shall not carry on their homeward journey frozen meat, dairy produce, or cereals in the nature of those grown in Germany. The Japanese Government subsidises its steamers trading to Australia to the extent of £50,000 per annum, and the Messageries Maritimes receives a subsidy of 8s. 4d. per mile. The British lines-the Peninsular and Oriental and the Orient Pacific-each receive £85,000 per annum for carrying the mails to and from Australia.

It is somewhat remarkable to find that the vessels engaged in the inter-state trade have more than kept pace in increase of tonnage with those trading between the Commonwealth and other countries. Of course, the increase in the average tonnage of inter-state vessels is represented as greater than it actually has been, because the mailsteamers on their way to Sydney are cleared at Fremantle, Adelaide, and Melbourne for the states further east; but when allowance has been made on this score, the improvement in the class of vessel trading in local waters will be found most noteworthy. It is well known, however, that the steamers running on the Australian coast favourably compare with those engaged in the coasting trade of any of the great maritime countries of the world. Several of the vessels are over 7,000 tons burthen, and are provided with twin screws and fitted with the most modern appliances and conveniences for the transport of passengers and cargo.

The trade of the Commonwealth with New Zealand appears as external shipping in all returns given in this chapter, and has, therefore, not been distinguished separately, but in the following table will be found figures showing the total shipping of that colony with all countries :

The improvement in the class of vessel engaged in the trade will be apparent from the fact that although the number of vessels bas decreased by 256 since 1891, the total tonnage has increased by about 971,000 tons, while the average per vessel is more than double that of 1891.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF PORTS.

The relative importance of the various ports of the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand may be ascertained by an inspection of the table given hereunder. Melbourne takes first place in the amount of tonnage; but the figures are inflated by the counting of the great

ocean steamers as twice entering and twice clearing at Port Phillip. This remark applies equally to Port Adelaide and Albany, and in the last two years to Fremantle. If allowance be made on this score, it will be found that Sydney has a larger quantity of shipping than any other Australasian port, and that it is followed by Melbourne, Newcastle, and Port Adelaide. The figures for the years 1881 and 1891 given for Queensland ports, other than Brisbane, include coastal trade, and the quantity of tonnage shown for these years is, therefore, somewhat in excess of the truth. As this table is only intended to show the relative importance of ports, the inter-state shipping of the Commonwealth has not been excluded, but no account has been taken of the purely coastal trade within each state:

A better idea of the relative importance of the principal ports of the states is obtainable from the trade figures, which are given below for the year

1903 :

The comparative importance of the ports of the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand may be seen by viewing them in connection with the shipping and trade of the chief ports of the United Kingdom, the 1902 figures for which are appended. It will be seen that in aggregate tonnage Melbourne is exceeded only by London, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Newcastle. Sydney comes next on the list, exceeding all other British ports. In value of trade Sydney is exceeded only by London, Liverpool, and Hull. If the Commonwealth of Australia be regarded as one country, however, the comparison is somewhat misleading, as the inter-state trade has been included in the returns :

The yearly movement of tonnage at Melbourne and Sydney far exceeds that of the ports of any other British possession, Hong Kong and Singapore excepted. Two other exceptions might be mentioned

Fremantle

...

2,117,454

13,098,197

Hobart .....

1,142,756

1,860,895

715,117

6,704,653

805,340 5,668,790

Gibraltar and Malta; but as these are chiefly ports of call, and the trade is very limited compared with the tonnage, they can scarcely be placed in the same category.

REGISTRATION OF VESSELS.

The number and tonnage of steam and sailing vessels on the registers of each of the six states of the Commonwealth and the colony of New Zealand at the end of 1903 are given below :—

For comparative purposes a statement is subjoined, showing the merchant navies of some of the principal maritime countries of the world. In considering the figures, allowance must be made for the fact that the minimum tonnage of vessels included in the registrations is not the same in every instance. Thus for Norway it is 4 tons; Sweden, 20 tons; Denmark, 4 tons; France, 2 tons; Italy, 2 tons; Germany, 17 tons; and the United States, 5 tons.

WAGES OF SEAMEN.

In calculating the average wages paid to seamen, regard must be had to the fact that shipping companies, in some instances, take into consideration personal qualifications and length of service of employees, when fixing rates. The following table shows the average wages, per calendar month, in 1903, paid to white crews of British ocean-going steamers trading with the Commonwealth, and also the rates for white crews of steamers engaged in the inter-state trade. The rates were obtained from the ships' articles deposited with the state shipping officers :

The crews of some of the British steamers trading to the Commonwealth are composed partly of coloured seamen, chiefly Lascars and