SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Constitution and Government Founded in 1836 (Act 4 and 5 Will. IV. c. 95) the present Constitution of South Australia bears date October 24, 1856. It vests the legislative power in a Parliament elected by the people. The Parliament consists of a Legislative Council and a House of Assembly. The former is composed of twentyfour members. Every three years the eight members whose names are first on the roll retire, and their places are supplied by two new members elected from each of the four districts into which the colony is divided for this purpose. The executive has no power to dissolve this body The qualifications of an elector to the Legislative Council are to be twenty-one years of age, a natural born or naturalised subject of Her Majesty, and have been on the electoral roll six months, besides having a freehold of 50%. value, or a leasehold of 207. annual value, or occupying a dwelling-house of 251. annual value. By the Constitution Amendment Act, 1894, the franchise was extended to women. The qualification for a member of Council is merely that he be thirty years of age, a natural born or naturalised subject, and a resident in the province for three years. The President of the Council is elected by the members. Each member of the Council, and also of the House of Assembly, receives 2007. per annum and a free pass over government railways. The House of Assembly consists of fifty-four members, elected for three years, representing twenty-seven electoral districts. The qualifications for an elector are that of having been on the electoral roll for six months, and of having arrived at twenty-one years of age; and the qualifications for a member are the same. There were 134,886 registered electors in 1897. Judges and ministers of religion are ineligible for election as members. The election of members of both houses takes place by ballot. The executive is vested in a Governor appointed by the Crown and an Executive Council, consisting of six responsible ministers. Governor of South Australia.—The Right Hon. Lord Tennyson; born August 11, 1852. Appointed Governor of South Australia, February 2, 1899. The Chief Justice, being also Lieutenant-Governor, acts pending a new appointment, or during the absence of the Governor. The Governor, who is at the same time commander-in-chief of the forces, marine and military, has a salary of 4,000l. per annum. The ministry is divided into six departments, presided over by the following members : Chief Secretary.-Hon. J. V. O'Loghlin, M. L. C. Commissioner of Crown Lands.-Hon. L. O'Loughlin, M.P. Commissioner of Public Works.-Hon. J. G. Jenkins, M.P. Minister of Education and Agriculture.-Hon. Richard Butler, M.P. The Ministers have a salary of 1,000l. per annum each. They are jointly and individually responsible to the Legislature for all their official acts, as in the United Kingdom. The settled part of the colony is divided into counties, hundreds, municipalities, and district councils, the last being the most general, as they cover most of the settled districts. The ratepayers have the power of levying rates, &c., and applying the funds for road-making purposes. There are 44 ounties, blocks of country thrown open for agricultural purposes. There are 3 extensive pastoral districts-the western, northern, and north-eastern. There are 33 municipalities and 141 district councils. The Northern Territory is presided over by a Resident, assisted by a small staff. Area and Population. The original boundaries of the province, according to the statute of 4 & 5 Will. IV. cap. 95, were fixed between 132° and 141° E. long. for the eastern and western boundaries, the 26° of S. lat. for the northern limit, and for the South the Southern Ocean. The boundaries were subsequently extended, under the statute of 24 and 25 Victoria, cap. 44. By Royal Letters Patent, dated July 6, 1863, all the territory lying northward of 26° S. latitude and between the 129th and 138th degrees of East longitude, and now known as the Northern Territory, was added. The total area of the colony is calculated to amount to 903,690 English square miles. South Australia was first colonised in 1836 by emigrants sent out by the South Australian Colonisation Association. The conditions were that the land should not be sold at less than 17. per acre; that the revenue arising from the sale of such lands should be appropriated to the immigration of agricultural labourers, and the construction of roads, bridges, and other public works (which provisions have been strictly observed); that the control of the colony's affairs should be vested in a body of commissioners approved by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the Governor be nominated by the Crown. The population at various censuses has been :- Of the total population in 1891, 4,895 belonged to the northern territory, principally Chinese coolies. There were December 31, 1897, 183,920 males, 174,304 females. There is only one person to about 3 square miles. The population of Adelaide, the capital of the colony, and suburbs is about 146,125; of the Northern Territory, 4,820, of whom 402 are females. The enumerations here given, except the three last, did not include the aboriginal population. The number of aborigines living in settled districts was found to be 3,369, namely, 1,833 males and 1,536 females, at the census of March 26, 1876. In 1891 the number of aborigines was stated to be 3,134; 1,661 males and 1,473 females. Of the population in 1891, 3,848 were Chinese (adult males). The following are the statistics of births, deaths, and marriages for five years: The following are statistics of immigrants and emigrants by sea : The aggregate number of churches and chapels in the colony in 1896 was 963. At the census of 1891 the number belonging to the leading denominations were as follows :-Church of England, 89,271; Roman Catholic, 47,179; Wesleyans, 49,159; Lutherans, 23,328; Presbyterians, 18,206; Baptists, 17,547; Methodists, 11,654; Bible Christians, 15,762; Congregationalists, 11,882; Jews, 840. No aid from the State is given for religious purposes. Public instruction is under charge of the Educational Department. Teachers are paid from the general revenue, public lands being set apart for educational purposes. Education is secular, free, and compulsory. Government grants exhibitions and scholarships, carrying the holders to higher schools and universities. In 1897 there were 278 public schools and 377 provisional schools; the number of children under instruction during 1897 being 61,643. There is a training college for teachers. The University of Adelaide, incorporated in 1874, is authorised to grant degrees in arts, law, music, medicine, and science. Its endowment amounts to 65,000l. and 50,000 acres of land. There are several denominational secondary schools. There were 233 private schools, with 11,572 pupils, in 1897. Justice and Crime. There is one supreme court, a court of vice-admiralty, a court of insolvency, 79 local courts and police magistrates' courts. There are circuit courts held at several places. There were 90 convictions for felonies and misdemeanours in 1892, 118 in 1893, 131 in 1894, 130 in 1895, 131 in 1896, 134 in 1897. The total number of white persons in gaols at the end of 1897 was 130 males and 20 females, and in the labour prison 122 males. Defence. The colony possesses an efficient militia and volunteer force, the former consisting of 1,136 men of all ranks, and the latter of 301, or a total military force, including the headquarter staff and a permanent force of artillery 31 strong-of 1,437 men. For the purposes of local defence a small cruiser, the Protector (920 tons), launched in 1884, is stationed off the chief port of the colony, which is defended by two well-armed forts. South Australia is a contributor to the maintenance of the Australian Auxiliary Squadron. (See post under 'Australian Defence.') Finance. The total annual revenue and the total annual expenditure of the colony of South Australia for each of the last five years ending June 30 were as follows: The revenue for 1898-99 is estimated at 2,649,8997., and expenditure 2,619,2207.; customs revenue, 1898-99, 584,3867. The greater part of the revenue of the colony is derived from customs duties, inland revenue, posts and telegraphs, railways, and territorial receipts, while the main portion of the expenditure is on account of public works, railways, and interest on public debt. The total revenue averages 71. 78. 9d. per head, of which customs and other sources of taxation contribute 27. 11s. Od. About one third of the expenditure is for administrative charges, comprising salaries of judges, &c., civil establishments, defences, police, gaols, and prisons. The public debt of the colony, dating from 1852, amounted, on December 31, 1897, to 24,408,000l. Three fourths of the public debt has been spent on railways, water-works, and telegraphs. The railways show a profit over working expenses of 37. 10s. per cent. per annum. The real property of the colony in 1897 was valued at 49,919,9007., personal property is estimated at 28,056,2947. Production and Industry. and Of the total area including Northern Territory (578,361,600 acres), 7,694,347 acres were alienated at the end of 1897. The area under forest is 12,428 acres. The freehold and leasehold land amounts to 34,655,774 acres, of which 2,604,122 acres were under cultivation in 1896-97. Of this 1,522,668 acres were under wheat, 449,167 under hay, 13,054 under orchards, 18,761 vineyards, and 507,484 fallow. The gross produce of wheat in 1893-94 was 13,618,062 bushels; in 1897, 4,014,852 bushels. In 1896-97, 1,473,216 gallonsof wine were made, and 391,238 exported; and in 1897-98, 1,283,094 gallons were made, and 515,714 gallons exported. The live stock in 1897 numbered-horses, 164,820; cattle, 274, 255; sheep, 5,032,541; and in the Northern Territory-horses, 14,972; cattle, 265,894; sheep, 59,537. In 1897, of the total area 156,763 square miles were held under pastoral leases, and the number of leases was 788. The mineral wealth as yet discovered consists chiefly in copper and silver. The value of the copper ore produced and exported in 1897 was 4,6407., and of copper, 238,2771.; and the total value of all minerals produced and exported including Northern Territory was 366,9757. In 1897 there were 738 factories in the colony, employing 12,685 people. There were 28 iron and brass furnaces, employing 1,543 people, and 18 manufacturers of agricultural implements, &c., to 184 people. The total value of South Australian imports and exports, inclusive of bullion and specie, from and to various countries, in each of the last six years, was as follows; Imports subject to duty (1896), 2,891,9987. imports duty-free, 4,234,3877. The imports into the colony consist of articles of general consumption, textile manufactures, and British colonial produce. Imports are 201. 3s. 24d. per head, and exports 197. 11s. 114d. per head of mean population. The principal exports have been as follows for five years : 18,119 tons of bread stuff were exported in 1897. The distribution of the trade of South Australia in 1896 and 1897 was as Recorded values and quantities are ascertained from invoices produced to the customs, 10 per cent. being added to the invoice value. In the absence of invoices customs officers value the goods. The countries of origin and destination are those obtained from warrants passed by importers and exporters respectively. The subjoined table shows the imports from South Australia (exclusive of gold) into the United Kingdom, and the exports of British produce and manufactures to South Australia, according to the Board of Trade Returns, for the last five years : The following were the values of the principal imports into and exports from |