years from 1838 to the end of 1874, more than 167,000 immigrants received assistance from the public funds for defraying their passage to the colony. The total immigration into and emigration from the colony of Victoria was as follows in each of the five years from 1878 to 1882:

At the date of the last census 96 per cent. of the population were British subjects by birth; native Victorians numbered 499,199, or 58 per cent. of the population; natives of the Australian colonies, 39,861; of England, 147,453; of Ireland, 86,733; of Scotland, 48,513.

Of the total population in 1881, 108,919 were directly engaged in agriculture; in pastoral pursuits, 13,731; commercial, 23,559; mining, 36,066; in entertaining or clothing,' 41,712; contractors, artisans and mechanics, 46,883; domestic servants, 24,723; 'public business,' 9,901.

About one-half of the total population of Victoria live in towns. In 1871 the town population numbered 361,356, and in 1881, 434,467.

Inclusive of the suburbs the populations of the principal towns were as follows in 1881 :-Melbourne, 282,947 (December 1882, 291,464), nearly one-third of the population of the colony; Ballarat, 41,087; Sandhurst, 38,420; Geelong, 20,682; Castlemaine, 8,600.

The average density of the population was 9.8 per square mile in 1881.

In 1882, 718 persons were tried for serious crimes and 369 convicted.

Trade and Commerce.

The total values of the imports and exports of Victoria, including bullion and specie, in each of the five years from 1878 to 1882, were as follows:

The most important, in value, of the imports into the colony are woollen manufactures, live stock, sugar, cottons, apparel and haberdashery, iron and steel, coal and tea.

The staple articles of export from the colony are wool, gold, and grain and flour. The total exports of wool amounted to 101,809,809 lbs., valued at 5,653,1307. in 1878; to 98,467,369 lbs., valued at 5,810,1487. in 1881, and to 108,028,601 lbs., valued at 5,902,5741. in 1882. The export of gold coin and bullion was 4,737,0291. in 1881, and 3,705,3371. in 1882. The export of grain and flour was of the value of 930,6407. in 1881, and 966,4877. in 1882. Among the minor articles of export from the colony are leather and skins, tallow and preserved and salted provisions.

The trade of Victoria is mainly with Great Britain and the British colonies in Australasia. The commercial intercourse of Victoria with the United Kingdom (exclusive of gold) is shown in the subjoined table, for each of the five years from 1878 to 1882:—

The staple article of exports from Victoria to the United Kingdom is wool. The exports of wool to Great Britain were as follows in each of the five years from 1878 to 1882:

Among the minor articles of merchandise exported to the United Kingdom are grain and flour of the value of 529,4647.; tallow, of the value of 272,3467.; leather, of the value of 351,7397.; and preserved meat, of the value of 80,3577., in 1882.

The British imports into Victoria embrace nearly all articles of home manufacture, chief among them iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 12,13,2347.; woollen goods, of the value of 843,9531.; apparel and haberdashery, of the value of 635,6371.; and cotton goods, of the value of 1,098,5681., in the year 1882.

Since the discovery of gold, in 1851, large quantities have been exported from Victoria. In the ten years from 1852 to 1861 the exports of gold amounted to upwards of two millions of ounces in weight per annum, but subsequently there was a gradual decline, till the year 1867, when the exports fell to under a million and a half ounces. The subjoined statement gives, after official returns, the estimated quantities of gold, with value, obtained in Victoria in each of the five years from 1878 to 1882:

The total quantity of gold raised from the date of the first discovery in 1851, to the end of the year 1882, is estimated at 51,400,054 ozs., of an aggregate value of 205,600,2167. The number of miners at work on the gold-fields on Dec. 31, 1882, was 36,890, of whom 7,274 were Chinese. The number of miners has decreased in recent years.

Of the total area of Victoria, about 20,000,000 acres are either alienated or in process of alienation. Of the remainder only about 9,000,000 acres are at present suitable for agriculture; mountain forests occupy 12,000,000 acres; land covered with smaller scrub, 11,500,000 acres; State forests, 800,000 acres ; timber and other reserves, nearly 900,000 acres; auriferous land, nearly 1,000,000 acres; and roads, over 1,000,000 acres. There were 2,040,916 acres of land in cultivation in the colony in March 1883. Of this extent 969,362 acres were under wheat, 169,892 acres under oats, 43,721 acres under barley, 34,267 acres under potatoes, 309,382 acres under hay. In addition to these green forage and permanent artificial grasses covered 290,438 acres, vines covered 5,732 acres, and gardens and orchards occupied an extent of nearly 20,000 The produce of wheat was 8,751,454 bushels, or 9 bushels to the acre; that of oats, 4,446,027, or 26 bushels to the acre; that of barley, 758,477, or 17 bushels to the acre; that of potatoes, 129,605 tons, or 3 tons to the acre; and that of hay, 327,385 tons, or 1 ton to the acre. The total area under cultivation has more than doubled, and the area of wheat nearly trebled in the last ten years.

acres.

In the year ended March 31, 1883, there were in the colony 280,874 horses, 1,287,088 head of cattle, 10,174,246 sheep, and 2,237,917 pigs.

The total number of manufactories, works, &c., in 1882 was 2,488, of which 1,146 used steam or gas engines, with an aggregate horse-power of 15,033; the number of hands employed was 43,209; and the lands, buildings, machinery and plant was valued at 8,044,2967. The manufactures are almost entirely for home

consumption.

The railways in Victoria all belong to the State. There were 1,355 miles of railway completed at the end of 1882. Besides these, 340 miles were in progress. The completed lines are distri

buted as follows:

The total cost of the whole of the lines, exclusive of stores and materials on hand at the end of 1882, was 19,746,9157., being an average of 14,5781. per mile for the miles open. On this the net revenue paid 3.46 per cent. The borrowed capital amounted to 17,621,400l. at the end of 1882, and on this the net interest amounted to 932,6401. The gross earnings in the year 1882 were 1,781,0787.; the expenditure 1,098,599., or 61.68 per cent.; and the profits on working, 682,4791. The weight of goods carried in 1882 was 1,626,829 tons, and of live stock 57,384 tons. The train mileage in 1882 was 5,069,889 miles, and the earnings per train mile were 78., and per average line mile open 1,3701. The proportions of passenger and goods traffic to the total revenue were 47 and 53 per cent. respectively.

There were 3,493 miles of telegraph lines, comprising 6,922 miles of wire, open at the end of 1882. The number of telegraphic despatches in the year 1882 was 1,418,769. The revenue from telegraphs was 73,3741. in the year 1882. At the end of the year 1882 there were 336 telegraph stations.

The Post-office of the Colony forwarded 28,877,977 letters, 4,972,480 packets, and 12,383,928 newspapers in the year 1882. There were 1,218 post-offices on the 31st December, 1882. The total postal revenue, including the receipts from telegraphs, was 311,0997. in the year 1882.

Agent-General of Victoria in Great Britain.-Robert Murray Smith, C.M.G.; appointed February 1, 1882.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Constitution and Government.

THE administration of Western Australia is vested in a Governor, who exercises the executive functions. There is besides a Legislative Council, composed of 8 nominated and 16 elected members, the latter returned by the votes of all male inhabitants, of full age, assessed in a rental of at least 107. The qualification for elected members is the possession of landed property of 1,000l.

Governor of Western Australia.-Frederick Napier Broome, C.M.G.; entered the Colonial Service 1875 as Colonial Secretary of Natal; Colonial Secretary of Mauritius, 1877, and LieutenantGovernor 1881-2. Appointed Governor of Western Australia, November, 1882.

The Governor has a salary of 2,500l. per annum. He is assisted in his functions by an Executive Council, including the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Colonial Treasurer, the Surveyor-General, and the Director of Public Works

For the defence of the colony a torpedo-boat has been contributed by England in 1883.

There was in 1882 a volunteer force in the colony of 575 officers and men; but no regular military.

Revenue and Expenditure.

The revenue and expenditure of the colony during the five years from 1878 to 1882 were as follows:

The revenue for 1883 was estimated at 229,1407. and the expenditure at 227,9647.

Rather more than one-third of the public income is derived from