About one-half of the total population of Victoria live in towns. The following table gives the population, male and female, of all the cities, towns and boroughs at the census of April 2, 1871 :

The progress of population of the colony since its establishment was greatly aided by the encouragement of immigration on the part of the State. In the 36 years from 1838 to the end of 1873, more than 167,000 immigrants received assistance from the public funds for defraying their passage to the colony. The number of assisted immigrants in each of the fifteen years from 1859 to 1873, was as follows:

It will be seen that the number of assisted immigrants arriving in the colony greatly declined from 1870 to 1873. The amount spent on immigration in the financial year 1872-73 was 8,9311., against 27,1337. in the previous year. In the nine and a half years

from January 1, 1864, to June 30, 1873, the total amount disbursed for assisted immigration was 356,4077., of which sum 331,1431. was spent on the introduction of immigrants, the remainder being cost of management.

The total number of immigrants who arrived in the colony from the first settlement, in 1835, to the end of the year 1873, was 1,076,060, while the number of persons who quitted was 614,866, leaving a balance of 461,194. In 1873, the immigrants numbered 29,460 and the emigrants 26,294. The largest immigration numbering 94,664, took place in 1852, and the largest emigration numbering 42,443, in 1853. In 1861 and 1862, the total departures exceeded the arrivals, while the departures of males exceeded the arrivals not only in these two years, but also in 1863. On the other hand, the immigration of females during the whole period of the existence of the colony was uniformly in excess of the emigration.

Trade and Commerce.

The total value of the imports and exports of Victoria, including bullion and specie, in each of the ten years from 1864 to 1873, was as follows:

The most important, in value, of the imports into the colony are sugar and molasses, woollen manufactures, cottons, apparel and haberdashery, and tea. In 1873, the total imports of sugar and molasses were of the value of 1,304,6317.; of woollen fabrics, 913,6481.; of cottons, 638,1471.;_ of apparel and haberdashery, 631,251.; and of tea 757,5917. Besides these chief articles the colony also imports grain and live stock, in varying quantities. In 1873, the imports of grain, including rice, amounted to 622,245l. in value, and of live stock to 842,9887.

The two staple articles of export from the colony are wool and gold. The total exports of wool amounted to 54,431,367 lbs., of the value of 3,363,0751. in 1869; to 52,123,451 lbs., of the value of 3,205,10Gl. in 1870; to 76,334,480 lbs., of the value of

4,702,1647. in 1871; to 58,648,977 lbs., of the value of 4,651,6651. in 1872; and to 74,893,882 lbs., of the value of 5,738,6381. in 1873. The total quantities and value of the exports of gold are given below. Among the minor articles of exports from the colony are tallow, of the value of 233,091., preserved and salted provisions, of the value of 246,893/., and leather, of the value of 220,4437. in 1873.

The trade of Victoria is mainly with Great Britain and the British colonies in Australasia. The commercial intercourse of Victoria with the United Kingdom is shown in the subjoined table, which gives the value of the total exports, exclusive of gold and bullion, to Great Britain, and of the British imports, in each of the ten years 1864 to 1873 :

The most important article of export from Victoria to the United Kingdom is wool. The exports of wool to Great Britain amounted to 37,368,805 lbs., of the value of 3,630,4447., in 1864; to 43,603,352 lbs., valued at 3,988,7267., in 1865; to 46,627,993 lbs., valued at 4,584,8167., in 1866; to 51,177,842 lbs., valued at 4,726,0677., in 1867; to 63,776,567 lbs., valued at 4,979,320l., in 1868; to 64,031,242 lbs., of the value of 4,632,5377., in 1869; to 64,220,935 lbs., of the value of 4,705,5577., in 1870; to 7,466,3126 lbs., of the value of 4,190,2897. in 1871; to 64,178,711 lbs., of the value of 4,269,1617. in 1872, and to 67,435,425 lbs, of the value of 4,509,8337. in 1873. Among the other articles of merchandise exported to the United Kingdom are tallow, of the value of 250,3667.; hides, tanned and untanned, of the value of 205,7021.; preserved meat, of the value of 187,4717.; and copper, of the value of 205,1367. in 1873. The British imports into Victoria embrace nearly all articles of home manufacture, chief among them woollen goods, of the value of 913,5501.; apparel and haberdashery, of the value of 939,1167.; cotton goods, of the value of 662,8137.; and iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 925,6857., in the year 1873.

Since the discovery of gold mines, in 1851, large quantities of gold 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 exports of gold, exclusive of specie, from Victoria in each of the seven years from 1867 to 1873:

The number of miners at work in the gold-fields on Dec. 31, 1873, was 50,595, of whom 13,528 were Chinese. The number of persons engaged in gold mining steadily decreased during the five years from 1869 to 1873.

The number of mercantile vessels on the register of Victoria at the end of 1873 was 443. The number comprised 48 steamers, of an aggregate burthen of 10,622 tons, with crews of 773 men, and 375 sailing vessels, of a total burthen of 55,688 tons, with crews of 2,448 men.

Victoria has a more extensive system of railways than any other of the Australasian colonies. The Victorian railways consist of two finished main lines, one from Melbourne to Sandhurst, 101 miles in length, and the other from Melbourne to Geelong and Ballarat, with a short branch to Williamstown, the port of Melbourne, of a length of 107 miles. The Geelong and Melbourne line was purchased by the Government in 1860, and an extension from Sandhurst to the river Murray at Echuca, of a length of 46 miles, has since been constructed. A third main line, called the Melbourne and North-Eastern Railway, from Melbourne to Belvoir district, 186 miles in length, was commenced in 1869. The whole of the railways of the colony are State property, with the exception of a line, 17 miles long, called the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United, serving the local traffic of the capital of Victoria.

The following table shows the length, total cost of construction, and average cost per mile, of the railways of Victoria, at the end of the year 1873: