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Copeland, resigned after a physical encounter with an Opposition member, but his resignation was not accepted. An increase in the revenue gave indication of renewed prosperity. The Government had been put to large expense in repairing roads and bridges in the northern part of the colony, and had granted relief to the unemployed and appropriated £65,000 to aid municipalities in coping with distress. Railroad commissioners had reduced railroad expenditure by £600,000, making the percentage of working expenses to revenue 58 instead of 70 per cent., but to do this they had greatly curtailed the train service and discharged 3,000 employees. A bill authorizing the issue of bank notes and making them legal tender was passed by both houses.

Parliament was dissolved on June 25, its term having expired, and new elections were held on July 17. The main issue was protection against free trade. The Free Traders won, obtaining 65 seats, while 40 Protectionists were returned, and only 20 Labor candidates, against 34 in the last Parliament. The defeated ministry resigned on July 30, and Mr. Reid, the leader of the parliamentary Opposition, formed a new one on Aug. 2, composed as follows: Premier and Treasurer, R. Reid: Colonial Secretary, J. M. Bunker; Attorney-General, Simpson; Secretary for Public Works, J. D. Young; Secretary for Lands, J. H. Carruthers; Minister of Public Instruction, J. Garrard: Minister of Justice, A. J. Gould; Minister of Mines, Sydney Smith; Postmaster-General, Cook; Vice-President of the Executive Council, W. H. Suttor. The Postmaster-General was the leader of the Labor party. The new Premier promised a sweeping reduction of customs duties which would be replaced by moderate land and income or other direct taxes. Compulsory local government of an inexpensive character would be introduced. Provision for agricultural settlement would be made paramount to the interests of pastoral lessees, and alienation of public land for pastoral purposes would cease, while long leases with a covenant of constant residence would be favored, as also the establishment of leased grazing farms and the subdivision of pastoral holdings into homesteads.

Victoria.-The members of the Legislative Council, who number 48, are elected by the freeholders and householders of the colony. One third retire every two years. The Legislative Assembly, consisting in 1892 of 95 members, is elected for three years by unrestricted male suffrage. No clergyman can sit in either house. The Earl of Hopetoun entered upon the governorship on Nov. 28, 1889. The following ministers were in office at the beginning of 1894: Premier, Chief Secretary, and Minister of Railways, J. B. Patterson; Attorney-General, Sir Bryan O'Loghlen; SolicitorGeneral and Postmaster-General, A. Wynne; Commissioner of Trade and Customs and Minister of Public Instruction, R. Baker; President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey, John McIntyre; Minister of Defense and Public Health, Robert Reid; Minister of Mines and Water Supply, J. H. McColl; Minister of Agriculture and Commissioner of Public Works, W. T. Webb: without portfolios, Richardson, Abbott, and Cooke.

The area of the colony is 87,884 square miles.

The population was estimated at 1,167,828 on March 31, 1893. At the census of April 5, 1891, it was 1,140,405, comprising 598.414 males and 541,991 females. The Chinese, who have greatly decreased, numbered 9,377, and the aborigines had dwindled to 565. The population consisted of 493,977 breadwinners and 629,800 dependents, 6,686 not being accounted for. Of the breadwinners, 123.996 were primary producers on the land or in mines, 167,127 were industrial workers, 98,472 commercial, 56,980 domestic, and 29,631 professional. Melbourne, the capital, has 490,896 inhabitants, over two fifths of the total population, and one fifth more live in other towns. The number of marriages in 1892 was 7,723; of births, 37,831; of deaths, 15,851; surplus of births, 21,980. In 1892 the emigration by sea exceeded immigration by 6,746. Education is compulsory, and in the public elementary schools free and entirely secular. There were 2.140 state schools, with 4,977 teachers and 248,725 enrolled pupils, with an average attendance of 141.638 in 1892. Melbourne University receives £17,250 a year from the Government.

The Government revenue for 1892 amounted to £7,729,572, of which £2,388,961 came from customs, £143.575 from excise, £126,651 from land taxes, £247,534 from estate duties, £27,954 from a tax on bank notes. £175,000 from stamp duties, £20,755 from business licenses, and £18,880 from tonnage dues, etc. The succession and probate duties are finely graduated by the new act of 1892, rising from 2 per cent, on real and personal estate between £1,000 and £5,000 to 10 per cent. on estates exceeding £100,000 in value. The total expenditure was £8,482,917, of which £1,726.700 went for interest and expenses of the debt, £2,118,377 for railroad working expenses, £792.352 for other public works. £756,190 for posts and telegraph service, £240,142 for expenses of Crown lands, £876,974 for public instruction and science, £300,450 for charitable institutions, £217,823 for justice, £349,088 for police and jails, £118,626 for customs, etc., £126,380. for mines, £297,828 for defense, and £569,987 for other purposes. The public debt amounted on June 30, 1893, to £47,144,562, of which £36,649,606 was raised to build railroads, £7.354.256 for water works, £1,105,557 for school buildings, and £1,601,868 for other public works. The average rate of interest is 4 per cent. Victoria was the first of the Australian colonies to institute a public system of water conservation and distribution on a large scale. The works are more extensive than the present stage of settlement requires, but they have already brought a large area of waterless land under cultivation, and rendered it as fertile as the rich tracts that won for this colony the name of Australia Felix, which are now for the most part under the plough. The Government has for some years offered bonuses to encourage the export trade in dairy produce, fruit, etc. The butter trade having become well established, attention was turned to building up a market for Victorian cheese, and £6 a ton was offered for all that was exported in the season of 1894 of the kind known as cheddar cheese. The banking crisis of 1893, and consequent commercial depression, left the small holders, many of whom carry mortgages on their freeholds paying 8 and 10 per cent. in

terest, in no condition to make improvements. In February, 1894, the Commissioner of Savings Banks was authorized to lend, at 5 per cent. interest, sums not to exceed £1,000 to any individual, or one half the value of the security, to enable agriculturists to carry out improvements. Interest on deposits in savings banks was reduced in March from 3 to 3 per cent.

The state has conveyed to private owners 22,534,600 acres, and has yet to be sold 12,200,000 acres of agricultural and 12,400,000 of pastoral lands, while 5,400,000 acres are set aside for state forests, timber, and water reserves, 1,678,000 acres are utilized for roads, and 1,049,000 acres are auriferous land. The area tilled in 1893 was 2,970,000 acres, of which 1,343,000 acres produced 14,815,000 bushels of wheat. There were 12,965,306 sheep, 1,824,704 cattle, 439,596 horses, and 290,339 hogs in the colony in 1893. The yield of gold in 1892 was 654,456 ounces, valued at £2,617,824.

The value of imports in 1892 was £17,174,545, compared with £21,711,608 in 1891, £22,954,015 in 1890, and £24,402,760 in 1889. The export trade amounted to £14,006,743, compared with £16,006,743 in 1891, £13,266,222 in 1890, and £12,734,734 in 1889. Imports pay an average duty of 13 per cent., the duty on competing manufactures being very heavy. The imports of wool were valued at £3,134,917, and exports at £6,619,141; imports of live stock at £991,113, and exports at £443,717; imports of coal at £675,047, of woolens at £655,411, of cotton goods at £742,095; exports of gold at £1,848,948, including specie; exports of breadstuffs at £1,286,476. Of 165,590,377 pounds of wool exported, only half was grown in the colony. The imports from the United States were returned as £588,057 in value; exports to the United States, £241.389.

The number of registered sailing vessels in 1893 was 274, of 44,717 tons; of steamers, 150, of 75,096 tons. There were entered in 1892 the total of 2,255 vessels, tonnage 2,224,652, and cleared 2,266, tonnage 2,231,602. The railroad system, the property of the Government, comprised 2,903 miles. The net receipts for 1892 were £956,983, equal to 2.75 per cent. on the borrowed capital, which pays over 4 per cent. interest. The telegraphs have a total length of 7,100 miles, with 14,000 miles of wire. The number of dispatches in 1892 was 2,726,000. The post office carried 62,526,448 letters, 7,491,316 packets, and 22,729,005 newspapers in 1890. The principal measure submitted to Parliament, which was opened May 30, was Mr. Carter's bill, passed July 18, to borrow money on 4-per-cent. debentures running twenty or thirty years, to be loaned at 5 per cent. to the limit of 50 per cent. of the value on freeholds or on improvements made by selectors who have not completed their titles. The budget proposals included a reduction of the salaries of ministers, members of Parliament, and civil servants. The tariff changes recommended by the parliamentary board were designed to assimilate the tariff to those of New South Wales and South Australia, and thus pave the way for a federal tariff and intercolonial free trade. The duties were lowered from 13s. to 11s. on imported spirits, and the internal revenue duty to 9s. The preferen

tial duty on sugar in favor of colonial refineries was lowered from £1 to 10s. per ton. Raw materials and tools of trade were placed on the free list, whereas cotton and linen goods, which had been free, were subjected to the general ad valorem duty of 10 per cent. For the extinction of the accrued deficit, reckoned to be £1,800,000, an income tax was proposed which would yield £250,000 a year. The Protectionist party was re-enforced by officials and others who resented the sweeping retrenchments carried out by the ministry, and when the general elections took place on Sept. 25 only 28 Ministerialists were returned, against 54 of the Opposition and 13 Independents. A new ministry was constituted on Sept. 27 as follows: Premier and Treasurer, George Turner; Attorney-General, I. A. Isaacs; Minister of Defense, Sir Frederick T. Sargood; Chief Secretary and Minister of Education, A. J. Peacock: Postmaster-General, John Gavan Duffy; Minister of Lands and Customs. R. W. Best; Solicitor-General and Minister of Public Health, H. Cuthbert; Minister of Mines and Water Supply, H. Foster; Minister of Agriculture, J. W. Taverner; without portfolios, Allan McLean, R. T. Vale, William McCulloch, and J. M. Pratt. Queensland.—The Legislative Council is composed of 37 nominated life members, and the Legislative Assembly of 72 members elected by all adult males qualified by a residence of six months. Gen. Sir Henry Wylie Norman was appointed Governor in December, 1888. The Cabinet in the beginning of 1894 was composed of the following members: Premier, Vice-President of the Executive Council, and Colonial Treasurer, Hugh Muir Nelson; Chief Secretary and Secretary for Railways, Sir Thomas MeIlwraith; Minister for Lands and Agriculture, A. H. Barlow; Postmaster-General and Secretary for Public Instruction, W. H. Wilson; Secretary for Mines and Secretary for Public Works, Robert Philp; Colonial Secretary, H. Tozer; Attorney-General, T. J. Byrne; without portfolio, A. J. Thynne.

The area of Queensland is estimated at 668,497 square miles; the population in the beginning of 1893 at 421,297. In April, 1891, the enumerated population was 393,718, of whom 8,574 were Chinese, 9,428 Polynesians, and 1,844 of other non-European races. There were 223,779 males and 169,939 females. The northern district had 78,077 population; the central district, 46,857; the southern district, 268,784. The number of marriages in 1892 was 2,774; of births, 14,903; of deaths, 5,266. The number of immigrants was 23,611 for 1892, including 474 Chinese and 464 Polynesians; the emigration was 22,281, including 493 Chinese and 856 Polynesians. The population of Brisbane, the capital, in 1891 was 93,657.

The revenue for 1893 was £3,445,943, and expenditure £3,567,620. Customs produced, £1,103,680; excise and export duties, £38,879; stamps, £118,675; licenses, £55,632; dividend duty, £69,938; rent of pastoral land, £335,854; other rents and sales of land, £329,854: railways, £998,059; posts and telegraphs, £209,932. The expenditure for the debt was £1,229,839; working expenses of railways, £632.889; of posts and telegraphs, £318.513; public instruction, £246,322. The public debt in the beginning of 1893

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was £29,457,134. Queensland adopted in 1892 a new system of estate duties, which range from 2 per cent, on property under £1,000 to 10 per cent. on legacies or inheritances exceeding £10,000.

The Government has taken in from sales of land, amounting to 11,033,387 acres already alienated and 2,470.750 in process of alienation, the sum of £6,967,010, and still owns 414,333,943 acres, of which 277,298,853 are leased to 4,222 sheep growers. Half the total area of the colony is forest. The live stock in 1892 consisted of 21.708,310 sheep, 6,591,416 cattle, 422,769 horses, and 116,930 hogs. The cultivated area was 260,828 acres, of which 92,172 were under Indian corn and 55,520 under sugar cane. The coal produced in 1892 was valued at £123,308; tin, £123,098; silver and lead, £36,436. There are also mines of copper, bismuth, and antimony; but the principal mineral product is gold, the vield of which has increased from 307,808 ounces in 1884 to 615,558 in 1892.

The imports in 1892 were valued at £4,382,657, and the exports at £9,170,408. The tariff averages over 25 per cent. on all imports. The chief exports in 1892 were the following: Gold, £2.072,870; sugar, £589,753; wool, £426,247; frozen meat, £276,113; hides and skins, £252,330; tallow, £252,308.

The registered shipping in 1893 consisted of 209 vessels, of 23,173 tons, of which 93, of 12,667 tons, were steamers. The entrances at the ports in 1892 numbered 566, tonnage 490,869.

The railroads in the beginning of 1893 had a total length of 2,353 miles, on which the Government had expended £16,258,993. The post office in 1892 forwarded 15,779,569 letters, 11,405904 newspapers, and 2,975,434 packets. The telegraph lines had a total length of 9,996 miles, with 17,646 miles of wire, on Jan. 1, 1893. The number of messages transmitted in 1892 was 905,124, exclusive of 109,871 foreign and 89,316 official messages.

The Queensland Parliament, which was opened on July 17, 1894, was occupied chiefly with a project for facilitating settlement on the land, especially with a view to the men employed in pastoral and agricultural industries acquiring residential holdings. The Labor party increased the number of its members to 18 in the byelections.

South Australia.—The Legislative Council is composed of 24 members elected by restricted household suffrage, one third retiring every three years. The House of Assembly has 54 members, elected by universal suffrage in 27 districts. Members of both houses receive £200 per annum and free transportation. The Earl of Kintore has been Governor since April 11, 1889. The ministers at the beginning of 1894 were as follow: Chief Secretary, J. H. Gordon; Premier and Attorney-General, C. C. Kingston; Treasurer, T. Playford; Commissioner of Lands, P. P. Gillen; Commissioner of Public Works, F. W. Holder; Minister of Education and Agriculture, J. A. Cockburn.

The area of the colony is estimated at 903,690 square miles. The population in 1891 was 320,431 persons, of whom 136,776 resided in Adelaide, the capital. There were 3.848 Chinese and 3,369 aborigines living in settled districts. The num

ber of marriages in 1892 was 2,119; of births, 10,544; of deaths, 3,711; surplus of births, 6,833. The net immigration was 1,189.

The revenue for 1893 was £2,459,905, and the expenditure £2,660,993. The revenue is obtained from customs, excise, public works, and land sales, and is expended mainly in operating the railroads, etc., and in paying the interest on the public debt, which amounted at the end of 1892 to £21,230,700. The railroads, water works, and telegraphs, for which 75 per cent. of the debt was incurred, bring in more than the interest. The succession tax enacted in 1893 is 3 per cent. on inheritances between £1,000 and £2,000 passing in direct line or between consorts. and is graduated up to 10 per cent. on estates of £200,000. Collateral inheritances pay higher rates than direct successions on smaller amounts, and 10 per cent. on all over £20,000. The mineral products are copper and silver. Of the former, £132,040 worth was produced in 1892, besides £43,485 worth of ore. Since the opening of the rich mine at Kapunda station still more valuable deposits of ore have been discovered at Moonta and Wallaroo. The agricultural resources of the colony are much greater than was formerly supposed. Many of the rivers that flow into the Gulf of Carpentaria are bordered by alluvial flats that are suitable for sugar and cotton planting. The interior, which was once believed to be absolutely sterile, contains many sections capable of pasturing stock. In South Australia was first introduced the Torrens system of state registration and insurance of land titles, afterward adopted by other colonies.

Out of a total area of 578,361,600 acres only 9,115,158 acres have been alienated. There were 2,625,741 acres under cultivation in 1893, of which 1,520,580 were under wheat, yielding 9,240,108 bushels. The wine crop was 594,038 gallons. The live stock numbered 7,152,047 sheep, 411,793 cattle, and 186,726 horses. The mineral product, chiefly copper and silver, was valued at £204,418 in 1892.

The total value of imports for 1892 was £7,395,178, and of exports £7,819,539. The exports of wool were £1,954,403 in value; of wheat, £326,613; of flour, £599,022.

The colony has 305 vessels, of 39,761 tons, of which 90, of 15,852 tons, are steamers. There were 1,006 vessels, of 1,202,268 tons, entered in 1892. The railroads at the beginning of 1893 had a length of 1,810 miles. There were 5,493 miles of telegraphs and telephones, with 12,911 miles of wire. The post office in 1892 forwarded 17,409,769 letters, 8,733,718 newspapers, and 1,297,327 packets.

The Government by effecting economies secured a small surplus in the accounts for 1893'94. There were 600 employees discharged in the railroads and other establishments, but these were settled on the land. The system of village settlements has recently been introduced. T. Playford, on being appointed Agent-General in London in April, 1894, was succeeded as Treasurer by F. W. Holder, who was replaced as Commissioner of Public Works by J. J. Jenkins. Parliament, which met June 7, considered a taxation bill, a plan for establishing an irrigation colony, and bills for issuing treasury notes and the control of savings banks.

Western Australia. The Constitution adopted under the act of 1890 conferring responsible government on this colony, provides that part of the members of the Legislative Council shall hereafter be elected. All the 15 now sitting were appointed by the Governor. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 30 members, who are elected for four years under a property qualification, which restricts the franchise to male citizens owning real estate worth £100 or paying £10 per annum in rent or mining royalties. Sir William C. F. Robinson, the Governor, who was appointed in 1889, and had held the office twice before, was active in securing self-government for the colony. The Cabinet in the beginning of 1894 was composed as follows: Premier and Treasurer, Sir John Forrest; Colonial Secretary, S. H. Parker: Attorney-General, Septimus Burt; Commissioner of Lands, W. E. Marmion; Minister of Public Works, H. W. Venn. The area of the colony is estimated at 975,920 square miles. The home Government has reserved the right of dividing the colony. The population was estimated at the end of 1892 at 58,674, of whom 36,095 were males and 22,579 females. At the end of 1893 the population had risen to 61,000, and on June 30, 1894, the gold discoveries having stimulated immigration, it was 76,000. The number of marriages in 1892 was 412; of births, 1,848; of deaths, 931; surplus of births, 917. Perth, the capital, had 10,040 inhabitants, and Freemantle about 8,000.

The revenue of the colony for 1892 was £543,889, and the expenditure £550,616. Customs duties supply nearly three fifths of the revenue, and railroads, the post office, and land leases the remainder.

Of a total area of 624,576,000 acres, only 161,466 were under cultivation at the end of 1892. During that year 326,061 acres were alienated, making a total of 5,505,208 acres held by private owners. There were 1.685,500 sheep, 162,886 cattle, and 44,973 horses in the colony. The Yilgarn gold fields cover an area of 13,000 square miles. Only the fringe of this territory has yet been prospected. The discoveries in the Coolgardie district attracted a host of adventurers, of whom many suffered privations, especially of water, which has not yet been stored for the dry season. The Government has resolved to construct tanks at a cost of £15,000. Railroad communication has been established between Freemantle and Southern Cross, the capital of the district, which lies 120 miles west of Coolgardie. The output of gold increased from £115,000 in 1891 to £421,000 in 1893, and was expected to reach £1,000,000 in 1894. The richest reef is the Londonderry mine, discovered in May, 1894, about 11 miles from Coolgardie, where the outcropping quartz contains one tenth of its weight in gold. Scarcity of work in the cities has stimulated the search for gold and caused a revival of gold mining throughout Australia. The ores of Coolgardie proved rich enough to be profitably worked with a dolly or hand crushing machine. For transportation through the desert many camels were imported, and the example of the Afghan drivers who came with them led to an influx of their countrymen, many of whom are employed in the mines, as they work for less wages than white

laborers. Some of them staked out claims, but these were disallowed by the Premier, who declared that the privileges of mining were reserved for white men.

The value of imports in 1892 was £1,391,109, and of exports £882,148. The chief exports were: Wool, £326,703; gold. £226.284; pearl shell, £79,259; timber, £78,419: sandalwood, £42,870; pearls, £40,000; skins, £36,657.

During 1892 the number of vessels entered was 356, of 572,090 tons; cleared, 320, of 552,475 tons. There were 651 miles of completed railways and 468 miles building at the end of 1892. The telegraphs had a total length of 3.288 miles, with 4,013 miles of wire. The number of dispatches was 251,247 for 1892. The post office handled 4,998,975 letters, 92,307 registered letters, 4,205,329 newspapers, and 1,013,735 packets.

The growth of population and probable prosperity incident to the gold discoveries has led the Government to seek a loan of £1,500,000, to be employed in public improvements, notably the extension of the railroad system from Southern Cross to Coolgardie, from Geraldton to the Murchison gold field, and from Donnybrook to the Collie coal mines, where coal of good quality is obtained; also the conservation of water and boring of artesian wells, the improvement of Freemantle and other harbors, and the building of roads and new telegraphs.

men.

Tasmania.-The Legislative Council is composed of 18 members, elected for six years by the larger holders of real estate and professional The House of Assembly has 36 members, elected for three years under a property or income qualification. The Governor is Viscount Gormanston, who assumed office in August, 1893. The Cabinet was composed in the beginning of 1894 as follows: Premier, H. Dobson; Chief Secretary, Adye Douglas: Treasurer, John Henry: Attorney-General, N. E. Lewis: Minister of Land and Works, W. Hartnoll; without portfolio, C. H. Grant.

The area is estimated at 26,215 square miles. The population in 1891 was 146,667, composed of 77,560 males and 69,107 females. In 1892 there were 995 marriages, 4,965 births, and 2,069 deaths; excess of births, 2,896. The emigration exceeded the immigration by 663. Hobart, the capital, on April 6, 1891, had 24.905 inhabitants.

The revenue of the Government in 1892 was £787,764, and the expenditure £919.802. The public debt on Jan. 1, 1893, was £7,399,000, paying interest at 4 and 3 per cent. Out of the total area of 16,778,000 acres, 4,762,977 acres had been alienated by the end of 1892. There were 515,666 acres under cultivation. The chief agricultural products are wheat, oats, potatoes, hay, apples, and hops. The live stock in 1892 consisted of 1,623,338 sheep, 170,085 cattle, 31,976 horses, and 59,267 hogs. There are mines of gold, iron, galena, tin, and coal.

The value of the imports in 1892 was £1,497,161, and of the exports £1,346,965. The values of the chief exports were: Wool, £329,585; tin, £290,794; fruit, green and preserved, £147,866; gold, £145,737; silver and silver ore, £79,353; timber and bark, £70,948; hops, £32,069.

There were 475 miles of railroads at the end of 1892. The telegraphs had a length of 2,222 miles, with 3,383 miles of wire, besides 366 miles

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 carried through the Assembly left the Government with a deficit of £363,243. The land-tax bill was reintroduced, and on April 10, 1894, the ministry 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. O. Fysh; Chief Secretary, William Moore; Attorney-General, A. L. Clark; Minister of Land, Works, and Mines, A. T. Pillinger; without portfolio, C. O'Reilly.

New Zealand.-The Legislative Council consists of 46 members, nominated by the Government, 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 Immigration. Minister of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Forests, J. Mackenzie; Colonial Treasurer, Postmaster-General, Electric Telegraph Commissioner, and Commissioner of Trade and Customs, J. G. Ward; Minister of Justice and Minister of Mines, A. J. Cadman; without portfolio, J. Carroll, 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 Island 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 capital, was 51,127. with the suburbs. Of the total population, 14:45 per cent. were primary producers, 11.25 per cent. industrial, 6·89 per cent. commercial, 3-98 per cent. domestic, 2.52 per cent. professional, 59.67 per cent. dependent, and 1-24 per cent. undefined. In 1892 there were 4,002 marriages, 17.876 births, and 6,459 deaths; excess of births, 11,417. The excess of immigrants over emigrants was 4,958. Education is compulsory 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 purposes, and £223.928 was territorial expenditure. Out of loans £408.436 was expended. In 1891 the system of direct taxation was changed. Instead of a property tax on land and chattels above £500, a land tax at the same rate-1d. 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 1d. 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 production 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 satisfactory state. The estimates of revenue for 1893'94 were exceeded by the receipts, while the expenditure was kept within the appropriation. The new land and income taxes had been collected without difficulty. After paying £250,000 out of the revenue for public works there remained 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 controversy were earnestly discussed in public meetings, which the women generally attended. Over 80 per cent. of the women on the rolls voted. In March occurred the first voting under the licensing 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 Chalmers, Wellington, Christchurch, and other places they lost by only a few votes, and polled more

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