NEW SOUTH WALES. Constitution and Government. THE Constitution of New South Wales, the oldest of the Australasian colonies, is embodied in the Act 18 & 19 Vict. cap. 54, proclaimed in 1855, which established a 'responsible government.' The constitution vests the legislative power in a Parliament of two Houses, the first called the Legislative Council, and the second the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council consists of not less than twenty-one members, nominated by the Crown, and the Assembly of 119 members, elected by seventy-two constituencies. To be eligible, a man must be of age, a natural-born or naturalised subject of the Queen. There is no property qualification for electors, and the votes are taken by secret ballot. executive is in the hands of a Governor nominated by the Crown. The Governor of New South Wales.-Rt. Hon. Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer Loftus, born 1817; entered the diplomatic career, 1837; Envoy and Minister to Austria, 1858-60; to Prussia, 186062; and to Bavaria, 1862-66; Ambassador to Prussia and the North-German Confederation, 1866-71; Ambassador to Russia, 1871-79. Appointed Governor of New South Wales, May 3, 1879; assumed office, August 4, 1879. The Governor, by the terms of his commission, is commander-inchief of all the troops in the colony. He has a salary of 7,0007. In the exercise of the executive he is assisted by a Cabinet of nine ministers, containing the following members : Colonial Secretary and Premier.-Hon. Alexander Stuart, M.P. Colonial Treasurer.-Hon. George R. Dibbs, M.P. Minister of Justice.-Hon. Henry E. Cohen, M.P. Minister of Public Instruction.-Hon. W. J. Trickett. Attorney-General and Acting Colonial Secretary.- Hon. W. Bede Dalley, M.L.C., Q.C. Minister of Public Works.-Hon. F. A. Wright, M.P. Postmaster-General.-Hon. James Norton, M.L.C. Minister of Mines.-Hon. Joseph P. Abbott, M.P. Secretary for Lands.-Hon. James Squire Farnell, M.P. The Colonial Secretary has a salary of 2,000l., and the other ministers of 1,5007. The colonial naval defence force is represented by the Naval Brigade, a volunteer body, stationed partly at Sydney, partly a Newcastle, and numbering 40 officers, 2 medical officers, 1 accountant, 20 midshipmen and cadets, 2 gunnery instructors, and 276 men; total, 341. The colonial military establishment comprises both permanent and volunteer forces. The strength of the former is:-General staff, 10; artillerymen, 313; total, 323. The strength of the volunteer force is 1,789 men of all ranks. The forces, which are exclusive of those belonging to the Imperial Government, represented by the war ships on the Australian station, are under the nominal control of the Governor of New South Wales, as Commander-in-Chief, the total cost for the year 1883, including that of the training ship Wolverene, being 86,4221., including the sums voted for fortifications and other defence works. Religion and Education. Of the population in 1881, 516,612 were Protestants, 207,606 Roman Catholics, 3,266 Jews; others, 1,042; unspecified, 136,971; Pagans, 9,345. Of the Protestants, 34,238 belonged to Church of England; 72,545 Presbyterians; 64,352 Methodists. The following statement refers to 1884:-Anglican Church: churches, 507; ministers, 245; average attendance, 65,217. Presbyterians: churches, 363; ministers, 217; attendance, 34,231. Wesleyan Methodists: churches, 308; ministers, 112; attendance, 27,726. Other Protestants: 171 churches; 105 ministers; attendance, 30,489. Roman Catholics: 346 churches, 201 ministers, 64,576 attendance. Education is under the control of the State. The amount expended by the Department of Public Instruction in 1883 was 870,5711. The schools immediately under the control of the Department include (1884) one training school for male and one for female teachers; 6 high schools and 1,354 public schools, with an average attendance of 148,116 scholars; 226 provisional schools, with an average attendance of 4,966 scholars; 106 half-time and house-to-house schools, with an average attendance of 2,008 scholars; and 23 evening schools, with an average attendance of 734, making a total of 155,824 scholars, with 2,987 teachers. With special schools, the totals will be 3,023 teachers and 157,217 scholars. The University of Sydney has (1884) 17 professors and 128 students, and an income in 1883 of 22,5941. 19s. There are four colleges and one grammar school, with 31 teachers and 577 students, and 588 private schools, with 1,473 teachers and 32,107 scholars, making a total of 2,315 educational institutions, 4,543 teachers, and 189,983 scholars. Revenue and Expenditure. The principal part of the public revenue, in recent years, was derived from the sale and rent of public lands, which produced more than one-half of the total annual receipts, but in 1884 these sales were partially stopped on account of a new Land Act which came into force Jan. 1, 1885. The next important source of revenue was from customs duties, which yielded, on the average, nearly onefourth of the total annual receipts. The only direct tax is the stamp tax. The revenue and expenditure of the colony, including under the first head loans, and under the latter sums disbursements for public works, were as follows in each of the five years 1879 to 1883 : The revenue for 1884 was estimated at 7,466,5677., and expenditure, 7,278,5381.; for 1885, revenue 8,695,9291., expenditure 8,420,5751. The public debt of the colony amounted to 30,132,4591. on Dec. 31, 1884. The debt was chiefly incurred for railways, telegraphs, and other reproductive public works. The expenditure on railways and telegraphs alone amounted to 17,654,0797. at the end of Dec. 1882. Area and Population. New South Wales now contains an area of 309,175 square miles, being enclosed within the parallels of 28° and 37° south latitude, and 141° and 154° of east longitude. In 1788 the total population of the colony, including the Government establishment and convicts, amounted to 1,030, and in 1810 the population, free and felon, had risen to 8,293. In 1821 the inhabitants of New South Wales had increased to 29,783, and in 1828 to 36,598. Of this number, 14,156 were male, and 1,513 female convicts. The colony was relieved from the transportation of criminals in 1840. According to the returns of the census, taken April 2, 1871, the total population of the colony, exclusive of aborigines, was 503,981, comprising 275,551 males and 228,430 females. The population on April 3, 1881, was 751,468-411,149 males and 340,319 females. The increase in the ten years was 49 per cent., or 49 per annum. The estimated population at the end of 1883 was 869,310. The excess of immigration over emigration averaged 10,000 annually in the seven years from 1874 to 1880. In 1883, the immigrants numbered 75,575 and emigrants 34,396, leaving a net total of 41,179 immigrants. The births in the year 1883 were 31,281 and deaths 12,249, showing an excess of 19,032. The marriages were 7,405. The population of Sydney, capital of New South Wales, numbered 220,427 at the census of April 3, 1881, the total comprising 99,670 inhabitants within the city, and 120,757 in the suburbs. The inEcrease of population in the decennial period 1871-81 was 89,272, or 66 per cent. The estimated population in 1884 was 250,000. Trade and Industry. The value of the total imports and exports, including bullion and specie, in each of the five years 1879 to 1883, was as follows: Rather more than one-third of the total imports into New South Wales come from the United Kingdom, and about one-third of the exports are shipped to it. The rest of the trade is chiefly with British Possessions. The commercial intercourse (inclusive of gold) of the colony with the United Kingdom is shown in the following tabular statement, for each of the five years from 1879 to 1883 : Years Exports from New South Wales to £ Imports of British Home Produce into : £ 4,874,003 5,287,872 7,313,499 8,154,536 8,026,179 The staple article of exports from New South Wales to the United Kingdom is wool, the quantities and values of which were as follows in each of the five years from 1879 to 1883: |