engaged for ten years to hold itself primarily responsible for the whole. amount of this subsidy. The area of British New Guinea is estimated to be 90,000 square miles, and the native population at 350,000.

South Australia extends from the 11th to the 38th parallel of south latitude, and from the 129th to the 141st meridian of east longitude. The province of South Australia, properly so called, lies between the 38th and 26th parallels of south latitude, and the 141st and 129th meridians of east longitude; the Northern Territory is bounded by the 26th and 11th parallels of south latitude, and the 129th and 138th meridians of east longitude. The greatest length of the colony from north to south is 1,850 miles, and the greatest width is 650 miles, with a seaboard of 2,000 miles, of which about 900 miles are washed by the Indian Ocean, the Arafura Sea, and the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The most important islands belonging to the colony are Kangaroo Island on the south coast, 85 miles long and 30 broad; Melville Island, off Port Darwin, on the northern coast; Bathurst Island, separated from the last-mentioned by Apsley Straits; and Groote Eyland, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. A stockade was erected by Captain Bremer on Melville Island in 1824, but was abandoned in 1829.

Western Australia consists of the country between the 14th and 35th parallels of south latitude, and the 113th and 129th meridians of east longitude. The greatest length north and south is 1,450 miles, and the greatest width from east to west is 850 miles. The coast-line is about 3,000 miles.

miles south of Victoria, It lies between 40° 33'

Tasmania is an island situated about 150 from which it is separated by Bass Straits. and 43° 39′ south latitude, and the meridians of 144° 39′ and 148° 23′ east longitude. Its greatest length from north to south is 210 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west is 200 miles. There are several small islands which belong to the colony. Flinders' Island, in Bass Straits, has an area of 513,000 acres; and King's Island, the chief of the north-west group, contains 272,000 acres. Including the adjacent islands, the area of Tasmania is 26,215 square miles.

New Zealand lies to the east of Australia, its nearest point to the mainland being Cape Maria van Diemen, which is about 1,100 miles from Sugarloaf Point, in New South Wales. New Zealand and its dependencies lie between the 33rd and 53rd parallels of south latitude, and between 166° 30′ east longitude and 173° west longitude. The waters known as the Tasman Sea separate the colony from the continent of Australia.

The North Island, or New Ulster, has a length of about 515 miles, by a breadth of about 250 miles. Its area is estimated at 44,467 square miles, and its coast-line at 2,200 miles. Wellington, the seat of Government, is at the southern extremity of this island. The South or, as it is officially called, the Middle Island or New Munster, has a length of about 525 miles by a breadth of about 180 miles. Its area is 58,525 square miles, and its coast-line measures 2,000 miles. Stewart

Island, or New Leinster, lies off the southern extremity of South Island, and has an area of 665 square miles; its greatest length is 30 miles by a breadth of 25 miles.

In 1887 a proclamation was made declaring the Kermadec Islands, lying between the 29th and 32nd parallels of south latitude, and the 177th and 180th meridians of west longitude, part of the colony of New Zealand. A protectorate is exercised by the Imperial Government over the Cook Islands or Hervey Group. The British Resident is appointed on the recommendation of the New Zealand Government, which also defrays the cost of administration.

Including the Chatham Islands, the Auckland Islands, the Campbell Islands, the Bounty Islands, and many others which are dependent, the total area of the colony of New Zealand is estimated at 104,471 square miles.

10

CLIMATE.

THE Tropic of Capricorn divides Australia into two parts. Of these, the northern or inter-tropical portion contains 1,145,000 square miles, comprising half of Queensland, the Northern Territory of South Australia, and the north-western divisions of Western Australia. The whole of New South Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Australia proper, half of Queensland, and more than half of Western Australia, comprising 1,932,000 square miles, are without the tropics. In a region so extensive very great varieties of climate are naturally to be expected, but it may be stated as a general law that the climate of Australasia is milder than that of corresponding lands in the Northern Hemisphere. During July, which is the coldest month in southern latitudes, one half of Australasia has a mean temperature ranging from 40° to 64°, and the other half from 64° to 80°. The following are the areas subject to the various average temperatures during the month referred to:

The temperature during December ranges from 50° to above 95° Fahr., half of Australasia having a mean temperature below 83°. Dividing the land into zones of average summer temperature, the following are the areas which would fall to each :

Area in sq. miles.
300

50° 55°.

Judging from the figures just given, it must be conceded that a considerable area of the continent is not adapted for colonisation by European

races.

The region with a mean summer temperature in excess of 95° Fahr. is the interior of the Northern Territory of South Australia north of the 20th parallel; and the whole of the country, excepting the seaboard, lying between the meridians of 120° and 140° and north of the 25th parallel, has a mean temperature in excess of 90° Fahr.

Climatically, as well as geographically, New South Wales is divided into three marked divisions. The coastal region, which lies between the parallels of 28° and 37° south latitude, has an average summer temperature ranging from 78° in the north to 67° in the south, with a winter temperature of from 59° to 52°. Taking the district generally, the difference between the mean summer and mean winter temperature may be set down as averaging not more than 20°, a range smaller than is found in most other parts of the world. The famed resorts on the Mediterranean seaboard bear no comparison with the Pacific slopes of New South Wales, either for natural salubrity or for the comparative mildness of the summer and winter.

Sydney, situated as it is midway between the extreme points of the colony, in latitude 33° 51′ S., has a mean temperature of 62.9°, corresponding with that of Barcelona, the great maritime city of Spain, and of Toulon, in France; the former being in latitude 41° 22′ N., and the latter in 43° 7′ N. At Sydney the mean summer temperature is 71°, and that of winter 54°. The range is thus 17° Fahr. At Naples, where the mean temperature for the year is about the same as at Sydney, the summer temperature reaches a mean of 74.4°, and the mean of winter is 47.6°, with a range of 26.8°. Thus the summer is warmer, and the winter much colder, than at Sydney. The highest temperature in the shade experienced in Sydney was 108.5°, and the lowest winter temperature 35.9°, giving a range of 72.6°. At Naples the range has been as great as 81°, the winter minimum falling sometimes below the freezing-point. The mean temperature of Sydney for a long series of years was spring 62°, summer 71°, autumn 64°, and winter 54°.

Passing from the coast to the tableland, a distinct climatic region is entered. Cooma, with a mean summer temperature of 65·4° and a mean winter temperature of 41.4°, may be taken as illustrative of the climate of the southern tableland, and Armidale of the northern. The firstnamed town stands in the centre of the Monaro plains, at an elevation of 2,637 feet above sea-level, and enjoys a summer as mild as either London or Paris, while its winters are far less severe. On the New England tableland, the climate of Armidale and other towns may be considered as nearly perfect as can be found. The yearly average temperature is scarcely 56.5°, while the summer only reaches 67.7°, and the winter falls to 44-4°, a range of temperature approximating closely to that of the famous health-resorts in the south of France.

The climatic conditions of the western districts of the colony are entirely different from those of the other two regions, and have often been cited as disagreeable. Compared with the equable temperature of the coastal district or of the tableland, there may appear some

justification for such a reputation, but only by comparison. The climate of the great plains, in spite of the heat of part of the summer, is very healthy. The town of Bourke may be taken as an example. Seated in the midst of the great plain of the interior, it illustrates peculiarly well the defects as well as the excellences of the climate of the whole region. Bourke has exactly the same latitude as Cairo, yet its mean summer temperature is 1.3° less, and its mean annual temperature 4° less than that of the Egyptian city. New Orleans also lies on the same parallel, but the American city is 4° hotter in summer. As regards winter temperature, Bourke leaves little to be desired. The mean winter reading of the thermometer is 54.7°, and accompanied as this is by clear skies and an absence of snow, the season is both refreshing and enjoyable.

The rainfall of New South Wales ranges from an annual average of 63.71 inches at Port Macquarie, on the northern coast, to about 12.5 inches in the Trans-Darling country. The coastal districts average about 41.98 inches of rain per annum; on the tableland the mean rainfall is 33.39 inches, but in the western interior it is as low as 17 inches. The average rainfall of Sydney for the thirty-eight years preceding 1897 was 49.85 inches, while in 1897 only 42.52 inches fell.

The climate of Victoria does not differ greatly from that of New South Wales; the heat, however, is generally less intense in summer and the cold greater in winter. Melbourne, which stands in latitude 37° 50′ S., has a mean temperature of 57.3°, and therefore corresponds with Bathurst in New South Wales, Washington in the United States, Madrid, Lisbon, and Messina. The difference between summer and winter is, however, less at Melbourne than at any of the places mentioned. The mean temperature is 6° less than that of Sydney and 7° less than that of Adelaide—the result of a long series of observations being :-spring, 57°; summer, 65.3°; autumn, 58.7°; winter, 49.2°. The highest recorded temperature in the shade at Melbourne was 110·7°, and the lowest, 27°.

Ballarat, the second city of Victoria, about 100 miles west from Melbourne, and situated at a height of about 1,400 feet above sealevel, has a minimum temperature of 29°, and a maximum of 104-5°, the average yearly mean being 54.1°. Bendigo, which is about 100 miles north of Melbourne, and 700 feet above the level of the sea, has a rather higher average temperature, ranging from a minimum of 31.2° to a maximum of 106.4°, the average yearly mean being 59.4°. At Wilson's Promontory, the most southerly point of Australia, the minimum heat is 38.6°, and the maximum 96.4°, the average yearly mean being 56.7°.

During the year 1897 the rainfall at Melbourne amounted to 25.85 inches, and for a long series of years it averaged 25.58 inches, with an average of 131 days during the year on which rain fell. At Bendigo, during 1896, 16.25 inches fell, and 33-34 at Portland. At Wilson's Promontory the rainfall was 43.24 inches.