or 1147 per cent.; defences, 72,0931. or 2.47 per cent.; other public works, 72,2907. or 2.47 per cent.-total public works, 2,412,7281. or 85-65 per cent. Other public services, 506,3321. or 17.35 per cent-total, 2,919,0601. or 100 per cent. Balance of loans, raised chiefly for railways now being constructed, 427,9927.

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 1804; 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 until 1825. 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 abolished. During the year 1885 the number of persons in prison was reduced to 16 per 10,000 persons.

The area of the colony is estimated at 26,215 square miles, or about 16,778,000 acres, of which 15,571,500 acres form the area of Tasmania Proper, the rest constituting that of a number of small islands, in two main groups, the north-east and north-west. The colony is divided into eighteen counties.

The census of February 7, 1870, showed the population of Tasmania as follows:-52,853 males, 46,475 females; total, 99,328. The population at the census of April 3, 1881, was 115,705— 61,162 males and 54,543 females. These figures show an increase on the previous census of 16,377, or 16.5 per cent. Of the total population 79,991 were natives of Tasmania, 28,243 natives of the United Kingdom, 3,987 natives of other Australasian colonies, 844 Chinese, 782 German. The estimated population on December 31, 1885, was 133,791. The aborigines of Tasmania are entirely extinct. During 1885 there were 4,637 births, 2,036 deaths, and 1,054 marriages.

The number of immigrants and of emigrants was as follows in each of the five years from 1881 to 1885:

The direct movement of population is mainly between the Australian colonies and Tasmania.

Of the population in 1881, 19,408 were directly engaged in agriculture, 14,484 in industry, including mining, 3,884 in commerce. The population of the capital, Hobart, was 21,118 in 1881, and of Launceston 12,752.

Trade and Industry.

The total imports and exports of Tasmania, including bullion and specie, were as follows, in each of the five years 1881 to 1885 :

The commerce of Tasmania is almost entirely with the United Kingdom and the neighbouring colonies of Victoria and New South Wales. The exports are chiefly wool, gold, tin, timber, fruit and jam, hops, grain, hides and skins, bark. The following are the values of the more important of these for the five years from 1881-85:

The following gives, according to Tasmanian returns, a synopsis of the general direction of trade during the year 1885:

It is difficult to ascertain the exact value of the trade in respect of any one country, the custom still prevailing to refer all exports to the port to which the vessel has cleared for, and imports to the last port of clearance. It is estimated that the true extent of intercolonial trade in itself does not greatly exceed 25 per cent. of the whole, the balance being principally trade with England.

The total value of the exports from Tasmania to the United Kingdom, and of the imports of British produce into Tasmania direct, in each of the five years from 1881 to 1885 was as follows, according to the Board of Trade returns:

The staple article of export from Tasmania to the United Kingdom is wool. The value amounted to 413,7847. in 1881, to 342,6527. in 1882, to 349,1047. in 1883, to 318,5257. in 1884, and to 256,5331. in 1885. In 1882 tin of the value of 18,3571. was exported to Great Britain; in 1883, 10,770l.; in 1884, 9,203.; in 1885, 24,2977. The principal imports from Great Britain are apparel and haberdashery, of the value of 64,5677. in 1885; iron, wrought and unwrought, 71,2681.; cottons, 42,3677.; woollens, 39,2591.

In 1885, 1,358 vessels of 677,806 tons entered and cleared Tasmanian ports. The number of registered vessels belonging to Tasmania in 1885 was 205 vessels of 17,761 tons, 27 of which are steamers of 6,850 tons.

In 1886 there were 417,777 acres under cultivation. Of the total area 4,461,013 acres have been sold or granted to settlers by the Crown; while 1,288,709 acres have been leased as sheep runs. The principal crops are wheat, oats, and barley; hops are also largely grown, and great quantities of fruit, much of which is preserved and exported.

There were in the colony 28,610 horses, 138,642 head of cattle, 1,648,627 sheep and lambs, and 67,395 pigs, on March 31, 1886.

The soil of the colony is rich in iron ore and tin, and there are large beds of coal. Gold to the amount of 41,241 oz., valued at 155,3097., was raised in 1885.

The first line of railway in Tasmania was opened in February, 1871. At the end of 1885 there were open for traffic 257 miles of

railway completed, consisting of a main line connecting the two principal ports, Hobart and Launceston, and a line connecting Launceston and Formby; and lines, 185 miles in length, were in course of construction in 1886.

Tasmania has a telegraph system, belonging to the Government, through the settled part of the colony. At the end of 1885 the number of miles of line in operation was 1,635, and 2,071 miles of wire; the number of stations 135. The number of telegraphic messages sent was 204,152 in the year 1885. On May 1, 1869, telegraphic communication was established with the continent of Australia by a submarine cable, which carried 56,311 messages in 1885. The revenue of the Government telegraph system was 9,1721., and the expenditure 12,7407. in the year 1885.

The number of letters carried by the post office in the year 1885 was 3,805,764; of packets, 425,997; of newspapers, 3,560,367; and post-cards, 66,742. The post office revenue in 1885 was 26,1701., and the expenditure 37,5031. There were 246 post offices in 1885, 422 officers, 2,465 miles of post roads, and 775,108 miles travelled.

Agent-General in London.-Hon. Adye Douglas.

VICTORIA.

Constitution and Government.

THE Constitution of Victoria was established by an Act, passed by the Legislature of the colony, in 1854, to which the assent of the Crown was given, in pursuance of the power granted by the Act of the Imperial Parliament of 18 & 19 Vict. cap. 55. The legislative authority is vested in a Parliament of two Chambers; the Legislative Council, composed of forty-two members, and the Legislative Assembly, composed of eighty-six members. A property qualification is required both for members and electors of the Legislative Council; according to an Act which came into force in 1881 members must be in the possession of an estate of the annual value of 1007.; and electors must be in the possession or occupancy of property of the rateable value of 10l. per annum if derived from freehold, or of 251. if derived from leasehold or the occupation of rented property. No electoral property qualification is required for graduates of British universities, matriculated students of the Melbourne university, ministers of religion of any denomination, certificated schoolmasters, lawyers, medical practitioners, and officers of the army and navy. One-third of the members of the Legislative Council must retire every two years, so that a total change is effected in six years. The members of the Legislative Assembly are elected by universal suffrage, for the term of three years. Clergymen of any religious denomination are not allowed to hold seats in either the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly. Persons convicted of felony are also excluded.

In 1885-86 the number of electors on the roll of the Legislative Council was 113,875; the number of electors on the roll of the Legislative Assembly was 215,830. Of the former all but 1,365, and of the latter all but 35,993 are ratepayers.

The Executive is vested in a Governor appointed by the Crown. Governor of Victoria.-Sir Henry Brougham Loch, K.C.B., who was attached to the Earl of Elgin's mission to China, 1857-60; was for some time Governor of the Isle of Man; Commissioner of Woods and Forests, 1882. Appointed Governor of Victoria, 10th April 1884; assumed the government, 15th July 1884.