The number of copper mines at work at the end of 1865 amounted to 44. At the same date, the colony had 56 miles of railway open for traffic, contracted by a company which was established under powers of an Act of the Legislature of South Australia, assented to in her Majesty's name on October 21, 1862. The company received the grant of 128,000 acres of freehold land for 100 miles of railway. The quantities and value of the principal exports, in each of the years 1863 and 1864, were as follows: Total exports from South Australia The subjoined table shows the commercial intercourse of South Australia with the United Kingdom, giving the value of the total imports from the colony into Great Britain, and of the exports of British produce to South Australia, in each of the five years 1861-65: Mining operations are pursued on a very extensive scale in the colony. The mineral wealth as yet discovered consists chiefly in copper. The largest of the mines is the Burra-Burra copper mine, employing about 1,000 persons. Most of the ores raised are reduced to fine copper before shipment. The increase in mining is shown by the returns of the value of copper and copper ore exported during a period of fifteen years, of the following value :— 1852 £374,700 1862 1865 £452,000 The number of copper mines at work at the end of 1865 amounted to 44. At the same date, the colony had 56 miles of railway open for traffic, contracted by a company which was established under powers of an Act of the Legislature of South Australia, assented to in her Majesty's name on October 21, 1862. The company received the grant of 128,000 acres of freehold land for 100 miles of railway. TASMANIA. Constitution and Government. THE Constitution of Tasmania was settled by the local Act of 18 Vict. No. 17. By this Act a Legislative Council and a House of Assembly are constituted, called the 'Parliament of Van Diemen's Land.' The Legislative Council is composed of fifteen members, elected by all natural born or naturalised subjects of the Crown who possess either a 50l. freehold, or hold a commission in the army or navy, or have a degree of some university, or are in holy orders. The House of Assembly consists of thirty members, elected by 10. householders, or freeholders, and all subjects holding a commission, or possessing a degree, or in holy orders. The legislative authority rests in both Houses united; while the executive power is vested in a governor appointed by the Crown. Governor of Tasmania.-Colonel Gore Browne, C.B.; entered the army, 1814; commander of the 41st regiment during the Affghanistan campaign, 1842; Governor of St. Helena, 1851-54; Governor of New Zealand, 1854-61; appointed Governor of Tasmania, March 1862. The governor is, by virtue of his office, commander-in-chief of the troops in the colony; he has a salary of 4,000l. per annum. He is aided in the exercise of the executive by a cabinet of responsible ministers, consisting of four members, the Colonial Secretary, the Colonial Treasurer, the Attorney-General, and a minister without office. The members of the cabinet must have a seat in either of the two Houses of Parliament. Revenue and Expenditure. The public revenue is chiefly derived from customs duties, and the sale and rent of State lands. The subjoined statement shows the revenue and expenditure during the years 1859-65 : The receipts arising from the sale and lease of public lands formed about one-fourth of the revenue of 1865. The total grants of land amounted to 100,115 acres in 1861, to 78,080 acres in 1863, and to 90,723 acres in 1865. The number of grants in 1865 was 450, of which 277 for less than 100 acres, and 107 for grants of between 100 and 500 acres of land. The public debt of Tasmania, on the 1st of January, 1866, amounted to 527,8801. Area and Population. Tasmania, once known as Van Diemen's Land-in honour of a governor of the Dutch East Indies-was discovered by the navigator Tasman in 1642; and afterwards partially explored by Captain Cook. The first penal settlement formed here was in 1803; and till 1813 it was merely a place of transportation from Great Britain and from New South Wales, of which colony it was a dependency. Transportation to New South Wales having ceased in the year 1841, Tasmania, to which had been annexed Norfolk Island, became the only colony to which criminals from Great Britain were sent; but this ceased in 1853, when transportation to Tasmania was likewise abolished. The area of the colony is estimated at 26,215 square miles, or 16,778,000 acres, divided as follows:: Area of Tasmania, exclusive of islands and lakes Acres 15,571,500 513,000 110,000 20,000 27,000 272,000 24,500 19,000 18,400 1,700 1,900 7,000 24,000 90,000 2,500 65,500 10,000 16,778,000 3,413,810 13,365,810 13,468,971 The quantity of land under cultivation on January 1, 1865, was 252 164 ac |