The foregoing table shows that the mineral production of 1901 was over eleven millions more than that of 1891. There were increases in all the states with the exception of New South Wales, in which state a decrease of slightly over £542,000 has to be recorded, owing to the fall in the value of silver and lead. The most notable increases were in Western Australia and Tasmania; the production of the former state exceeded that of 1891 by nearly £7,316,000, mainly on account of the great increase in the gold yield, which advanced in value from £115,182 to £7,235,653 during the period under review. The large increase in the Tasmanian production was due to the output of the Mount Lyell Coppermines. In the other states, the increases were also substantial, ranging from 42 per cent. in Victoria to 68 per cent. in South Australia. Comparing the value of the mineral production in 1901 with the population, the largest amount is shown by Western Australia, with £39 14s. 2d. per inhabitant; Tasmania ranks second, with £9 13s. Od. per inhabitant; Queensland third, with £6 3s. 6d.; New South Wales fourth, with £4 5s. 4d.; and New Zealand fifth, with £3 15s. 11d. Victoria follows with an average of £2 15s. 1d. per head, and in South Australia the production per inhabitant was only £1 13s. 10d. The average per inhabitant for Australasia was £5 9s. Od., and the average for the states constituting the Commonwealth was £5 15s. 9d. per head. The following table shows the value of production in each of the states during 1901, distinguishing the principal minerals. With regard to some of the states the data are defective in respect to "other minerals," but not to such an extent as to seriously affect the gross total. The column "other minerals" includes kerosene shale in New South Wales and kauri gum in New Zealand : The total mineral production to the end of 1901 is shown in the following table, in which the column "other minerals” again includes kerosene shale and kauri gum :— New South Wales Victoria 260,489,201 Queensland South Australia. Western Australia. 52,751,675 Tasmania.. £ £ £ £ 49,661,815 32,341,577 5,857,073 6,601,806 39,494,844 4,299,947 138,257,062 Commonwealth.. 400,334,188 36,501,127 35,383,673 19,518,343 43,955,628 6,227,396 541,920,355 * Inclusive of kauri gum of the value of £10,775,945. Coal was the only mineral raised in New South Wales prior to 1852, and its production up to that date was valued at £279,923. Deducting that amount from the total value of Australasian minerals raised up to the end of 1901, the remainder, £620,594,323, represents the value of mineral production from 1852, equal to an average of £12,411,886 per annum for the fifty years. 982 STATE FINANCE. THE HE functions of government are much alike throughout Australasia, and it is only to be expected, therefore, that similar items of expenditure should be found in the budgets of the various states. The chief point of difference is the extent to which local requirements are provided for out of general revenue. In most of the states provision for local improvements is a matter of which the state has long since divested itself; but in New South Wales and Western Australia the central government still charges itself with the construction of works of a purely local character, especially in the rural districts; hence the appearance, in the statements of public expenditure of those states, of items of large amount which find no parallel in the other states. Also, when comparison is made with outside countries, other points of difference are found. In Australasia, as in other young communities, it has been necessary for the state to initiate works and services which in older countries have come within the province of the local authorities or have been left to be undertaken by private enterprise. Even at the present day it is deemed advisable that the Government should retain the control of services, such as the railways, which in the United Kingdom and some other countries are not regarded as forming part of the functions of the state, and it is on account of the administration of these services that the budgets of the Australasian states reach such comparatively high figures. The revenues of the Australasian states have been subject to considerable fluctuations, due not so much to changes in the incidence of the revenue, as to variation in the amount of the imports, for it was upon taxation of imports that the states have most largely depended for revenue. The years of highest revenue ought, under normal conditions, to be coincident with the years of greatest prosperity; but some of the states have been able to efface the effect of unfavourable seasons by lavish borrowing, and the inflow of loans, as represented by taxable goods, has, at times, more than counterbalanced the shrinkage in the imports, due to failure in the wool or wheat crops, for which these imports are payment. This effect of the borrowing policy of the various states upon their revenue was not so great in the last decade as in the previous one, but that it was considerable may be gathered from the fact that in the ten years 1891-1901 the various State Governments contrived to borrow and spend £70,000,000, obtained in London. The unsteadiness of the railway revenue, due to variations in the seasons, is another cause of disturbance to Australian finance, and one which will not be obviated until the resources of the states are so developed that wool and wheat will no longer play the important part they do at present in the railway trade of the country. In 1895 large reductions were made in the New South Wales tariff; these account for a reduction in the revenue of the state during that and the three following years, while to other influences must be added the financial crisis of 1893, which had a numbing effect upon trade throughout the states comprised in the Commonwealth. It will be observed from the table that Western Australia and New Zealand are in a different position to the more important mainland states. The financial position of Western Australia is exceptional, being due to the opening up of the goldfields, and the influx of a large amount of capital, and, as the tariff was of a wide range, the importation necessarily involved a large customs revenue, while the trade expansion increased the earnings of the railways. The configuration of the colony of New Zealand renders it to a very great extent immune from the droughts that so much affect the mainland of Australia, and the financial crisis of 1893 had only a comparatively slight influence on its trade; the progress of trade in that colony was, therefore, fairly regular during the years when the finances of the mainland states were most disturbed. The establishment of the Commonwealth on the 1st January, 1901, necessitated the transfer of the Customs Department to the Federal Government; and, by proclamation, the Postal, Telegraph, and Defence Departments were taken over on the 1st March of the same year. The receipts of the six states are inclusive of the surplus returned by the Commonwealth, but the expenditure excludes all Federal transactions. The finances of the Commonwealth are dealt with on page 812. The revenue for each state during the past ten years is shown in the following table. For New South Wales and New Zealand the figures shown for the years 1893 to 1895 inclusive, are those for the twelve months ended on the 31st December of the previous year; while for the remainder of the period the fiscal year ended on the 30th June in the former state, and on the 31st March in New Zealand. The amounts given for Tasmania are for the year ended 31st December prior to the years shown, while for the remaining states the financial year ends on the 30th June:— £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ 1893 10,066,463 6,959,229 3,445,943 2,525,525 575,822 787,764 24,360,746 4,669,551 29,030,297 1894 9,499,910 6,716,814 3,343,069 2,591,271 681,246 706,972 23,539,282 4,692,463 28,231,745 1895 9,350,051 6,712,152 3,413,172 2,497,648 1,125,941 696,795 23,795,759 4.447,899 28,243,658 1896 9,091,368 6,458,682 3,641,583 2,585,230 1,858,695 761,971 24,397,529 4,556,015 28,953,544 1897 9,109,253 6,630,217 3,613,150 2,698,759 2,842,751 797,976 25,692,106 4,798,708 30,490,814 1898 9,304,884 6,898,240 3,768,152 2,633,727 2,754,747 845,019 26,204,769 5,079,230 31,283,999 1899 9,573,415 7,378,842 4,174,086 2,731,208 2,478,811 908,223 27,244,585 5,258,228 32,502,813 1900 9,973,736 7,450,676 4,588,207 2,853,329 2,875,396 943,970 28,685,314 5,699,618 34,384,932 1901 10,612,422 7,722,397 4,096,290 2,886,854 2,964,121 1,054,980 29,337,064 5,906,916 35,243,980 1902 11,007,356 7,006,333, 3,535,062 2,477,432 3,354,123 826,163 28,206,469 6,152,839 34,359,308 The revenue per inhabitant for each state during the past ten years was as follows: The following statements show that the expenditure of the six Commonwealth states has increased from £25,983,968 in 1893, to £29,240,334 for the year 1901-2, while the amount per inhabitant has decreased from £7 19s. 11d. to £7 12s. 7d. The expenditure of Australasia has increased, during the same period, from £30,308,958 to £35,155,249, while the amount per inhabitant has decreased from £7 16s. 1d. to £7 12s. Od. The expenditure for each state during the past ten years is set forth in the following table : 3 £ £ £ £ 629,372 919,802 25,983,968 4,324,990 30,308,968 656,357 836,417 24,985,835 4,455,116 29,440,951 936,729 789,806 23,786,695 4,266,712 28,053,407 £ £ £ £ 1893 10,103,272 7,989,757 3,557,620 2,784,145 1894 10,082,198 7,310,246 3,351,536 2,749,081| 1895 9,329,353 6,760,439 3,308,434 2,661,934 1896 9,698,891 6,540,182 3,567,947 2,640,688 1,823,863 748,946 25,020,517 4,370,481 29,390,966 1897 9,316,620 6,568,932 3,604,264 2,779,110 2,839,453 750,244 25,858,623 4,509,981 30,368,604 1898 9,299,411 6,928,850 3,747,428 2,750,959 3,256,912 785,026 26,768,586 4,602,372 31,370,958 1899 9,562,739 7,001,663 4,024,170 2,777,614 2,539,358 830,168 26,735,712 4,858,511 31,594,25 1900 10,086,186 7,280,689 4,540,418 2,936,619 2,615,675 871,454 28,331,041 5,140,128 33,471,1@ 1901 10,729,741 7,683,079 4,624,479 3,007,034 3,051,331 923,731 30,019,395 5,479,703 35,499,08 1902 11,020,105 7,407,781 3,967,001 2,823,578 3,151,427 870,442 29,240,834 5,914,915 35,155,349 |