The direct Cape cable, from Durban to Fremantle, which provides an alternative all-British route to that of the Pacific, was completed on the 19th October, 1901.

TELEPHONES.

In connection with the telegraph departments of the various states, telephone exchanges have been established in the capitals and other important centres of population. In order to popularise the use of the instrument, the charges in some of the states have within the last few years been reduced, and the result is seen in a satisfactory extension of this means of communication. Information regarding telephones in the different states during 1901, as far as can be ascertained, will be found in the following table :

In the Australasian states the rates for telephones at places of business range from £5 to £10 for the minimum length of wiregenerally one mile, the colonies with a half-mile radius being New Zealand and Queensland-and the charge is higher in the city than in the country. In New South Wales and Victoria the city and suburban rates are £9 per annum, and the country rates £8 in the former State, and £7 in the latter. In South Australia the city rate is higher, being £10; but in the suburbs and country the rates range from £6 to £8. Queensland, for a radius of half-a-mile, has a uniform rate of £6, which is also the charge made in Tasmania, for a one mile radius, in Hobart,

Launceston, and Zeehan, while for the suburbs and country districts the rate is a matter of arrangement. In New Zealand a distinction is drawn between exchanges continuously open and those not continuously open, the charges being respectively £7 and £5; while in Western Australia, in the towns of Perth, Fremantle, and Guildford, the rate is £7, and £10 where the exchange has less than 100 subscribers. The charges for telephones at private residences is, of course, less than for places of business. In New South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand, the rate is uniformly £5; and in Queensland, £6. In South Australia the charge is £6 for the city, and from £6 to £8 in the suburbs and country; in Tasmania, it is £4 10s. in Hobart, Launceston, and Zeehan. and a matter of arrangement in the suburbs and country; while in Western Australia, at Perth, Fremantle, and Guildford, the charge is £5, and £6 where the exchange has less than 100 subscribers.

POSTAL AND TELEGRAPHIC FINANCES.

The following table shows the revenue and expenditure of the Postal and Telegraph Departments of the States during 1901 :

In the expenditure shown in the table, interest on the outlay on postoffice buildings and telegraph lines and maintenance of buildings is not taken into account. If allowance be made for these, so far as is possible from the very imperfect returns concerning the expenditure on post-offices

in each State, the total expenditure and the deficiency in revenue would

With the progress of settlement and the increase of population, the expenditure on the postal and telegraphic services naturally expands year by year, and it is apparent that in order to keep pace with the growing needs of the community the department must be administered on ordinary business principles. Hitherto the application of such principles has not been obvious, and perhaps it has not been possible, but now that the affairs of the six states are centred under one control, much of past extravagant expenditure will be avoided, and there is every prospect of the service becoming self-supporting-that is, returning a revenue sufficient not only to meet current expenditure, but provide a surplus to cover maintenance of works and buildings, together with interest on capital cost.

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MINERAL RESOURCES.

LMOST all the principal metals of economic value are found in Australasia, and many are common to several of the States. In dealing with the occurrence and value of mineral deposits, a classification has been made into noble and other metals, carbon minerals, salts, stones and clays, and diamonds and other gem stones.

GOLD.

Gold, the most valuable of noble metals, is found throughout Australasia, and the important position at present occupied by these States is largely due to discoveries of this metal, the development of other industries being, in a country of varied resources, a natural sequence to the acquisition of mineral treasure. Settlement in Australia was still young when manytongued rumour spoke of the existence of the precious metal, but it was not until the 16th February, 1823, that the Government was officially apprised of a discovery destined to be the precursor of a prosperity seldom surpassed in the history of nations. On the date mentioned Mr. AssistantSurveyor M'Brien reported that at a spot on the Fish River, about 15 miles east of Bathurst, he had discovered gold. Mention is made in the early records of New South Wales of several other finds, but it remained for Count Strzelecki and the Rev. W. B. Clarke to demonstrate the existence of the precious metal in payable quantities, and to assert their belief in its abundance, an opinion strongly supported in England by several eminent authorities, and substantiated by Hargraves' discovery in the year 1851. The gold-fields of Lewis Ponds and Summer Hill Creek had hardly been opened up when, on the day that witnessed the severance of the Port Phillip district from the mother colony of New South Wales, Mr. J. M. Esmond discovered gold in Victoria. Shortly afterwards a rush set in for Ballarat, and the gold fever took possession of Australia. The following year (1852) saw gold found in South Australia and Tasmania; the rush to Canoona, in what is now Queensland, took place in 1858; and gold was discovered in New Zealand in the same year, though it was not until 1861 that a large population was, by the prospect of rapidly obtaining wealth, attracted to the last-mentioned colony. The last of the States in which extensive deposits of the precious metal were found was Western Australia, and the mines there are now the richest in Australasia, and have proved an enormous source of wealth to the State.

From the date of its first discovery, gold to the value of nearly 460 million pounds sterling has been obtained in Australasia. Towards this total Victoria has contributed no less than 260 millions, and for many

years that State was the largest gold producer of Australasia. In the year 1897, however, for the first time, the production was surpassed by that of Western Australia, and the latter State has increased its advantage each year until in 1901 the output was valued at £7,235,653, as against £3,102,753 in Victoria. The yield of gold in Victoria has been well maintained for many years, and each successive year from 1893 to 1899 showed an increase. In 1900, however, the output fell considerably short of that in 1899, being only 807,407 oz. compared with 854,500 oz., and in 1901 there was a further reduction to 789,562 oz., valued at £3,102,753. In 1901 the Bendigo district, with 212,026 oz., supplied the largest portion of the gold yield of the State, followed by the Ballarat district with 169,433 oz., and Beechworth with 114,331 oz. The number of men engaged in gold-mining during 1901 was 27,777, of whom 12,886 were alluvial miners and 14,891 quartz miners, the total being 1,258 less than the number in 1900. The dredging operations. carried on during the year were attended with fair success. The quantity of material treated was about 6,000,000 cubic yards, from which 28,717 oz. of gold were recovered. The number of men engaged was 919.

Queensland promised at one time to overtake Victoria in the annual production of gold, but so far the southern State has maintained its position, although the production of Queensland advanced steadily up to the year 1900. In 1889 the production was valued at £2,586,860, but it then diminished, and this amount was not again reached until 1898 when the value was £2,750,349. In 1899 it increased to £2,838,119, and in 1900 to £2,871,709, being the highest value yet recorded. In 1901 the gold won amounted to 835,553 oz. or 589,382 oz. fine, valued at £2,541,892, showing a decrease of £329,817 on the value of the preceding year. The decrease is not attributed to the waning productiveness of the mines, but to the exhaustion of the creek sands and the heaps of old tailings that have for some years past helped to swell the output. The scanty water supply on some of the fields, especially Mount Morgan, where partial closing of the mines was necessitated, also tended to diminish production. The attempt to recover gold by the process of dredging has so far proved a failure. During 1901 five dredges were at work, but not one was even moderately successful, the roughness of the ground and want of water being the causes of failure. For many years the Charters Towers field has been the chief goldproducing centre, and the year 1901 was no exception, although the output was considerably less than in 1900. The production in 1901 amounted to 366,431 oz., valued at £999,545, being 88,248 oz. less than in 1900. The decrease is due to the extinction of the industry having for its object the recovery of gold which had lodged in the beds of those creeks which in times past had served as channels for the escape of residue from the mills. Charters Towers is a field of deep sinking, and a gold-bearing reef has been intersected at a depth of 1,815 feet, while operations are now in progress by which it is hoped to cut one of the largest reefs at depths of 2,500 and 3,000 feet respectively.