessels, of 5,812 tons. 



In Tasmania 699 vessels, of 542,049 tons, were 

 entered, of which 38, of 116,719 tons, were Eng- 

 lish; and 717, of 542,119 tons, were cleared, of 

 which 36, of 115,190 tons, were English. The 

 shipping of the colony comprised 155 sailing ves- 

 sels, of 8,340 tons, and 44 steamers, of 6,036 tons. 



The number of vessels entered during 1897 at 

 ports of New Zealand was 600, of 686,899 tons, 

 of which 563, of 648,171 tons, were with cargoes; 

 cleared, 587, of 675,333 tons, of which 548, of 647,- 

 121 tons, were with cargoes. Of the vessels en- 

 tered 133, of 276,020 tons, were British; 395, of 

 340,793 tons, were colonial ; and 72, of 70,086 tons, 

 were foreign. The merchant shipping of the col- 

 ony comprised 318 sailing vessels, of 40,733 tons, 

 and 188 steamers, of 78,980 tons. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. There 

 were 2,691 miles of railway in operation in New 

 South Wales on June 30, 1898, the capital cost 

 of which was 37,719,402. The receipts for the 

 year were 3,026,748 and operating expenses 

 1,614,605, which was 53.34 per cent, of the gross 

 earnings. The Government owns the railroads- 

 and also the tramways, which have a length of 

 65 miles, built at a cost of 1,478,251, the gross 

 receipts from which were 313,871 and working 

 expenses 259,141. 



The railroads of Victoria, all owned by the 

 Government, had a total length of 3,130 miles, 

 built at a cost of 38,325,517. The receipts for 

 1897 were 2,615,935; expenses, 1,563,805, being 

 60 per cent, of the receipts. The net profit was 

 2.75 per cent, of the capital cost, while on the 

 borrowed capital the mean rate of interest is 3.90 

 per cent. There were 42,263,638 passengers and 

 2,383,445 tons of freight carried during the year. 



The railroads of Queensland had a total length 

 of 2,609 miles at the beginning of 1898. The cost 

 of construction was 18,016,150. The receipts in 

 1897 were 1,122,637 and expenses 688,033. 



The length of railroads in South Australia in 

 December, 1897, was 1,870 miles, of which 146 



miles were in the northern territory. The rail- 

 roads pay a profit to the Government of about 

 3 per cent. 



The length of railroads open to traffic in West- 

 ern Australia on June 30, 1898, was 1,456 miles, 

 of which 464 miles were private lines. There were 

 360 miles building. 



Tasmanian railroads had a length of 495 miles 

 in the beginning of 1898. 



The railroads of New Zealand on March 31, 

 1898, consisted of 806 miles of Government lines 

 in the North island and 1,249 miles in the Middle 

 island, besides 167 miles of private lines, a total 

 of 2,222 miles. The gross receipts on the Govern- 

 ment railroads were 1,376,008, and the operat- 

 ing expenses were 857,191. The cost of con- 

 struction was 16,872,045. The number of pas- 

 sengers transported was 4,672,264; tons of freight, 

 2;628,746. 



The postal traffic of New South Wales for 1897 

 was 72,939,084 letters, 1,085,770 postal cards, 42,- 

 426,394 newspapers, 12,742,704 packets and book 

 parcels, 539,503 parcels, and 403,779 money or- 

 ders for the amount of 1,421,524, besides 377,- 

 282 paid on postal notes. 



The postal revenue of Victoria, including tele- 

 graph and telephone receipts, was 529,754 in 

 1897, and the expenses were 494,257. 



The Queensland postal traffic for 1897 amount- 

 ed to 18,370,937 letters, 11,496,656 newspapers, 

 4,767,783 packets, and 202,248 parcels. The postal 

 revenue was 167,998. 



The post office of South Australia in 1897 car- 

 ried 19,128,982 letters, 2,039,686 packets, and 

 9,421,986 newspapers. 



In Western Australia the post office carried 

 12,898,552 ordinary and registered letters and 

 postal cards, 6,744,536 newspapers, and 3,952,025 

 packets. The receipts from the post office and 

 telegraphs were 261,328. 



The post office in Tasmania carried 7,906,506 

 letters, 2,278,082 packets, 257,878 postal cards, 

 and 5,095,792 newspapers during 1897. The re- 

 ceipts were 58,099, and expenses, including the 

 telegraph service, were 65,268. 



The post office in New Zealand during 1897 for- 

 warded 32,272,923 letters, 757,172* letter cards, 

 1,341,821 postal cards, 14,825,386 books and par- 

 cels, 14,261,345 newspapers, and 293,240 money 

 orders. The receipts of the postal and telegraph 

 departments were 371,962; expenses, 364,403. 



The telegraph lines of New South Wales had 

 in the beginning of 1898 a length of 12,778 miles, 

 with 33,073 miles of wire. The total cost was 

 932,412. The number of telegrams sent was 

 2,728,360 during 1897. The receipts were 427,- 

 440; the net revenue was 155,162. 



Victoria had 6,947 miles of telegraph lines, with 

 14,374 miles of wire. The number of dispatches 

 in 1897 was 1,821,634. The telephones had 10,541 

 miles of wire. 



There were 10,090 miles of telegraph lines in 

 Queensland, with 18,472 miles of wire, at the end 

 of 1897. The number of messages sent was 934?- 

 326, and the number received from abroad was 

 121,239, besides 109,569 official dispatches. The 

 receipts were 83,846; expenses of the telegraph 

 and postal services, 313,944. 



South Australia had 5,862 miles of telegraph 

 and telephone lines, with 14,447 miles of wire. 

 The overland telegraph from Adelaide to Port 

 Darwin has a length of 2,000 miles. The Gov- 

 ernment receives a net profit after paying inter- 

 est on borrowed capital. 



The telegraphs of Western Australia on Jan. 

 1, 1898, had a length of 5,958 miles, besides 965 

 miles under construction; the length of .wire was 



