£1,928, of which £1,832 represented grants in aid of technical classes. At the three mining schools, the number of students is about 230. There are 43 students at the Canterbury Agricultural College, and 87 at the School of Engineering and Technical Science in connection with the Canterbury College. GENERAL EDUCATION. Striking evidence of the rapid progress made by these colonies in regard to education is afforded by a comparison of the educational status of the people as disclosed by the four census enumerations of 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1891. In those years the numbers who could read and write, read only, and who were unable to read were as follow: The figures in the preceding table refer to the total population, and the number of illiterates is therefore swollen by the inclusion of children under school-going age. If the population over 5 years of age be considered in comparison with the total population, the results for the whole of Australasia will be as follow: Degree of Education. Read and write Total.. Whole Population. Population over 5 years of age. 1861. 1871. 1881. 1891. 1861. 1871. 1881. 1891. 730,456 1,217,560 1,936,301 2,878,822 730,339 1,130,145 1,936,111 2,878,813 148,930 196,392 167,162 133,792 143,908 190,545 161,295 128,445 373,273 508,361 639,087 789,001 168,929 285,286 243,583 262,515 1,252,659 1,922,313 2,742,550 3,801,615 1,043,176 1,605,976 2,340,989 3,269,773 The following table affords a comparison of the number of each class in every 10,000 of the population for the same periods :- It will be seen, therefore, that while in 1861 there were only 7,001 persons who could read and write out of every 10,000 people over 5 years of age, the number in 1891 had increased to 8,804, while those who were totally illiterate had in the same period decreased from 1,619 to 803. Looking at the matter still more closely with reference to age, it will be seen that the improvement in education is most marked in the case of the rising generation. The following table shows the degree of education of all children between the ages of 5 and 15 years in 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1891, numerically and per 10,000:- The proportion of those able to read and write has, therefore, grown from 4,637 to 7,565 in every 10,000 children during the thirty years which the table covers, while the number of those able to read only in 1891 was not much over one-fourth of what it was in 1861, and the wholly illiterate had decreased by more than one-third during the period. The Marriage Register affords further proof of the advance of education, and it has the further advantage of giving annual data, while the census figures are only available for decennial periods. The numbers of those who signed the Marriage Register by marks were as appended. Where a blank is shown the information is not available. ུ New South Wales.. 3,222 596 989 3,953 573 768 6,284 347 525 8,457 273 248 8,495 198 173 4,693 342 650 5,896 171 245 8,780 110 133 7,625 Victoria... : : 4,434 970 : : : 13,487 The percentages for those colonies for which the necessary information is available are worked out in the following table : The percentage in 1896 was, therefore, less than one-fifteenth of that in 1861, and there is every reason to expect that in the course of another few years it will be still further diminished. The wonderful increase which has taken place in the quantity of postal matter carried points indirectly to the spread of education. The following table shows that while in 1851 only 2,165,000 letters and post-cards and 2,150,000 newspapers passed through the Australasian Post-offices, these numbers had in 1896 increased to 201,264,900 and 113,613,000 respectively : The following are the numbers of letters and newspapers per head of population in each of the six years mentioned :— In 1896 the number of letters per inhabitant was ten times, and that of newspapers more than five and a half times, larger than in 1851. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. In all the colonies public libraries have been established. The Public Libraries in Melbourne and Sydney are splendid institutions, the former comparing favourably with many of the libraries in European capitals. The following table shows the number of libraries which furnished returns, and the number of books belonging to them, for the latest year for which information is available:— In Western Australia, there are 17 Agricultural Halls, 13 Mechanics' Institutes, 5 Miners' Institutes, and 6 Miscellaneous Institutes, as well as 8 Associations meeting in rented premises. The returns, which were collected for the first time in 1896, show that 39 of these institutions were possessed of libraries, containing approximately 19,548 volumes. The Victoria Public Library in Perth, a Government institution, possesses 15,010 volumes. FRO SOCIAL CONDITION. ROM very early days the Australasian colonies have been regarded somewhat in the light of a working-man's paradise, the high rates of wages which have generally prevailed and the cheapness of food permitting the enjoyment of a great degree of comfort, if not of luxury, by a class which elsewhere knows little of the one and nothing of the other; and even in these times of trade depression and reduced wages it may safely be said that the position of the wage-earner in Australia is equal to that occupied by him in any other part of the world. Although a high standard of living is not conducive to thrift, saving has gone on with great rapidity, notwithstanding the checks which it has received from time to time from adverse conditions of the labour market. Some idea of the rate and extent of this accumulation of wealth may be obtained from the tables showing the growth of deposits with banks. The banking returns, however, afford in themselves but an incomplete view of the picture; it should also be regarded from the standpoint of the expenditure of the people. Both of these subjects are dealt with in their proper places in this volume, and these evidences of the social condition of the people need not, therefore, be further considered here. NEWSPAPERS AND LETTERS. Few things show more plainly the social superiority of a civilized people than a heavy correspondence and a large distribution of newspapers. In these respects all the colonies of Australasia have for many years been remarkable. In proportion to population it is doubtful whether any country in the world can boast of a larger number or a better class of newspapers than they publish. Great advances have been made in this respect since 1871, and the rate of progress, both in number and in excellence of production, has been even more rapid between 1881 and the present time. There are no means of correctly estimating the number of newspapers actually printed and distributed in the colonies, because the Post-office carries but a small proportion of the circulation. For purposes of comparison with other countries, however, it may be stated that during the year 1896 no less than 113,613,000 newspapers passed through the Post-offices of the various colonies, giving the large proportion of 26.5 per head of population. In the same year the number of letters and post-cards carried was 201,264,900, being 47 for every person in Australasia. An examination of the statistics of other countries shows that these colonies stand |