people is more readily and conclusively ascertained by reference to the actual quantities of foods of various kinds entering into consumption, than by the nominal value of such foods and the proportion of the average income spent in their attainment :

The expenditure of Australia coming under the designation "cost of living" amounted in 1900 to £38 0s. 6d., made up of the following items. The expenditure of New Zealand is not included.

According to Mulhall, the expenditure per inhabitant in the leading countries of Europe and in America is as follows:

The expenditure of Australia as compared with population is, according to this table, largely in excess of that of other states, but as expenditure depends upon income, a table such as the above has little meaning unless regard be paid to the amount of income available for expenditure and the purchasing power of money. This latter question is too involved to be dealt with, so far as European and American countries are concerned, within the limits at disposal in this volume. It may, however, be mentioned that so far as the primary food requirements are concerned the purchasing power of money is greater in Australia than in any of the countries mentioned in the foregoing list: house rents, however, are higher, as well as the price of most descriptions of wearing apparel. The question of cost of living is further dealt with in another place.

PRICES OF COMMODITIES.

The area of Australia is so extensive, and the population, except on the sea-board, so scattered, that the determination with any exactness of the average prices of the various commodities consumed is almost a matter of impossibility. No attempt has therefore been made to ascertain the average for the whole continent, and in the following pages the prices refer to the Sydney markets alone. There is a further reason. Until the discovery of gold there were virtually only two important markets in all Australia-Sydney and Hobart-and of these Sydney was much the more considerable. Any comparisons of the prices of commodities extending back beyond 1852 must be based mainly upon the experience of Sydney, although from 1840 onwards there is sufficient information in the chapter on the Industrial Progress of Australia in this volume to enable Sydney prices to be adjusted for Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, and the other chief centres of population. For the earlier years the authority of contemporary newspapers has been followed where the official records are obscure or silent, but since 1836 these records have been available, and have for the most part been followed.

The accompanying table exhibits the average prices of eight commodities during each year since 1820:

The most noteworthy feature of the history of prices in Australia— the great range of some of the commodities during the year—is not disclosed by the foregoing table. This variation is most noticeable during the early years, and amongst articles of local production, and was the result of the almost complete isolation the country from the markets of the world. Prior to the discovery of gold, communication by letter with the outside world was at best uncertain, and as late as 1878 the regular mails were made up but once a month. The establishment of telegraphic communication, amongst other results, has had a marked effect on prices, so that except in rare instances, and for goods produced in excess of the demand, the production of Australia no longer determines the prices of goods required for the local markets. Exception must, of course, be made for perishable produce, which is still liable to a great range in price during the course of a single year, as will be shown by some examples hereafter given.

The lowest average

Potatoes have varied in price from year to year. for a whole twelvemonth was 3s. 6d. per cwt. in 1873, and the highest was 21s. 5d. in 1855, shortly after the discovery of gold; and it may not be without interest to note that from 1853 to 1855 the price of potatoes was extraordinarily high. Commencing with the year first named, the averages were 13s., 18s. 6d., 21s. 4d., 10s., 14s. 6d., and 15s. 6d. per cwt. With regard to the variation in a single year, the following examples may be cited:-In 1820, from 4s. 6d. to 10s. per cwt.; in 1825, from 4s. to 12s.; in 1829, from 9s. to 26s.; in 1834, from 9s. to 19s. ; in 1839, from 7s. to 25s.; in 1854, from 11s. to 24s. ; in 1856, from 3s. to 11s.; and in 1888, from 2s. to 24s.

The price of maize has not been subject to very great fluctuation, since, being little used except for horse-feed, this grain is capable of being replaced by other products; nevertheless the prices have ranged from Is. 5d. in 1844 to 10s. in 1854.

In the list given on pages 369 and 370 are included quotations for bread at per 2-lb. loaf. In most years the price varied somewhat regularly with that of wheat. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, chiefly in the years during which wheat brought an unusually high figure, when the price of bread was generally less than might have been expected. The lowest price at which bread has been retailed was 24d. in 1849, and the highest was 14d. the 2-lb. loaf, which figure was paid for a short time in 1839.

In addition to the eight commodities which are given on pages 369 and 370, the foilowing list of the average retail prices of articles largely used may not be without interest. The information begins with 1836, beyond which year it is difficult to determine the exact average.