Next to wool, the most important articles of export to Great Britain are tin, of the value of 973,5701.; copper, of the value of 437,6751.; tallow, of the value of 362,1371.; preserved meat, of the value of 320,4371. The imports from Great Britain consist of all the chief articles of British manufacturing industry, chief among them iron, of the value of 1,083,4101.; apparel and haberdashery, of the value of 1,009,2397., and cotton goods, of the value of 810,1047. in 1883.

The total area leased for pastoral purposes in 1883 was 229,320 square miles. The extent of agricultural holdings was 33,352,998 acres, and the land in cultivation, 789,082 acres. Under wheat are 289,757 acres, yielding 4,345,437 bushels in 1884, and under maize, 123,634 acres, yielding 4,538,604 bushels. Under sugarcane, in 1884, were 7,583 acres. yielding 35,220,640 lbs. of sugar. The vine is also largely cultivated. Of wine, 589,604 gallons were made in 1884.

In October 1884, New South Wales had 34,000,000 sheep; 1,646,753 horned cattle; 326,964 horses; and 189,050 pigs.

New South Wales is believed to be richer in coal than the other territories of Australasia. There were 59 mines in 1884, employing 5,481 men; the quantity raised in 1883 was 2,521,457 tons, valued at 1,201,9417.

The gold produce of the colony in 1883 was 122,256 ounces, valued at 341,1247.

The colony likewise possesses valuable copper and tin mines, the former producing 6,442 tons of copper in 1883, valued at 368,4097.; of tin 6,897 tons were raised, valued at 341,1247. Considerable deposits of argentiferous ore have been found in the colony.

In 1883 there were 1,320 miles of railway open for traffic, and 597 miles under construction. The whole of the lines open were built by the Government, at an expenditure of 16,905,014l. The earnings in 1883 amounted to 1,931,4647., and expenses 1,177,7881. Of telegraphs there were in the colony 17,272 miles of wire in 1883, constructed at a cost of 569,3157., with 368 stations. paid messages transmitted in 1883 numbered 2,107,288. Post-office of the colony transmitted 35,462,400 letters, 19,577,300 newspapers, and 1,648,900 packets in the year 1883.

The The

At the close of 1883 there were 13 banks in the colony, with paid-up capital of 10,256,500l.; liabilities, 26,154,5607.; assets, 33,392,6527.; notes in circulation, 1,757,0731.

Agent-General of New South Wales in Great Britain.-Sir Saul Samud, K.C.M.G., appointed August 1880.

Secretary.-Samuel Yardley.

NEW ZEALAND.

Constitution and Government.

THE present form of government for New Zealand was established by statute 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 72, passed in 1852. By this Act, the Colony was divided into six provinces, afterwards increased to nine, namely, Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, Otago, Hawke's Bay, Westland, and Marlborough, each governed by a Superintendent and Provincial Council, elected by the inhabitants according to a franchise which practically amounts to household suffrage. By a subsequent Act of the Colonial Legislature, 39 Vict., No. XXI., passed in 1875, the provincial system of government was abolished, and the powers previously exercised by superintendents. and provincial officers were ordered to be exercised by the Governor or by local boards. By the terms of this and other amending statutes, the legislative power is vested in the Governor and a 'General Assembly,' consisting of two Chambers, the first called the Legislative Council, and the second the House of Representatives. The Legislative Council consists of fifty members, nominated by the Crown for life, and the House of Representatives of ninetyfive members, elected by the people for three years. The members of the House of Representatives include four aborigines, or Maoris, elected by the natives. The qualifications of electors are as follow:(a) Residence in the colony and electoral district for six months immediately preceding registration by white males 21 years of age; (b) Possessors of a freehold estate of the value of 25l.; (c) Every male Maori, 21 years of age, whose name is on a ratepayer's roll, or has a freehold estate of the value of 251. In 1883 there were 45,080 European, and 613 Maori freehold electors; 74,466 residential electors, and 242 Maori ratepayers. There are two kinds of local divisions, counties and boroughs, each of which has a certain amount of local self-government, and a rating power to a limited

extent.

:

The executive is vested in a Governor, appointed by the Crown. Governor of New Zealand.-Lieut.-General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, R.E., C.B., G.C.M.G., born in 1821; joined the Royal Engineers in 1839; 1856-75 on the staff at the War Office; Governor of Straits Settlements, 1875-77; Governor of South Australia, 1877-82; appointed Governor of New Zealand, November, 1882.

The Governor, who is, by virtue of his office, commander-in-chief of the troops, has a salary of 5,000l. and of 2,500l. allowance. The general administration rests with a responsible ministry, consisting of about seven members.

The following is a list of the present Ministry :

Premier and Colonial Treasurer, also
Commissioner of Customs

Minister of Lands and for Immigration
Minister of Native Affairs

Colonial Secretary and Minister of
Education

Minister of Public Works

Hon. H. A. Atkinson.
Hon. Wm. Rolleston.
Hon. John Bryce.

Hon. Thomas Dick.

Hon. E. Mitchelson.

Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Hon. E. T. Conolly.
Postmaster-General and Commissioner

The control of native affairs, and the entire responsibility of dealing with questions of native government, were transferred in 1863 from the Imperial to the Colonial Government. In 1864 the seat of the general Government was removed from Auckland to Wellington, on account of the central position of the latter city.

Four second-class torpedo boats are (December 1884) being built in England for the defence of the colony. The volunteer force of the colony had a strength of 5,732 officers and men in 1884; there is, besides, an armed constabulary of 1,059 officers and men.

Church and Education.

There is no State Church and no State aid given to any Church. When the class settlements of Canterbury and Otago were originally formed the bodies in connection with the Church of England and the Free Church of Scotland obtained certain endowments, which they still retain.

According to the census of 1881, 41-50 per cent. of the population (exclusive of Maories) belonged to the Church of England, 23.09 were Presbyterians, 9.52 per cent. Methodists, other Protestant sects represented being Baptists, Independents, Lutherans, Friends, and Unitarians. The total Protestants numbered 387,767, and Roman Catholics 68,984, or 14:08 per cent. of the population. There are 1,536 Jews, 4,936 Pagans, and 13,978 objected to state their religion.

The University of New Zealand is solely an examining body, and grants degrees by virtue of a Royal Charter. It awards a number of scholarships to be held by students at affiliated colleges. In addition to four institutions of minor importance there are three affiliated colleges, viz:-Otago University at Dunedin, with 8 professorial chairs and 4 lectureships; Canterbury College at

Christchurch, with 6 professorial chairs and 1 lectureship; and University College at Auckland, with 4 professorial chairs. There are (December 1883) 25 incorporated or endowed secondary schools, with 64 teachers and 2,209 pupils. The colonial primary school system is administered by an education department under a minister, 12 education boards, and 798 school committees. There are 943 public primary schools with 2,291 teachers, and 92,476 pupils; 257 private schools with 625 teachers and 11,255 scholars; 10 reformatory schools and orphanages with 1,525 inmates, and 250 children boarded out with foster parents; 66 native schools, with 116 teachers and 1,923 scholars; and a deaf and dumb institution with 3 teachers and 32 pupils. In 1883-81 the amount expended from the Colonial Treasury on education of all kinds was 376,3361. The Otago and Canterbury University Colleges are munificently endowed. Education is obligatory, and at the public primary schools is free and secular.

In 1881 the proportion above five years who could not read nor write (exclusive of Maories and Chinese) was 7.91.

Revenue and Expenditure.

The revenue of the colony may be divided into ordinary and territorial revenues. The chief source of the ordinary revenue is from customs receipts on imports, 1,396,6867. in 1883-4, receipts from railways, 963,1187. in 1883-4, stamp duties, 471,8581., property tax, 268,7741., telegraphs, 92,8717., and excise on beer, 57,0167. All property in excess of 5001. held by one person is subject to property tax. The average per head of taxation in 1883 was 31. 188. 7d. (exclusive of Maories). The territorial revenue includes receipts from sales of crown lands, from depasturing licenses and assessments, and also from mining licenses and the duty on gold exported from the colony. The following table exhibits the ordinary and territorial revenues of the colony for the past five financial periods:

According to official statement, in the financial period ending

March 31, 1880, the expenditure, exclusive of that out of loans,

For nine months only.

exceeded the revenue by an amount of 961,455l.; in 1880–81 the revenue yielded a surplus over the expenditure of 26,7061., in 1881-2 a surplus of 203,683l., in 1882–3, 35,5491. In the year ending March 31, 1884, the total revenue of the Consolidated Fund was 3,493,6597, which, with a balance of 35,5491. brought forward, gave a total amounting to 3,529,5087. against an expenditure of 3,681,3201., thus leaving a deficit of 152,112. The chief items of expenditure were for public debt, 1,565,872., public works, 674,873!., education, 312,9791., posts, 246,3271., defence, 199,349. The estimated expenditure out of revenue for 1884-5 amounts to 3,775,1527., and the revenue, including balances brought forward, to 3,835,500l., leaving an anticipated surplus of 60,348!.

There has been for years past a large special expenditure out of loan moneys for purposes of public works. The most important of these is a complete system of railways, but large sums have also been expended on the construction of roads, on immigration and public buildings, &c. The average amount spent annually on public works of all kinds for the last five years has been a little over 1,400,000., and the total from 1870 to March 31, 1884, 20,463,6071.

The

The public debt of the colony, dating from 1856, amounted to 77,1747. in that year, and rose to 27,422,6117. in 1880; in 1882 it was 29,946,7117., and in March 1884 it was 32,367,7117. A portion of the debt is to be repaid gradually by a sinking fund, which is raised by an annual charge on the ordinary revenue. accrued sinking fund at that date amounted to 2,792,8087., and the net debt to 29,574,903. The total net debt per head of the population, exclusive of Maories, on March 31, 1884, was 54l. 13s.

6

About one-third of the total liabilities of the colony are made up of loans granted by the legislature under the Immigration and Public Works Loan Acts' of 1870, 1873, and 1874. The total amount of these loans was upwards of 9,000,000l. at the end of 1882. Under the first of these Loan Acts, which created the Immigration and Public Works Loan of 1870, the sum of 1,000,0001. was guaranteed by the Imperial Parliament, sanctioned by 33 & 34 Vict. cap. 40. The loan was issued in England, at the price of 84 per cent., bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent., and secured on the consolidated revenues of New Zealand.

Area and Population.

The colony of New Zealand, first visited by the Dutch navigator, Tasman, in 1642, and surveyed by Captain Cook in 1769, consists of two principal islands, known as the North and the Middle Islands. Besides these there are several small outlying islands, the chief being the Stewart or South Island and the Chatham Isles. The whole