SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Constitution and Government. The Constitution of South Australia bears date October 27, 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 (according to a law which came into force in 1881) is composed of twenty-four 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. It is elected by the whole colony voting as one district. The qualifications of an elector to the Legislative Council are that he must 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 201. annual value, or occupying a dwelling-house of 257. annual value. The qualification for a member of Council is merely that he must be thirty years of age a natural-born or naturalised subject, and a resident in the pro vince for three years. The President of the Council is elected by the members. The House of Assembly consists of fifty-two members, elected for three years. 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 62,434 registered electors in 1888. Judges and ministers of religion are ineligible for election as members. The election of members of both Houses take place by ballot. The executive is vested in a Governor appointed by the Crown and an Executive Council, consisting of the responsible ministers and specially appointed members. Governor of South Australia.-Right Hon. the Earl of Kintore, G.C.M.G. Appointed December, 1888. The Governor, who is at the same time commander-in-chief of the forces, marine and military, has a salary of 5,000l. per annum. The ministry is divided into six departments, presided over by the following members :-Chief Secretary and Premier.-Hon. J. A. Cockburn, M.D., M.P. Attorney-General.-Hon. B. A. Moulden, M.P. Treasurer. Hon. F. W. Holder, M.P. Commissioner of Crown Lands.-Hon. Thomas Burgoyne, 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. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. The settled part of the colony is divided into counties, hundreds, and district councils, the last being the most important, as it gives the powers of a municipality, the ratepayers having the power of levying rates, &c., and applying the funds for road-making purposes. There are 37 counties, mainly used for electoral purposes. The hundreds are blocks of country thrown open for agricultural purposes. There are 4 extensive pastoral districts-the eastern, western, northern, and north-eastern. There are 31 municipalities and 121 district councils. The northern territory is presided over by a president, assisted by a small staff. Area and Population. The original boundaries of the colony, 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 of the colony were subsequently extended, under the authority of Royal Letters Patent, dated July 6, 1863, so as to embrace all the territory lying northward of 26° S. latitude and between the 129th and 138th degrees of East longitude. 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 from Great Britain, sent out under the auspices of a company called the South Aus tralian Colonisation Association, which in 1835 obtained a grant from the Imperial Government of the lands of the colony. 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; that the control of the company'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 1881, 3,451 belonged to the northern territory. On December 31, 1888, the population was estimated at 318,308164,121 males, 154,187 females. There is only 1 person to about 3 square miles. The population of Adelaide, the capital of the colony, was, in 1881, 38,479, exclusive of suburbs. The enumerations here given, except the two 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 1881 the number of aborigines was stated to be 6,346-3,478 males, 2,868 females. Of the population in 1881, 2,734 were Chinese (adult males). The following are the statistics of births, deaths, and marriages for five years : The following are the statistics of immigrants and emigrants for five years, and the excess of immigrants over emigrants : The aggregate number of churches and chapels in the colony in 1888 was 1,014. At the census of 1881 the number belonging to the leading denominations were as follows:-Church of England, 76,000; Roman Catholic, 42,928; Wesleyans, 42,103; Lutherans, 19,617; Presbyterians, 17,917; Baptists, 14,000; Methodists, 10,790; Bible Christians, 10,500; Congregationalists, 9,908; Jews, 702. No aid from the State is given for religious purposes. Instruction. Public instruction is under charge of the Educational Department. Teachers are paid partly by fees and partly by Government grants, public lands being set apart for educational purposes. Education is compulsory up to a certain standard. Government grants exhibitions and scholarships, carrying the holders to higher schools and universities. At the close of 1881, 64,541 persons were unable to read and write. In 1888 there were 250 public schools and 286 provisional schools; the number of children under instruction during 1888 being 45,236. There is a training college for teachers. The University of Adelaide was founded in 1872. The university is authorised to grant degrees in arts, law, medicines, and sciences. Its endowment amounts to 50,000l. and 50,000 acres of land. There are several denominational colleges. There were 287 private schools, with 13,524 pupils, in 1887. Justice and Crime. There is 1 supreme court, a court of vice-admiralty, a court of insol. vency, 71 local courts and police magistrates' courts. There are circuit courts held at several places. In 1886 there were 121 convictions for felonies and misdemeanours, 102 in 1887, and 91 in 1888. The total number of white persons in prison for felony at the end of 1886 was 134 males and 4 females. Defence. The colony possesses an efficient militia and volunteer force, the former consisting of 1,084 men of all ranks, and the latter of 1,594, or a total military force, including the head-quarter staff and a permanent force of artillery-46 strong-of 2,735 men. For purposes of naval defence a warvessel of the latest design and construction is stationed off the colony. Adelaide and its ports are defended by two well-armed forts. Finance. The total annual revenue and the total annual expenditure of the colony of South Australia for each of the five financial years ending June 30, from 1885 to 1889, were as follows: The revenue for 1889-90 is estimated at 2,485,4207., and expenditure 2,430,8597. The greater part of the revenue of the colony is derived from customs duties, 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 customs duties and territorial revenue produce together about one-half of the total revenue. About one-third of the expenditure is for administrative charges, comprising salaries of judges, &c., civil establishments and police, gaols, and prisons. The disbursements for public works amounted in recent years to about one-third of the total expenditure. The public debt of the colony, dating from 1852, amounted, on December 31, 1889, to 20,685,500l. The whole of the existing debt has been raised for productive public works, mainly railways, telegraphs, and harbour improvements. The real property of the colony in 1886 was valued at 50,000,0007., and personal property at 20,000,0002. Production and Industry. Of the total area (578,361,600 acres), 9,622,228 acres were alienated at the end of 1888. The total land enclosed amounts to 53,444,411 acres, of which 2,785,490 acres were under cultivation in 1884-85.' Of this 1,942,453 acres were under wheat, 308,429 under hay, 5,825 under orchards, 4,590 vineyards, and 450,536 fallow. The gross produce of wheat in 1879-80 was 14,260,964 bushels, and in 1884-85, 14,621,755 bushels. In 1884, 473,535 gallons of wine were produced, of which 50,080 gallons were exported. The live stock in 1888 numbered-horses, 170,000; cattle, 430,000; sheep, 7,150,000. In 1888, of the total area 174,287 square miles were held under pastoral leases, and the number of leases was 1,247. The mineral wealth as yet discovered consists chiefly in copper and silver. The value of the copper ore produced in 1888 was 72,6007.; and of copper, 252,6277.; and the total value of all minerals produced, 369,8891.; in 1887 it was 319,9547.; 1886, 275,2807.; 1885, 344,4517.; 1884, 491,9501. In 1885 (latest statistics) there were 646 factories in the colony, employing 9,302 people. There were 28 iron and brass furnaces employing 1,137 people, and 38 manufacturers of agricultural implements to 538 people. Commerce. The total value of South Australian imports and exports, inclusive of bullion and specie, from and to various countries, in each of the five years 1884 to 1888, was as follows:— The imports into the colony consist of numerous articles of general consumption, textile manufactures, and British colonial produce, the principal article being drapery goods. The principal exports have been as follows for five years: : Only about 5 per cent. of the trade is with foreign countries. Of the remainder, on an average, about one-half of the imports are from the United Kingdom, and the other half from the other Australian colonies. Of the exports about two-thirds go to the 1 No agricultural statistics have been collected since 1881 -85. |