pointed out elsewhere in this volume the people of New Zealand are rapidly paying off their private indebtedness to the British moneylender, and as the process of repayment has been accompanied by an increase in the private wealth of the colony and in the output of its industries, it must be accepted as a satisfactory evidence of progress. In the case of some of the states the absentee income derived from them, is largely counterbalanced by incomes derived from other states. This is especially true of South Australia and Victoria. The absentee incomes of the first-named are equalled, if not exceeded, by the revenue which its residents derive from investments in Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland; while as regards Victoria there is evidence that New South Wales makes to the southern state an annual payment of from £480,000 to £600,000, according to the character of the season, while Queensland and Western Australia also make large payments, so that the excess of absentee incomes over the earnings of Victorian capital abroad is not very great.

The detailed figures of the incomes of the people, read with those in regard to property and production, admit of several very interesting comparisons as to the relation of one to the other. The following table shows the percentage which the incomes drawn in each state bear to the value of private wealth, the incomes being distinguished into total incomes and those over £200 a year:

Taking Australia as a whole, the assessment placed upon private property appears to be about five and a half times the annual income; Western Australia being the only state which departs in any marked degree from this proportion. In that state the assessment is about two and four-fifths times, and this low ratio is accounted for by the circumstance that a large proportion of the private property of the state is represented by gold-mines, and the value of a gold-mine is rarely large compared with the payments made for wages and other services connected with its working.

As the fair distribution of the income of a country is of more importance to the population at large than the aggregate amount of all incomes, it is interesting to know what proportion of the population enjoys large incomes, and if the incomes of the great mass of the

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population are affected by the accumulation of large incomes in few hands. In the present condition of statistics no great amount of light can be thrown upon the question, although some interesting facts may be gleaned from the particulars already given. The unit for the most useful comparison in regard to incomes is the bread-winner; but as there are both male and female bread-winners it is necessary to take into account the less commercial and productive value of women's work compared with men's. Taking the productive employments of New South Wales and Victoria as a basis, it is found that the earnings of thirty-six men equal those of one hundred women, and if this wage efficiency holds good throughout Australia the work of the 1,560,784 male and 422,123 female bread-winners at the census of 1901 would be equivalent to that of 1,712,748 male bread-winners alone; and comparisons of earnings should therefore be made on the basis of this last number and not on the total 1,982,907 of male and female breadwinners taken together. There is, however, another consideration. Australia has not yet developed a class of independent women workers. It is true there are considerable numbers of women who are the main bread-winners of their families, but as a rule the earnings of the woman go to supplement the earnings of the head of the family, usually the house-father, and there are some cogent reasons why the comparison of earnings and population should be made on the basis of the number of families to be supported. This, for practical purposes, may be taken as indicated by the number of male bread-winners, and on such basis the following table has been compiled. The calculations refer to the incomes and population of the census year :--

This statement forms a corrective to the table on page 530 giving the average income per inhabitant. In that table South Australia shows the smallest incomes of any of the states, viz., £39.3, as compared with an average of £45.3 for New South Wales and £40.6 for Queensland; it would now appear that compared with the male breadwinners the average income below £200 a year is equal in Victoria to what it is in Queensland and in New South Wales, viz., £103, while in South Australia it is £97. As regards incomes over £200, the

return for Victoria (£645) is largely in excess of the average for the Commonwealth; but for South Australia the average (£317) is much below that of the other states, although there is compensation in the fact that such incomes are widely distributed; thus in South Australia 11.3 per cent. of all incomes exceed £200 as compared with 4.5 in Queensland, 5.9 in Western Australia, and 6.6 in New South Wales and Tasmania, and the comparison would be still more favourable to South Australia if the absentee incomes drawn from the other states could have been brought into consideration and added to the incomes of the creditor states, while being correspondingly deducted from the debtor states. In any case, it must be a source of great satisfaction to South Australia that so large a proportion of its breadwinners enjoy superior incomes.

As the income of every country depends largely upon its production, a comparison of incomes and production is interesting. No general law can be laid down as to the relation between the two, but it will be found that the more various and developed the industries the greater will be the income which results from production.

The following is the ratio of the incomes obtained in each state to the value of production in that state, as set out on page 1018. It will be seen that in each case the incomes exceed the production ; in Western Australia, however, the excess is only 14 per cent., whereas in the case of Victoria the excess is nearly 74 per cent. The low percentage of income given off by production in the case of Western Australia is explained by the fact that of the total production of £15,497,000, the value of gold won reached nearly £8,771,000, and the income given off, so to speak, by this production is not very great. The winning of gold in some instances costs as much as the gold is worth, and there is a heavy expenditure on the development of mines before any yield is obtained. Further, there is very little income derived from the carriage, handling, and shipment of gold, whereas in most other forms of produce the charges attendant on all these processes are considerable, and make up the large margin which is sometimes found between the cost at the point of production and the export value of the same commodity.

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DEFENCE.

THE

HE colonists of Australasia have always manifested an objection to the maintenance of a large standing army, and shown a disposition to rely mainly upon the patriotism and valour of the citizens for their own defence. As the Commonwealth, however, possesses a more or less complete system of fortifications armed with expensive ordnance, which requires a more regular and constant attendance than could well be bestowed by those who devote only a portion of their time to military affairs, it is necessary that there should be in each of the states a small permanent military force, consisting for the most part of artillery and submarine miners, whose chief duty is to man the fortifications and keep the valuable armaments therein in a state of efficiency, to be ready for any emergency. the same time, it is expected that they will prove the nucleus for an effective defence force if ever hostilities should unfortunately occur. The responsibility for the defence of Australia now lies with the Federal Government, and, since it assumed control the forces have been reconstructed and reorganised, while the expenditure has been considerably reduced.

At

Under the present scheme, which is in accordance with the provisions of the Defence Act of 1903, which came into operation on the 1st March, 1904, the organisation of the forces is as follows:

1. A Permanent Cadre Force, which includes an administrative and instructional staff, the Royal Australian Artillery Regiment and small detachments of Engineers, Army Medical Corps, and Army service. Corps, &c. The senior officers are the principal commanders, administrative staff, and instructors during peace, and will be the chief leaders and staff officers in war. This force will also serve as a valuable stiffening in time of war.

(2) A Field Force comprising six brigades of light horse and three brigades of infantry, who, in a national emergency, will undertake active operations in the field for the defence of the Commonwealth as a whole. These troops are militia, and are divided among the six states on a population basis.

(3) A Garrison Force which provides the necessary garrisons, and a small district reserve for the local defence of each of the six states.

The troops comprising this branch are mainly volunteers and are unpaid. It is proposed, however, that all the Light Horse Artillery, Engineers, and Departments allotted to garrison service, who are not already militia, shall be termed militia, and be paid accordingly. Under the system as outlined above, the permanent staff will be reserved mainly for administrative and staff duties in peace, and for special duties in time of war. The principle is throughout aimed at that the militia and volunteer officers should carry out in times of peace the duties which would be thrust on them in time of war. Under the Act it is provided that members of the military forces, unless they voluntarily agree to do so, shall not be liable to serve outside the limits of Commonwealth territory.

The following table shows the strength of the military forces maintained in each state as at 30th June, 1904. The total number of men of military ages (from 20 to 40 years) in Australia was ascertained at the Census of 1901 to be 644,500.; the total forces shown below (19,880) amount to 3.1 per cent. of the number capable of bearing arms, which is an extremely small proportion. In New Zealand the proportion is 10.1 per cent.

Included in the 544 paid in New Zealand there are 189 officers of the New Zealand Militia Active List who have nearly all seen service in South Africa. There is no partially-paid force in the colony, but, subject to certain limitations, all males of ages 17 and upwards may be called upon for service in time of national emergency.