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In addition to the vessels mentioned, Victoria formerly had in commission two steel gunboats, the Victoria and the Albert, the wooden frigate Nelson, and the armed steamer Gannet. In consequence of the promulgation of an opinion by the Colonial Defence Committee that where there are complete fixed defences floating defences do not add to the strength of a place, but in most cases even tend to weaken it, by interfering with and limiting the arcs of fire of the battery guns, it was decided to dispose of the vessels named, and to give up the use of the Melbourne Harbour Trust's hopper barges, the Batman and the Fawkner. In 1896 the Government of Western Australia purchased the gunboat Victoria, with the intention of employing it in surveying service; and the frigate Nelson was sold in 1898 to be broken up.

Queensland has two gunboats, one of which, the Paluma, was formerly employed on survey service on the coast of Queensland at the joint. expense of the Queensland and British authorities. Afterwards, the Paluma was lent to the Imperial Government; and, since handed back to Queensland in April, 1895, has been placed in reserve. The other gunboat, the Gayundah, was paid off and placed in reserve on the 30th September, 1892. Particulars of the vessels available for the defence of Queensland ports are given below:

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South Australia maintains one twin-screw steel cruiser, the Protector, of 920 tons, and an auxiliary gun vessel. The armament of the Protector consists of one 8-in. 12-ton B.L., five 6-in. 4-ton B. L., four 3-pdr. Q.F., and five Gatling machine guns; while the auxiliary gun vessel carries two 6-in. 5-ton B.L. guns. Tasmania owns one Whitehead torpedo boat. Western Australia has, the steel gunboat Victoria, purchased from the Victorian Government, and the Meda, a schooner of 150 tons, which are employed on survey service at the joint expense of the Imperial and Colonial Governments. New Zealand possesses four Thorneycroft torpedo boats and four steam launches fitted for torpedo work.

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COST OF Defence.

Most of the colonies have spent considerable sums in works of defence, and the principal ports are well protected by extensive fortifications, erected by the various Governments. The total expenditure from the Consolidated Revenue for defence purposes during 1896-7 was as follows:

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In all the colonies, with the exception of Western Australia, a certain amount of money has been spent out of loans on works of defence. For several years, however, Victoria has discontinued the expenditure of loan moneys for this service. The amounts thus spent during 1896-7 were as follow:

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*Inclusive of £5,720 for naval station, Port Jackson.

The total loan expenditure by each colony for defence purposes to the end of the financial year 1896-7 was as follows :

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This does not represent the whole cost of the fortifications, as large sums have from time to time been expended from the general revenues of the colonies in the construction of works of defence; the amount of such payments, however, it is now impossible to determine. It is estimated that the present values of the defence works in the various colonies are as follow:

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In 1890 a military commission was appointed by the Imperial and the different Australian Governments to take evidence and report on the question of fortifying King George's Sound, Hobart, Thursday Island, and Port Darwin at the joint expense of the colonies. The commission visited the points mentioned during 1891, and as a result of the evidence taken fortifications have been erected at King George's Sound and Thursday Island, and it is probable that similar works will be begun at Hobart and Port Darwin in the near future. The garrison of the batteries in King George's Sound is supplied by Western Australia, and that colony bore one-fourth of the cost of construction and equipment, the other provinces contributing the remainder on a population basis. The cost of the defences at Thursday Island was shared by the different colonies in proportion to the number of their inhabitants. The forts are maintained under a like arrangement.

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POPULATION.

N the 26th January, 1788, Captain Phillip arrived in Sydney Harbour, bringing with him an establishment of about 1,030 people all told. Settlement soon spread from the parent colony, first to Tasmania in 1803, and afterwards to other parts of the continent and to New Zealand. At the end of 1897 the population of Australasia had increased to 4,410,151 persons, thus distributed :

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If to these numbers, which principally comprise the people of European descent, there be added an estimated population of 200,000 Australian aborigines in an uncivilised state in Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland, and of 39,854 Maoris in New Zealand, the total population of Australasia at the end of 1897 would be about 4,650,000.

The growth of the population of Australasia from the date of the first settlement is shown in the following table. An official enumeration of the people was made in most of the years quoted :

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It is reasonable to expect that the rate of growth in the colonies would decline as the population increased, and such has been the case since 1851. The high rate of increase of 11.3 per cent. from 1851 to 1861 was, of course, due to the gold discovery, which proved a strong incentive to emigration to these colonies. The high annual increase between 1831 and 1841 was owing to the policy of State-aided immigration which was then in vogue. Prior to this period the high average arose from the small number of people on which the increase was calculated.

The following table shows the annual rate of increase of population in countries which are undergoing extensive settlement :—

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The population of Australasia, as shown by the census of 1891, had increased threefold since 1861, and nearly twofold since 1871, while the annual rate of increase for the whole thirty years was 3.78 per cent. Taking the colonies individually, the rate of increase for Queensland was the highest-a circumstance partly to be attributed to the large numbers introduced under the system of State-aided immigration which has prevailed in that colony for many years; but the largest numerical increase was that of New South Wales. The population of each colony (exclusive of aborigines, a few in New South Wales and Victoria excepted) at the last four census periods is shown below :—

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In order to show the great differences in the growth of the population of the individual colonies during the last ten years, the appended table has been prepared, giving the population at the end of each year since

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