Rich silver mines are worked at Broken Hill, in the Barrier district, about 35 miles from the South Australian border.

The live stock on 31st December, 1907, was as follows:-Horses, 578,325; cattle, 2,746,084; sheep, 44,531,839; pigs, 216, 145.

The values of the chief articles of British and Foreign produce imported in 1907 were :-Iron and steel, 913,0677.; agricultural implements, 220, 4267.; timber, 915,9967.; flour, 122,2627.; sugar, molasses, &c., 862,054/.; boots and shoes, 399,5647. ; books, &c., 206,9577.; stationery, 212,8187.; spirits, 537,2217.; ale and beer (including cider and perry), 192,1957; bicycles, &c., 76,6277. ; drugs and chemicals, 200,6347.; wheat, 61,8897.; tea 560,7467. ; tobacco, cigars, &c., 499,644/. 316 per cent. of the import trade is with the United Kingdom, and 28.1 per cent. export. Altogether, Britain and British Possessions absorb 871 per cent. of import, and 69.3 per cent. of export trade.

The coal mines have steadily advanced since 1863. The produce of 18 mines in that year is given as 433,889 tons, valued at 236,2301., while in 1881, 1,769,597 tons, valued at 603,248/., were raised from 40 mines; and, in 1907, 8,657,924 tons, valued at 2,922,4197., were raised from 104 mines.

Sydney and Newcastle are ports of registry; 50 vessels, of a total tonnage of 10,958, were registered during the year 1907, while the total number of vessels on the registers at the close of 1907 was 1,073 with a tonnage of 127,787..

Currency and Banking.

The currency is exclusively British sterling. At Sydney there is a branch of the Royal Mint at which gold was received during 1907 to the extent of 2,868, 4547.

The 14 banks operating in the State in 1907 were:-Bank of New South Wales; Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, Ltd.; Bank of Australasia; Union Bank of Australia, Ltd.; Australian Joint Stock Bank, Ltd.; London Bank of Australia, Ltd.; English, Scottish, and Australian Bank, Ltd.; City Bank of Sydney; Queensland National Bank, Ltd.; Bank of North Queensland, Ltd.; Bank of New Zealand; Commercial Bank of Australia, Ltd.; and the National Bank of

The average note circulation for the same period was 1,713,3147.

The New South Wales Savings Bank, established 1832, had, on the 31st December, 1907, 116,663 depositors, with 6,401,6627. deposited. Interest is allowed at the rate of 35 per cent. per annum on deposits up to 2007. When deposits made by any one individual exceed the sum of 2001. no interest is allowed on such excess; but this regulation, as in the case of the Post Office Savings Banks, does not apply to the deposits of Penny Savings Banks, Charitable Institutions, and Friendly Societies. The Government (Post Office) Savings Banks, established in 1871, had, on 31st December, 1907, 11,128,4957. deposited by 305,265 depositors. Interest is allowed at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum on all deposits up to 5007.

Means of Communication.

There are 56,316 miles of roads (including 7,744 miles of municipal roads and streets). In addition, there are 3,548 bridges of 20 feet span and over, covering a length of 333,966 feet; 43,564 culverts = 604,184 feet. There are also 116 punts, 2 horse boats, 1 steam launch, 83 flood boats, 126 other boats belonging to the Government used for ferries. There are 3,473 miles of railways, owned and worked by the Government, the total cost of construction having been 45.683,4847. The receipts during the year ended 30th June, 1908, were 4,944,134/., and the working expenses 2,714,8397., the balance therefore available towards meeting the annual charge for interest being 2,229,2957. There are also 814 miles of private railway, the capital expenditure on which amounted to 553,3897. There are 133 miles of Government tramways, earning 1,011,994/., against working expenses amounting to 809,0657. The total capital expenditure on tramways was 2,988, 9317.

Of telegraphs there are 15,910 miles open, with The 82,249 miles of wire and 1,278 stations. cost of construction, including telephones, was 1,573,2377., and the revenue received during 1907, 208,7107. from telegraph, and 154, 1517. from telephone branch.

The following are the numbers of telegrams transmitted and received in New South Wales during 1907 :

Transmitted.

Outside New South Wales

Inland

1,143,988

2,903,631

parts of the world, but the direct communication with Europe is chiefly by the vessels of the P. and O.(viûColombo and Brindisi), the Orient Royal Mail lines (via Suez and Naples), and by those of the Messageries Maritimes (rid Marseilles), Canadian Australian line (vid Vancouver), North German Lloyd (via Genoa), White Star line (via Durban and Capetown), Aberdeen line (via Natal and Capetown), Federal, Houlder, Shire and Bucknall lines (via Suez). Seven mails per month are sent to and received from England.

The rates of postage in and from the State are:

Letters, per oz.

1d.

2d.

2d.

Newspapers. every 10 ozs. or fraction thereof, d.

Not exceeding 4 ozs. 1d., and 2d. d. for every /additnl. 2 ozs. or fraction thereof.

The education system of New South Wales is under the control of the Minister of Public Instruction, regulated by the Public Instruction Act of 1880. Teachers in State schools belong to the Public Service and are paid fixed salaries according to their qualifications and the classifications of their schools. Fees in State primary and superior public schools were abolished from the 8th October, 1906. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14 years.

At the close of 1907 there were 2,918 State schools divided into 5 high schools, 2 for boys, 2 for girls and 1 mixed, public and half-time schools, provisional schools, house-to-house schools, evening public schools, subsidised schools (220), industrial and reformatory schools (3). The State has been divided into public school districts, with one Local Board appointed for each district or sub-district. School buildings are erected and maintained wholly at the expense of the Government. Denominational schools have ceased to be supported by the State, but general religious instruction is imparted by the State teachers, and clergymen of the various denominations are entitled to appropriate one hour a day for religious instruction in the tenets of their respective Churches to pupils belonging to the same religious persuasion. Children are conveyed to central schools, and in thinly-populated remote districts subsidies are paid to families who combine and engage teachers. All children are carried free by rail to the nearest school.

District and High School Scholarships to the number of 100 and Bursaries to the number of 72 are awarded annually. Agricultural Scholarships, Technical Scholarships and Bursaries (in three grades), and twelve University Bursaries are also awarded. Probationary Student Scholarships are provided for young persons deciding to enter the Service as teachers, and the Training College affords a one-year or two-years' course of training for State school teachers. Classifications are awarded on attainments and practical skill.

For the year 1907 the net cost to the State of public instruction was 918,6787.

The University of Sydney was established and endowed by the State in 1850. Its State endowment was originally 5,000Z., and from 1890 to 1892 was as high as 13,9007., but it has now been reduced to 10,000. The endowment is largely added to by annual special grants and by private donations. The State endowment and special grants for 1907 amounted to 15,000. Three denominational colleges are affiliated to the University, each having a State endowment of 500/. per annum. In addition, there is the women's college, also affiliated, having a similar endowment. The University has the power of granting degrees in arts, law, medicine, science, and engineering. Recently, several faculties have been added to its curriculum. In the metropolis there is a public grammar school, with an enrolment of 553 pupils, and having a State endowment

of 1,500. There are also technical colleges, under the Department of Public Instruction, and classes are held in Sydney and in the principal country towns. The fees are within the reach of all, and the colleges are open to males and females alike. There is an Australian Museum, a National Art Gallery, and a Public Library with endowments of 1,0007., 2,000, and 2,000, respectively. Public libraries and schools of arts are established throughout the State and obtain Government subsidies. There are also a Royal, a Medical, a Linnæan, a Zoological, a Geographical, and an Art Society, a Government Observatory, Agricultural and Forestry Museum, and a Mining and Geological, also Technological Museums, a Government Agricultural College, Experimental Farms, with many other educational associations.

Local Government.

Local Government throughout New South Wales is governed by the Local Government Act, 1906, a measure in which are consolidated the Local Government Shires Act, 1905, and the Local Government Extension Act, 1906.

The greater part of the State is incorporated, leaving only the "Western Division," which is but sparsely se led, outside the scope of the Act, though even in that division there are a few towns which, having been incorporated as Municipalities under the Municipalities Act of 1897, now repealed, are governed by the new law. There are two kinds of Local Government organisation ri., Shires and Municipalities. Speaking generally, the Municipal form of organisation is applied to towns, the Shire form to the open country outside the towns. There are 134 Shires and 190 Municipalities.

Included amongst the primary functions imposed upon Shire Councils are the following: The control of all roads, bridges, public watering places for travelling stock, and wharves and jetties, the lighting of streets, the regulation of traffic, etc. The Shire Councils may, under the Act, largely extend their powers, and take up many duties not at present part of their work, and many Councils are availing themselves of this provision in the Act. To obtain the revenue they require, the Councils levy general rates not less than 1. nor more than 24. in the £ on the Unimproved Capital Value of rateable land (ie., the value the land would realise in the open market if it had no improvements on it, but with the rest of the surrounding district in its present state of development).

For special purposes Shire Councils may levy "special" or "local" rates, subject to the right of the ratepayers to demand a poll, at which the rate may be vetoed. Shire Councils may not borrow, except under one section which empowers them to get temporary accommodation to the extent of one-third of a year's rate income.

To assist Shire Councils the Act provides that they shall be classified once every three years, and that not less than 150,000l. shall be distributed as endowment in accordance with the classification.

For the past ten years the Government of New South Wales has levied a direct tax of 1d. in the £ on the Unimproved Capital Value of land, and this tax has been taken into Consolidated Revenue. The Local Government Act provides that when a Shire Council levies a rate on the Unimproved Capital Value of land the Government land tax shall be suspended. The whole of the Shire Councils having levied such a rate, the land tax has been suspended throughout the whole of the area covered by the Shires.

Municipalities.

The Municipalities Act of 1867, and its Amending Acts, which were consolidated in 1897, have been swept away, and the Municipal organisation brought into line with that of the Shires. The new law came into force on 1st January, 1907, the day on which the newly elected Shire Councils took up their task.

The election of Aldermen is held once in three years, the last election having been held at same time as the Shire elections, viz., on 1st February, 1908. The old system of the retirement of onethird of the Aldermen each year has disappearedall go out of office on the same day.

The functions of Municipal Councils under the old law were confined within certain very circumscribed limits, which they had outgrown owing to the rapid progress of the State and the growth of town life. The new Act makes provision for any Council to extend very widely its sphere of activity as necessity occurs, so that it is possible now for a Municipality to undertake the conduct of an infants' milk depôt, or a public mortuary, or to regulate the erection of buildings or townplanning in the sub-division of land for building sites, with many other powers.

The financial system also has been completely revolutionised. Under the old Municipalities Act all rates were levied on rental values. During the first year of the operation of the new Act this system was continued. From 1st January, 1908, all Municipal rates have been levied either on the Unimproved or Improved Capital Value. The whole of the General Purposes requirements may be levied by a General Rate (which must not be less than 1d., and may be any higher number of pence in the £ within the limit given below) on the Unimproved Capital Value of rateable land. If the Council prefer, they may levy only part of General Purposes requirements as a General Rate on Unimproved Capital Value, and the rest as an Additional General Rate on either the Unimproved Capital Value or Improved Capital Value. Similarly, any special, local or loan rates may be levied on either Unimproved Capital Value or Improved Capital Value as Council may decide. In all these cases, however, except in the case of "General" Rates, the ratepayers may demand a poll, and at the poll may decide whether the rate is to be on the Unimproved or the Improved Capital Value. With respect to special and local rates the poll may also decide whether the rate shall be levied at all.

The limit of all rates (general, additional general, special, local and loan) taken together is fixed by the Act at a sum calculated by taking 2d. in the £ on the Unimproved Capital Value and 28. in the £ on the assessed annual value.

The

products of these two calculations are added | together; and the total which results is the limit beyond which a Council cannot levy rates. The limit under the old Municipalities Act was 2s. in the £ on nine-tenths of the rental value.

As to loans, the new Act introduces the principle that wherever a Council proposes to borrow (except to repay an existing loan) they shall first submit the proposal to a poll of ratepayers. If the poll approve of the loan, then before raising it a loan rate must be levied sufficient to pay interest and sinking fund contributions in respect thereof; and this rate must be continued until the loan is wholly repaid.

The new law also provides for the introduction of uniformity into municipal accounts, the Government being empowered to make regulations prescribing the manner in which the accounts are to be kept.

A system of accounts has been prepared, and came into operation on 5th February, 1908. The regulations require the accounts to be kept by double entry on a system of "Income and Expenditure." The accounts of municipalities in the past were, generally speaking, kept on a "Cash" System, by single entry.

In Municipalities, as in Shires, the State Land Tax will disappear on the Councils levying general rates on the Unimproved Capital Value of all rateable land.

Manufactories and Works.

In 1907 there were 4,387 Manufactories and Works, employing 87,194 hands, of which 66,667 were males and 20,527 females.

Constitution.

The first Legislative Council dates from 1824; it was greatly enlarged and made chiefly elective in 1842. Responsible government' was established by the Constitution Act, 18 & 19 Vict., cap. 54 (1855). The Governor is appointed by the Crown; so also is the Legislative Council, which consists of not fewer than 21 persons, of whom not less than four-fifths must be persons not holding office under the Crown, except officers on H.M.'s sea or land forces on full or half pay. The members of the first Legislative Council were appointed for 5 years, but all subsequent appointments have been made for life, subject to certain provisions contained in the Act. The Council at present consists of 61 members, who are not paid, with the exception of the President and Chairman of Committees, and any members who may accept portfolios in a Ministry. All members are privileged to travel free over all Government Railways and Tramways.

The Legislative Assembly, under the "Electoral Act of 1880," consisted of 141 members, representing 74 electoral districts; and provision was made for giving increased representation to the several constituencies according to growth of population. The qualification for election to the Assembly extended to "every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of 21 years and absolutely free, being a natural-born or naturalised subject," with certain special exceptions.

The electoral franchise was given, subject to certain official and other disqualifications, to "every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of 21 years and absolutely free, being a

natural-born or naturalised subject," if entered on the Roll of Electors, under one or other of the following heads :

1. "Resident Electors.-Six months in district. subject, whether or not so resident as aforesaid, 2. "Non Resident Electors. Every such who shall have at the time of making out the said Electoral List, and for the six months then next preceding shall have had within the district clear value of 100%., or of the annual value of 107. a freehold or leasehold estate in possession of the respectively, or who shall then occupy, and for the said six months have occupied, within the district any house, of the annual value of 10., or who shall hold, and for the said six months shall have held, a Crown lease or license for pastoral purposes within such district."

A new Act of Parliament, assented to June 13th, 1893, provided for the division of the State into 125 electorates, each represented by only one member. The new Act also abolished the property qualification and plural voting, and established the one-man-one-vote" system. Every male of the full age of 21 years, being a natural-born or naturalised subject, and who shall have resided in the State for a continuous period of one year, and shall have been resident three months in the electoral district for which he claims an elector's right, is qualified as an elector. As the qualification of electors who held Electors' Rights had been tested at Revision Courts, the residence necessary in the new district, on change of residence from one district to another, was reduced from three months to one month, during which period the elector is entitled to vote in the original electorate. Under this law the elections all take place on one and the same day. The first election under this Act took place on July 17th, 1894; the second on July 24th, 1895; the third on July 27th, 1898 ; and the fourth on July 3rd, 1901. Under an amending Act, passed in 1896, the franchise has been conferred on members of the police force, who are all in the employment of the State, and not controlled by local bodies.

The Electoral Acts were consolidated in 1902, and during that year the franchise was extended

to women.

The voting at elections is by ballot, as it was also under the old Electoral Acts of 1858 and 188', now repealed.

Early in 1904 the State was divided into 90 electorates, each of which has one member to represent it in the Legislative Assembly. The General Election, held in August, 1904, was the first election held after the new divisions had been made, and at which women exercised the franchise.

The electoral law was amended by the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1906, which abolished the system of elector's rights, and substituted therefor provisions similar to that of the Commonwealth.

Under this Act a General Election was held on the 10th September, 1907. The Assembly lasts for three years, unless previously dissolved. Under a law passed in 1889, members receive 3007. per annum each; in addition, Members also travel free over the Government railways and tramways in the State, and are provided with official stamped envelopes for the transmission of correspondence through the post.