The political parties of the day may be said to represent the interest of Northern and Southern Queensland respectively. The Ministry, at the head of which is Sir Thomas McIlwraith, represents the Northern portion. Hence they have recently signed a contract with an English syndicate for the construction, on the land-grant system, of a trans-continental railway to join Townsville and other north-east coast settlements with the Gulf of Carpentaria. Reproductive works and free immigration form a principal item in their policy; but that which has attracted much opposition is a proposal for the introduction of regular supplies of Cingalese. The Opposition, led by Mr. Griffiths, represents the cooler climes, where coolie labour is little wanted, and which cannot be benefited by the railway. These contend that it would be impossible to confine the coolies to the sugar plantations, and that they will interfere with the legitimate labour of Europeans. They look for the support of the working-classes. The Northern interests are those of planters and capitalists.

Although Western Australia occupies a third of the total area of the continent, it has so little connection with the sister colonies that it can hardly claim to be considered as a factor in Australian politics. The colony was founded in 1829, under the name of the Swan River Settlement, by a number of gentlemen, many of them retired officers, to whom the Imperial Government gave far larger land grants than they had capital to manage. For twenty years both settlement and settlers had to struggle for bare existence, until in 1851 they persuaded the Home authorities to establish a convict station there. This supplied much-needed labour for public works and a market for the stock and produce of the settlers, while the maintenance of the convicts necessitated the expenditure of L80,000 to L90,000 a year of Imperial money in the colony. With these aids, the settlers kept their heads above water, till, owing to the Victorian outcry against what was termed 'a blot' on the already rather shady 'escutcheon 'of Australia, the immigration was stopped in 1868. Since then the convicts have dwindled down from 5,000 to 500. Happily the discovery of new pastoral lands occurred almost simultaneously with the cessation of convict immigration, and the colony has slowly but gradually progressed, until now it has a population of 30,000 inhabitants. During the past year exploration has been vigorously prosecuted. Large tracts of country have been taken up for pastoral purposes by capitalists in the other colonies, and several projects for the construction of railways, to be paid for by grants of land, are now under consideration by the Government. At the present moment nothing but capital and population of a more energetic kind than the old settlers seems to be wanting for Western Australia to become a prosperous colony; and provided he is not afraid to rough it, there is no part of Australia in which a capitalist—whether large or small—can more remuneratively settle than in this out of the way part of the world; and this I say after having myself temporarily lost heavily there. Capital is the great need of Western Australia. At present, you feel yourself more out of the world in Perth than in Siberia. The people are poor, old-fashioned, warm-hearted, and slow-going, with no belief in the resources of their own country. Whatever wealth is made there, is made by outsiders—mostly Victorians—who are gradually galvanizing the place into life. But that Western Australia is destined to become a great country, no one who has lived there long enough to know something of it, and not long enough to become impregnated with the prevailing indifferentism, can doubt.

The province is still under Crown Government, although there is a Legislative Council, two-thirds of the members of which are elected by L10 householders, which is yearly gaining power. The advent of Constitutional Government will depend entirely upon the progress of the colony; but at present it is far from being desirable, the elected members of the Council being distinctly the obstructive party, while the Governor and the Imperially appointed officials are the only persons who look beyond the squatting interest to that of the colony as a whole.

The politics of the country consist of discussions as to whether settlers should be bound to pay half the value of the fences a neighbour has erected or wishes to erect between them; whether the railway should be allowed to go through a certain square in the township of Guildford; whether police protection, at the expense of the whole colony, should be afforded to settlers in the outlying districts, who are exposed to attacks of natives. People living within hearing of St. Stephen's can hardly imagine the virulence with which these petty questions are gone into, still less that for months they have formed the only topics of conversation. Liliput must, I feel sure, have been a far noisier place than Brobdingnag, and with the kindest feeling towards the most hospitable people in the world, I cannot forbear a smile at the recollections of the boredom I underwent on the subject of the Fencing Bill.

Reviewing Australian politics as a whole, one notices that whilst all the colonies are distinctly 'Liberal' in their ideas, the shades of colour vary from Whiggism in New South Wales and Queensland, to extreme Radicalism in Victoria, with South Australia as the exponent of the more sober Radicals. The two more important provinces have diverged considerably from each other, partly from sheer opposition, but chiefly from diversity of circumstances and constituents. Until recently, South Australia was content quietly to beat out its own little track; but the rapprochement between all the colonies, which increased facilities of communication have brought about, is yearly tending to lessen its individuality and to make it a mere copy of one or the other of its big neighbours.

In discussing constitutional questions it is well to remember that, although all the Australian constitutions are founded on analogy with the British, that analogy can easily be carried too far. To begin, the main functions of the Colonial Legislature, and the relations of the two Chambers towards each other, are for the most part written down in black and white, their constitutions allowing no room for the 'broadening down from precedent to precedent,' which has enabled the British constitution to work comparatively so smoothly. The latter grew up naturally, the former were made to order. All parties in Australia are agreed to follow British precedent where none is provided in the Constitution Act; but there is a considerable party who actually hold that the colonial constitutions being modelled on the British, the spirit of the British constitution should be followed, even when it does not altogether agree with the letter of their own; and this, although it is obvious that an Upper House on such a broad electoral basis as that of Victoria or South Australia, affords almost as many points of comparison with the House of Commons as with the Lords. A peculiar instance of this feeling was shown in 1861 in New South Wales, where, the Upper Chamber being nominated by the Government, Sir John Robertson took advantage of the precedent established by Earl Grey's threat, to swamp the Legislative Council with nominees in order to pass a Land Act. Another difference besides the mode of appointment lies in the different education and social status of the members, about which I shall have something to say further on.

Happily there has so far rarely been any strain in the relations with the mother country. It may be true that the colonists are gradually getting less patient when the Queen's assent is refused to an Act, but the Colonial Office is also becoming more wary in refusing such assent. This leads on to the general question of the probabilities of a separation. Certainly there is no sign of any intention deliberately to cut the painter; but by a rash act on the part of the mother country, or if Australia were to suffer severely in a war in which she had no concern, it might suddenly and unexpectedly snap. Such I believe to be the true state of the case, unalterable either by Imperialistic demonstrations at home, or ultra-Royalistic effusions out here; although in the ordinary run of affairs neither of these are without their use in keeping up a cordial feeling. Even in semi-communistic Victoria there is at present an unlimited fund of British patriotism, and, superficially, the colonists are more loyal than Englishmen living in the land. But present it has to be remembered that a majority of the inhabitants are still English born and bred, and that the circumstances of colonial life do not encourage the indulgence of sentiment at the expense of material advantages. Where the treasure is, there will the heart be also. When the purely Australian element gets the upper hand, the keeping of the British connection will become merely a question of advantage and opportunity. In time of peace the advantage is decidedly on the side of the present state of things. The events of war might reverse the position.

No unimportant tie is the disunion between the colonies themselves. So far all attempts at Federation, whether proceeding from England or from public feeling in Australia itself, have completely failed. The subject was actually discussed at a recent Intercolonial Conference, and again last session in the Victorian House of Assembly. But I very much doubt whether all the talk that is going on upon the subject will overcome the practical difficulties within the present generation, unless there come some period of common danger. Certain it is that if Federation is to be brought about, the movement must be endogenous. At present the way is blocked by the opposite commercial policies of Victoria and Now South Wales. That practical experience will point out the true solution of the Free Trade and Protection controversy in Australia is hardly likely, when one notices the present Protectionist movements in England; but in the course of years, one may reasonably expect that a purely Australian feeling will overcome this stumbling-block, and give us one tariff for the whole of Australia. Such a feeling can hardly become sufficiently strong to effect this object without encroaching considerably on the ground now occupied by Imperial patriotism. How true this is, is exemplified by the fact that the first, and so far the only subject upon which there has been any Australian, as opposed to provincial feeling, is Australian cricket, or more properly the Australian Eleven. And in connection with this I note that the matches against England are invariably called International, which is not strictly correct. The two questions of Federation and Separation are almost inseparably bound together, though in time of war a federation would be possible which would only bind Australia more closely to England. Then will be the opportunity, not only for Federation, but for Consolidation, or for Separation. Which it will be, must depend largely on the course events take. As I pointed out above, if Australia were to suffer severely, it might cause Separation; but if, on the other hand, she felt that her liberties and well-being were preserved by direct force of British arms, it is quite probable that an irresistible feeling in favour of Consolidation might arise, and Lord Carnarvon's dreams might be realized, provided the British Government struck the iron while it was hot.

When Federation takes place, I think there can be little doubt that it will take a shape similar to that of the United States; and that in due course of years Federation, in this shape, will become a fact, seems to me more than likely. Sir Henry Parkes's idea of fusion seems applicable enough to Victoria and New South Wales, if they could overcome their economical enmities; but that South Australia or any part of Queensland should join is impracticable. A year in New Zealand has been sufficient to convince me that the abolition of the Provincial system there has been far from an unmixed benefit. For most purposes, the colony of New Zealand is merely a geographical expression. If the distances between Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington are sufficient to mar the fusion of the New Zealand Provinces, how infinitely more impracticable would a central Government at Albury be so far as Adelaide and Brisbane are concerned.

The character and behaviour of the members of Australian legislatures have to be considered in forming any just estimate of colonial politics. Unfortunately, the little that is known on the subject at home has revealed neither in a favourable light. The rowdy members and rowdy scenes have ipso facto attained prominence; but after carefully watching for myself, and taking the opinions of those best qualified to form them, I cannot but think that the generally-received opinion even in Australia is incorrect, and that, taking all the circumstances into consideration, both character and behaviour are far better than one has reason to expect. Here, as in many other respects, Victoria is the most pronounced example of what may be called Australianism as opposed to Englishism. Up to the present moment, she is the only Australian colony (I do not count New Zealand) which pays her legislators, and consequently she has at once the cleverest and the worst-behaved set. There are very few members of her parliament who can claim to possess any real political talent. But the general average of native as apart from trained ability, and of clearness in expressing what they wish to say, will—if we except the dozen leading men on each side of the House of Commons—compare with that of the more august assemblage. Nine-tenths of the Victorian members possess at least the gift of the gab. In the excitement of the moment, grammar goes to the winds, and h 's fall thick as leaves in Vallombrosa, but they neither hesitate nor falter in their speech, and are nearly all possessed of a good deal of useful practical information. Their behaviour is certainly open to exception, but so is that of the House of Commons. The only difference is, that in Melbourne bad behaviour is almost the rule, while at St. Stephen's it may be considered the exception. Ministers and leaders of the Opposition give each other the lie direct and think nothing of it, and unparliamentary epithets are freely bandied about. At times there have been scenes unsurpassed only in the French Assembly, and one or two members have kept up a continued fire of uncomplimentary interjections. But it is only fair to remember that the great majority of the House belong to the lower middle class, and are found wanting, even if judged by the not very elevated social and educational standard of the colonies. Many of them have risen to their present not very high estate from the lowest class. Amongst people of that kind you cannot expect to find the tone of the House of Commons. The unfortunate members cannot leave the manners and customs of their class in the cloakroom of the House. Besides this, the questions under discussion in Melbourne of late years have been particularly inflammatory. When the appeal has been made from reason to passions on the one side, and to pockets on the other, the debates can hardly be anything but stormy; and if one recollects that most of these encounters take place between the present and the past lower orders, is it astonishing if irony and sarcasm give place to Billingsgate?

The recent exposure of grave political scandals in Sydney has attracted attention to the seamy side of the political life of the colonies. But such scandals, I would fain believe, are exceptional. The tone of the Sydney House is little, if at all, better than that of the Melbourne one, in spite of the members being unpaid. Political adventurers—the curse of communities like these—are perhaps not so numerous, for the L300 a year paid to every Victorian M.P. offers special facilities for the professional politician, but some light has recently been thrown on their misdeeds. The questions under discussion in Sydney are also less important. But the very unimportance of New South Wales politics leaves open a wide door for strong language. I have a vivid recollection of hearing one member talk about the 'effluvium which rises from that dung heap opposite,' alluding to another member, who fortunately was well able to return the compliment in kind. Both, however, are amongst the most useful men in the House. Such amenities are mere matters of everyday occurrence, ripples without which the debates would stagnate. The pity of them is that they discourage men of education and position from descending into the political arena, and even corrupt the manners of those who do. Still, one must bear in mind that, however much a low tone is in itself regrettable, it is no criterion of the work of which the House is capable and which it actually gets through.

In South Australia the tone of the House is much higher than in any of the other colonies. The general standard of ability is not so high as in Victoria, but the social status and general respectability of the members are considerably higher. The House seems to be impressed with the idea that it is considered the most respectable in Australia, and to strive to maintain its reputation in that respect. So mild is the general tenour of the debates, that an old House of Commons reporter assures me that the South Australian Assembly is a more orderly body and far more obedient to the Chair than St. Stephen's. Personalities of the warmer kind are considered bad form, and one of the ablest men in the House has completely lost all political influence from the shadiness of sundry transactions which, in the sister colonies, would most assuredly have been forgiven long before they were forgotten. Of course the House is hot free from adventurers, but they are of the better type, and have to conform to a fairly high standard of political morality, if they wish to obtain office and influence. As I stated before, the absence of burning political questions, and the peculiar temperament of the colonists, has led to a reputation for respectability being the chief recommendation for a seat in the House. There is occasionally a little 'log-rolling' to obtain the construction of public works in particular districts, but like everything else in South Australian politics, this is very 'mild,' and the struggle between the districts is never sufficiently strong to interfere seriously with the common weal.

In Queensland, in spite of a Conservative constitution, the debates, if we may believe the fortnightly letters published in the leading papers of Sydney and Melbourne, rival those of Victoria in rowdyism. Personal animosity between members runs to an unpardonable height, and the leaders of the two parties are constantly making accusations against each other's integrity. Political scandals are more numerous, if less important, than in Sydney. Altogether, the impression that I have gathered is unfavourable to the Brisbane Legislature.

The most prominent politicians in Australia are Sir Henry Parkes and Mr. Berry. Of these, Sir Henry Parkes is unquestionably the abler. He is a fair administrator, a good debater and leader of the House, has statesmanlike ideas, and but for his overweening conceit might have risen to the rank of a statesman. Mr. Berry's talent lies in a fluency of specious but forcible speech appealing to the mob, rather than in debating power. His vision is limited, and he is a poor administrator. After these two I would place Mr. J. G. Francis, now the leader of the Victorian Conservatives, who is decidedly able, and Sir John O'Shannassy, whose adherence to the Catholic claims alone keeps him out of a commanding position. Sir John Robertson may perhaps claim to be placed before either of these two, but it must be upon the ground of past performances rather than of present action; he is emphatically a light of other days. Sir Bryan O'Loghlen will never do anything remarkable; and the same may be said of Mr. Stuart. South Australia has two good administrators in Messrs. Morgan and Bray. The latter has developed during his Premiership abilities for which no one had given him credit. As a leader of the House, he has raised tact to the dignity of a fine art. Mr. Patterson seems to me the ablest of the Victorian Radicals. Mr. Parsons, of Adelaide, should also make his mark. In Mr. Ward, South Australia possesses the most brilliant speaker in the colonies but he has not sufficient application or steadiness to become powerful. Mr. D. Buchanan, of Sydney, is also clever, but his tongue runs away with his discretion. Sir T. McIlwraith, Sir T. Palmer, and Mr. Griffith, in Queensland, should of course be included in any list of prominent politicians of the day, but unfortunately I do not know enough about them to pronounce any opinion upon their abilities which would be worth having. Amongst living politicians who are not now taking part in politics, but whose names deserve to be mentioned, are Mr. Service, Mr. Murray Smith, and Sir Charles Sladen, who throughout the Reform agitation were the pillars of the Conservative party in Victoria, and Mr. Douglas in Queensland.

Amongst the younger band of politicians, it is not difficult to discern three Premiers in petto. Mr. Reid, of Sydney, only wants more parliamentary and administrative experience, and the more thorough understanding of the proportions of affairs which a couple of years' residence in England would give, to become the nearest approach to a statesman which Australia has ever seen. In South Australia, Mr. Dixon shows a great deal of promise. In Melbourne, Mr. Deakin's fluency of speech impressed me considerably. Upon him will probably fall Mr. Berry's mantle. All three of these rising politicians are young and enthusiastic, but while Mr. Reid and Mr. Dixon are Australians in the widest sense, Mr. Deakin's ideas seem to be unable to reach beyond the colony in which he was born.

The Land question, the Constitutional question, the Transcontinental-Railway question, the Coastal-Trunk Railway question, the Education question, the Immigration question, will be seen to be common to all the Australian colonies.

In Victoria and South Australia the constitutional question is at rest for another decade; but though it is not at present on the tapis, there is every probability that within the next five years New South Wales will abandon the nominated Upper House for one elected by a propertied constituency, such as that of the South Australian and Victorian Legislative Councils. Within the same period Queensland, or at any rate the southern part of it, if it splits into two over the question, will adopt universal suffrage. Very possibly the opportunity will also be taken to make the Legislative Council elective, but probably on a much less liberal basis than in the other colonies. Five years more of progress such as she has made last year, and Western Australia will become fitted for and obtain constitutional government. The liberalizing of the Australian constitutions is entirely a matter of time, but the direction is pretty well indicated. The length of each step depends mainly upon whether it is made with the goodwill of both Houses at a time when there is no urgent demand for reform; or whether it is affected by obstruction on the part of the Upper House; or whether, as seems likely to be the case in New Zealand, it is brought about by the apathy of the Second Chamber. I doubt, however, whether even Victoria has reached finality in its Constitution, and it is difficult to prophesy what form the Colonial Legislative Council of the future is to take. Probably before Reform can take a new direction, there will be Federation, with an Australian Senate.

Many people think that the solution of the Education question remains to be found. A Royal Commission was appointed last session in South Australia to consider the bearings of the existing system, and in Victoria there is already a strong political party opposed to it. After such a complete reversal of a policy which was supposed to be so firmly established as Sir John Robertson's land system, no system in Australia can be said to be finally established if there is any considerable number of sufferers by it. Most sensible people—though they are certainly not numerous—admit that the Catholics are really aggrieved by being obliged to contribute towards a system of education of which they cannot avail themselves, and many others regret the omission from our educational system of so important an element as religion. But the advantage of an uniform system of State education is widely and generally appreciated. The present system may be modified so as to give ministers of religion greater opportunities for doctrinal teaching out of hours, and to allow of broad Christian morality being taught as part of the educational course. But I cannot think that a return to State aid to denominational schools is at all probable; and if the next half-dozen years pass over without such a change, the number of electors educated under the existing system will make it impossible. The Church of England was the only Protestant body which originally objected to the secular system, because none of the other Protestant denominations had schools of their own. Now these are beginning to awake to the fact that the secular schools are thinning their flocks, and producing a large number of freethinkers in fact, if not in profession. They are therefore openly becoming more inclined to joint action with the Anglicans, not for the establishment of denominational schools, but for the introduction of broad Christian teaching into the existing schools. The Catholics, of course, hold that just as the existing schools negatively produce Free-thinkers by the absence of any Christian teaching, so broad Christianity would be mere Protestantism; i.e., the negation of Roman Catholic doctrine.

On the Land question we seem as far as ever from finality. The reaction against the selection system will probably not extend to Victoria because the quantity of land there is limited, and its character for the most part superior. In South Australia the solution will probably be in superior facilities for opening up the interior or unoccupied lands, greater fixity of tenure to the leaseholders, restriction of the land open to the operation of the system of selection, easier terms to the selector, and greater encouragement to both selector and leaseholder to improve their holdings. In New South Wales the change must be more radical, because, in the absence of the South Australian clause which made survey precede selection, the evil which has arisen is much greater. But the direction of the change will probably be similar, though the selector will be less considered, and there is not much totally unused land needing pastoral occupation. In Victoria the selections are now being increased in size to one square mile, and I think changes will gradually be made which will make the large freeholders find it to their advantage to sell. In Victoria and New South Wales there is a quantity of freehold property used for pasture which is well fitted for agriculture. South Australia, on the contrary, has pretty well reached the margin of cultivation, and must seek to improve her wheat-yield, not so much by enlargement of the area cultivated, as by improvement in the cultivation of the area already under crop.

Victoria has completely abandoned Government immigration, but New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland each grant free or assisted passages to immigrants of a certain class. For the last three or four years the immigration policy has been slackened, but there is every sign that another push is going o be made in this direction by South Australia, which had almost entirely stopped free passages, and by Queensland. Beyond question, one of the chief needs of Australia at the present moment is a steady stream of immigration, and this can only be obtained by more strenuous efforts on the part of the Colonial Governments to make the position and prospects of the country better known at home. Immigration raises the revenue and helps to pay off the interest on our debt. It reduces the expenditure proportionately to the population. It gives more employment, since the new-comers must be housed and clothed and live; and it supplies more labour, enabling fresh country and new industries to be opened up. Population is the chief element of wealth and progress in a young country like this.

The contract which the Queensland Government has just signed for the construction of a railway from Charleville and Point Parker marks the beginning of an era of transcontinental railways constructed by English companies upon the land-grant system. The next will probably join Albany (King George's Sound) to Perth, and the third will traverse the continent from north to south, i.e. from Port Darwin to Port Augusta, and practically to Adelaide. The advantages of the land-grant system are yet insufficiently appreciated in Australia, but in this system I believe there lies an enormous source of wealth. The Colonial Governments cannot possibly afford to construct these lines themselves; but if the contracts are made with discretion, the advantages which the companies will reap, though sufficient, will be as nothing compared with the enormous increase in the value of the remaining land, and the addition to the productive power of the colony. The railways from capital to capital will, of course, be constructed by the Governments of each colony. Sydney is already united to Melbourne, and in four years' time Adelaide will also be connected. Brisbane, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Mackay, and Townsville will all be joined in due course of time, and by the land-grant system Point Parker, on the northern coast, will be included. The next step must undoubtedly be the connection of Albany with Port Augusta on the land-grant system, and of Perth—or rather Geraldton—with the new settlements in the Kimberley district. All this, I think, we may reasonably expect to be done in the next quarter of a century. After that a line will probably be constructed across the centre of the continent from east to west, and the coastal trunk line completed along the north-west from the Kimberley district to Port Darwin, and thence to Point Parker.

Just before the last mail left with this letter, the Parkes Government in New South Wales exploded like a bomb-shell. A fortnight after it was posted, Sir Bryan O'Loghlen wrought a coup d'etat. On the last day of January, Victoria was amazed by the altogether unexpected news that the Ministry had advised, and the Governor granted, a dissolution. The morning papers had not contained even a hint of such a catastrophe, and the publication of the Government Gazette containing the proclamation was the first intimation of it which anybody outside the Cabinet received. The grounds upon which the request of the Ministry was granted were, that the House was so divided into sections of parties that it was impossible to carry on the public business; that the Parliament was moribund, having only six months to live; and that the Government, which asked for the dissolution, was undefeated. Both the Conservatives and Liberals, and their leaders the Argus and Age, alike blame the Governor for granting the dissolution, on the grounds that the House was just as incompetent to transact business six months ago as now, and that the Government would never have applied for a dissolution but for the certain defeat which awaited them directly the House met, on account of the failure of the loan. To me, however, it seems that the Governor was perfectly right. Admitting the undeniable truth of the objections I have just quoted, it remains to be said that if the Government had waited to be defeated in the House, no Government capable of carrying on business could have been formed in such a House. As it is the Government are absolutely certain to be defeated in the country, and in a new House there is every chance of a strong Government being formed. Mr. Service, the ablest of Australian politicians, who led the Conservative Opposition to Mr. Berry's Government throughout the constitutional struggle, and who has been on a holiday in England during the present Minister's tenure of office, has resolved to re-enter into politics. Although a resolute opponent of the excesses of Berryism, Mr. Service is more of a Liberal than of a Conservative, and I confidently expect that the general elections will result in a Coalition Government formed of the ablest men of either side, under Mr. Service's leadership. Even Mr. Berry, in his election speech, has announced 'moderation' as his watchword, and a longing for the loaves and fishes of office will probably induce him to serve under Mr. Service. Mr. Patterson, the ablest of the Radicals, may be pronounced a certainty for the Ministry of Public Works. Mr. Francis, the leader of the Conservatives whilst Mr. Service was away, will be a fourth. For the remaining offices, Messrs. Pearson and Deakin of the Radicals, and Gillies of the Conservatives, are the most likely men. Such a Government of all the talents, with Civil Service Reform as the first plank in its platform, should rival the length and strength of the Parkes-Robertson Coalition, which lasted four years, and would be infinitely superior to it in ability. As for poor Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, the services he has rendered to the country are little likely to be appreciated at the poll, and all he will be able to do is to rally into opposition the men who think Mr. Service ought to have offered them portfolios.

BUSINESS.

The Australian Insurance Banking Record informs me that there are no less than 24 joint-stock banking companies, with 750 branches doing business in Australia. They all pay dividends of from 6 to 18 per cent. to their shareholders, besides putting handsome sums every year to their reserve funds, so that banking business is fairly profitable here. The existence and prosperity of so many banks in a community which, all told, is considerably smaller than the population of London, is chiefly due to the wealth of the small number of people who form it, and also to the wider range of business which the banks undertake. Nearly everybody who is worth L100 has a banking account, and most people who have an account have overdrafts, which are given for the most part on purely personal security. The banks also advance freely on growing crops, wool on the sheep's back, and all kinds of intangible security. Many of the largest merchants are to all intents and purposes mere bank-agents. It is quite a common thing for ordinary working-men to keep bank accounts; and all farmers, even the smallest, are obliged to keep them; for in the country specie payments are almost unknown, and the smallest sums are paid by cheque. Even in the towns, residents usually pay any sum over a pound by cheque. Although this practice has opened the door to a good deal of fraud, its convenience is obvious. You need never keep more than a few shillings in your pocket, and your bank keeps all your accounts for you.

In a community in which every class is largely dependent upon his goodwill, the banker occupies the highest social position, almost irrespective of his merits. It is this excessive dependence upon the banks which largely accounts for the excessive ups and downs of colonial life. In times when money is easy the banks almost force it upon their customers. When it is tight, many people who are really solvent are forced into the Gazette, and a panic ensues, from which it takes the country some time to recover.

The tendency to merge large firms into limited liability companies, which has extended lately from America to England, has also been felt in Australia, though not to the same extent as in New Zealand. In certain classes of business these come into competition with the smaller banks, but each, as a rule, runs hand in glove with a large bank, undertaking certain classes of loans and supplementing the bank's business. They buy wool and wheat freely in Melbourne, hold auction sales there, sell on commission in England, advance upon wool on the sheep's back and standing crops onwards; in short, merit their usual description of loan, mercantile, and agency houses. Mortgage and land investment companies are another class which has been springing up of late. One company has been started professedly to deal solely with wheat: several already exist which make wool their only concern. Besides these, there are the usual run of mining companies, which spring up epidemically and mostly have their headquarters in Victoria. It is needless to say, that in these companies it is a case of neck or nothing.

Land is naturally the safest investment of any that offer themselves in the colonies. Although every ten years or so there comes to each colony a period of intense speculation in land, with a consequent reaction, it is a generally accepted maxim, that 'you cannot go far wrong in buying land.' There is always the chance of making 50 to 100 per cent. in the year by a land purchase, and at the worst you will get 10 to 20 per cent. per annum, if you can only afford to tide over one, or at most two bad years.

On first-class mortgages the rate of interest varies from 6 1/2 to 8 per cent. for large amounts. For small amounts 8 per cent. is always obtainable by a man who keeps his eyes open. But, beyond this absolutely secure class of investments, one thousand-and-one small chances of making large profits with little risk occur to every man who has got a few hundreds; and if he fails to turn them to account he will have nothing but himself to blame.

In the early days there was of course no distinction between wholesale and retail business, and in country towns the largest firms still keep stores where you can buy sixpennyworth of anything you want. Even in the towns the distinction is not firmly established, and many of the wealthiest importers still keep shops. Nor are the trades specialized to anything like the same extent as at home; though, in wholesale trade, they are becoming more so every day. Nearly the whole of the extra-Australian trade is still with England—chiefly London—though there is a small import trade with America and China, and export to India and the Cape. The French and Germans are both making strenuous efforts to establish a market here, and the Germans especially are succeeding. A great deal of business has been done of late by agents working on commission for English manufacturers; but most of the larger importers have their buyers in England. The tendency, however, is towards buying in Australia, although it is opposed by the large wholesale importers who are injured by closer connection between manufacturers and small buyers.

If, on the one hand, there are fewer of those old-established firms in which strict traditions of honour descend from generation to generation, so, on the other hand, the smaller size of the towns gives less scope for barefaced swindlers. And thus, if the standard of commercial morality is lower here than at home, people are not taken in so easily, or to so great an extent. Everyone is expected to be more or less of a business man, and is looked upon as a blockhead and deserving to be cheated, if he does not understand and allow for the tricks of the trade. In Melbourne the heavy protectionist tariff has brought about an almost universal practice of presenting the customs with false invoices so skilfully concocted as to make detection impossible. Within my knowledge this practice has been resorted to by firms of the highest standing. Sharp practice amongst respectable firms is also very common, and verbal agreements are less trustworthy than in England. You are expected to be on your guard against being 'taken in;' and if you are taken in, no one has any compassion for you, the general opinion being that a man who trusts to anything less than the plainest black-and-white is a fool.

Liberality to employes and in the details of business is little known or appreciated. Exactly contrary to the prevalent idea in America, the Australian merchant is most averse to casting bread on the waters with a view to its return after many days. He distrusts courtesy and liberality as cloaks for the knave, or as the appurtenances of the fool. Loyalty is a phrase little understood, and the merchant leaves as little to his clerks' honesty or honour as he can possibly help. In business he holds that 'Every man's hand is against his neighbour, and his neighbour's against him;' and he pushes the aphorism to its fullest logical conclusion, i.e., not merely to 'Believe every man to be a knave until you find he is honest,' but 'Believe that when a man is honest it is merely the more successfully to carry out some rascality.'

The old-fashioned English prejudice against bankruptcy has been improved out of existence by the speculative nature of all business, and the consequent frequency of insolvencies. Some of the largest merchants have 'been through the Court,' as it is termed, more than once; and provided there has been no open swindle in the case, no opprobium attaches. Even when there has been swindling, it is soon forgiven and forgotten. A man who has been caught swindling is denounced at the time with an exaggerated ardour which would make a stranger think that swindles were almost as rare as the cases in which they are discovered; but it is only just to recognise that the exposed swindler has a fair chance given him of retrieving his reputation, and perhaps of setting himself up again. The fact is, that so much sharp practice goes on, that the discovered swindler is rarely a sinner above his neighbours: he has simply had the bad luck to be found out. If half the stories one hears are true, half the business people in the colonies must be more or less swindlers in small matters. I don't mean that they commit legal swindles, but merely what may be called dirty tricks. On the other hand, I know many business men in whose probity I could put full confidence. But you require to live in a place some time, and must probably buy your experience pretty dearly, before you find these out. And even they in many trades cannot help contamination. It is very difficult to mix thoroughly in business without dirtying your hands; it requires no ordinary moral courage to keep them clean when there is so much filthy lucre about. A man who is determined never to diverge from the strict path of honour finds himself of necessity at a disadvantage in the commercial maze, and the best thing he can do is never to go into it. His sense of what is right cannot but be dulled by the continual grating of petty trickery. He is led almost before he knows it into things from which he recoils with disgust, perhaps too late to prevent them, and he has continually to be on the watch for and to combat the trickery of others. I cannot say that, generally speaking, I have much sympathy with the somewhat smug self-righteousness of Young Men's Christian Associations, but I must say that they have done a great deal of good in putting a leaven of honesty into the commercial lump.

The way in which a man changes his trade and occupation is remarkable. One year he is a wine-merchant; the next he deals in soft goods; and the year after he becomes an auctioneer. The consequence of this is, that, although colonists acquire a peculiar aptitude for turning their hand to anything, and a great deal of general commercial knowledge, that knowledge is for the most part very superficial. This accounts for the phenomenal success which a newcomer who is a specialist occasionally meets with in a line of business in which he is an expert, and also for the failure which often attends the efforts of competent specialists, who become discredited because they are not able to do something properly, which in England would not be considered to come within their province. To a man coming here to establish himself in any business I would always give the advice to take a subordinate position for a year in a similar business already established. This will give him what is called 'colonial experience,' for want of which many an able man fails at the threshold.

Amongst the peculiarities of colonial trade is a strong preference for local manufactures, with the exception of wine. A large manufacturer of agricultural machinery, who has just been making a tour of the colonies, tells me that he finds merchants actually prefer an inferior and dearer article locally made, if it appears at all equal to the English one in appearance. In a certain measure I believe this to be true. It is not merely a patriotic or protective feeling of sentiment, but is to a great extent due to the untrustworthiness of European manufacturers, who constantly send out articles inferior to those ordered. The French in particular sin in this respect. The Americans seem to be most to be relied upon. Owing partly to the duty on wool, and to the small number of articles which can be exported to America, there is not nearly so much trade with the United States as might be expected. If freights were lower, or our social relations with America closer, there would certainly be many more American manufactures in use than there are now.

Generally speaking, it may be said that trade is far more speculative and profits far larger than in Europe. Capital requires and obtains at least half as much again in interest. The openings for profitable speculation are greater. In squatting, the losses are occasionally very large; but during a good season the gains are beyond all English conception, if the rate of increase of the flock, which is sometimes from 100 to 120 per cent., be taken into consideration. You hear people say that the day of the squatter is coming to an end in Australia, and that money can no longer be profitably invested in sheep-runs. If this be so, how is it that nearly every Melbourne merchant is also an owner of stations? That sheep-farming can no longer be carried on with so small a capital as in the early days may be true; but if a man has the experience, and can endure the hardships of taking up new country, he has still every prospect of success. It is in the towns only that the acquisition of wealth is becoming more difficult; but it may be laid down as a general rule, that in town or country any man with over L5,000 will, if he goes the right way to work and has ordinary luck, multiply his capital by twelve in less than a score of years; and that the impecunious man can at least find more elbow-room than at home. Clerks are said to be a drug in the market; but that is a mere farcon de parler, expressing the fact that they are the worst-paid class in Australia. It does not prevent them from getting better pay for less work than they do in England.

In the professions, as may be imagined, first-class men are rare. When we get them, it is either on account of their health or their habits. A first-rate man can do better in England than here, not only because the field is wider, but because the standard of comparison is higher. Even a second-class man should do better at home in the long-run, though for immediate results there is no place like Australia. But the man who will do well to emigrate is he who is just above the ordinary rank and file—the junior optime of his profession. The rank and file will probably do better out here, but not so much better as to compensate them for the change of scene and life; and the Australian public will take little account of a man who cannot show ability in some direction. For specialists there is not yet much scope. Our social organism has not yet become sufficiently heterogeneous, as the evolutionists would say, though it is gradually progressing every day.

Of all the professions, medicine certainly is the best remunerated. It is not merely that a certain Melbourne surgeon—a man, however, who would have made his mark in London—is making from L8,000 to L10,000 a Year, and several other leading doctors from L4,000 to L6,000; but that the general average income is about L2,000 a year, and an unknown M.R.C.S. can within a month of his landing walk into a practice of L600 for the asking. Exceptions of course there are to the prevailing high rate of income; but they proceed mostly, not from incapacity—for there is plenty of that at L2,000 a year and of drunkenness also—but from an unwillingness to begin with the hardships of a bush life. To start well from the first in town is possible, as has been proved, but only under exceptional conditions; whereas the most mediocre medico, with a mere license from Apothecaries' Hall, can land himself in a good country practice. Provided he can stand that life for three or four years without becoming a drunkard or breaking down in health, his fortune is made. At the end of that time he either takes an opportunity to buy a town practice for a small sum, which, if he has either friends or ability, is his best course, or if he has neither, he stays up in the country, and equally obtains a fortune, though with much harder work. Bush fees are large, but bush work is hard. The bush doctor may at any moment be called upon to ride fifty miles to see a patient. In town he would only get a half-guinea fee, or in Adelaide only five shillings; but the circle is circumscribed, and it is astonishing how many five shillings can be obtained in a day.

In Melbourne and Sydney the bar still exists as a distinct institution. In Adelaide, solicitors, attorneys, conveyancers, proctors, barristers, are all united, and this reform, which works admirably, will probably soon be extended to the other colonies. What generally happens is, that one man with a penchant for the forum goes into partnership with another whose forte lies in the office; and thus, though all lawyers meet on an equality, the two branches of the profession practically remain apart. But the new regime offers great advantages to juniors, who are thus no longer dependent upon attorneys, but are brought face to face with their clients. The latter, in whose interest the reform was chiefly made, have thus, also, far more freedom of choice as regards their advocates. Comparatively easy as it is for a junior to get a fair practice, the bar has too few prizes to make it worth the while of the best men to stay out in Melbourne and Sydney. There are a few exceptions, but very few, who make over L4,000 a year, and in New South Wales the Chief Justice only gets L3,000 a year. Hence a marked weakness in the colonial bench of every colony, except Victoria, where the salaries are higher. Here and there you see a first-rate judge, but for the most part judges are ex-attorney-generals of the administration which happened to be in office when the judgeships fell vacant. Political distinction has become a sine qua non for a candidate for the bench. The leading counsel often would not accept the office if it were offered them, and thus the just-above-the-averages form the majority of judges.

The worst paid of all professions are the clergy, and not only are they the worst paid, but the hardest worked. The bishops get from L800 to L2,000 a year, but there are very few clergy whose stipends exceed L600, and the majority live and die without getting any higher than the L350 to L400 stage. Nor have they here the social compensation which they enjoy in England. There is no Established Church, and their position is not many degrees superior to that of the ministers of other denominations. The latter, whose wants are naturally less, are quite as well, and on the whole probably better, paid. If they have any ability, L500 to L700 is easily within their reach, and one or two distinguished preachers get as much as L1,500 to L2,000.

SHOPS.

The principal shops are noticeable for their size and the heterogeneity of their contents. At first I used to think that this want of specializing was a relic of the days of 'general stores,' which still reign supreme in the country towns. But, on the contrary, the tendency is decidedly to increase the range of retail business rather than to specialize it. For instance, it is within the last five years that furniture, china and fancy goods have become attributes of all the large drapery 'establishments, and that the ironmongers have gone seriously into the agricultural machinery, clock, china and fancy goods business. Amongst these ironmongers there are two shops—Lassetter's at Sydney, and McEwan's in Melbourne—which would attract attention in London; and in Adelaide, Messrs. Steiner and Wendt's silver-ware and jewellery shops have a style of their own which does them immense credit. But, on the whole, Melbourne is facile princeps in shops as in everything that may be said to enter into the ladies' department. The windows' in the fashionable part of the town are dressed anew every week, and with a taste which reminds one of Paris. But in spite of this, the best class of articles are difficult to get, and the few shops that keep them charge almost ridiculous prices. One would suppose that a better class of things would be obtainable in free-trade Sydney than in protected Melbourne, for while freights and commissions fall equally upon the just and upon the unjust, an ad valorem tariff such as that of Victoria presses very hard upon high-priced goods. But, as a matter of fact, the metropolitan and fashionable character of Melbourne more than counterbalances the tariff; and, so far as I can judge, you have as good if not a better chance of getting an article de luxe in the protectionist as in the free-trade city. Of course the latter is the cheapest, but by no means so much cheaper as the difference in tariff would imply, competition being much keener in Melbourne.

In Sydney, however, there is less adulteration and palming off of inferior for good articles. A curious instance of this came under my notice. Shortly after a recent imposition of an extra five per cent upon boots, I bought a pair exactly similar to some I had previously got at the same shop. The charge was exactly the same as before; and on my asking the shopman how it was possible for him to avoid raising his price, he candidly told me that people were accustomed to pay a certain price for a certain article, and that therefore he had been obliged to order an inferior boot, made to look exactly the same. 'My customers won't pay more, sir,' he added; 'and if I were to stick to the same quality as before, they would go to other shops, where they could get an inferior boot, looking just as good, for the old price.

Although there are some dozen places in Melbourne and half-a-dozen in Sydney which are equal, if not superior, to any in Birmingham or Manchester, the general run of colonial shops are little better than in English towns of equal size, and their style is as English as English can be, especially the smaller shops.

But in one respect there is a great difference. The English shopman generally knows his business thoroughly, the colonial rarely. Supposing, for instance, you want some article of ironmongery in an English shop, the attendant shows you an assortment to choose from, pointing out the special merits of each variety of the article as made by different manufacturers, and guiding, but not presuming to dictate, your choice. The colonial, on the contrary, begins by asking an exact description of what you want; and then, feeling sure that he knows much more about your requirements than you do yourself, brings you very likely something that will 'do,' but is not exactly what you want. He does not enjoy the trouble of laying before you a variety of things to choose from, and except in first-class shops he does not seem to care much whether you buy or not. The result often is, that you either are strong-minded enough not to buy at all, or so weak-minded as to take das erste beste that is put before you. Either is unsatisfactory. So far has this custom of knowing everything proceeded, that at a leading dressmaking establishment in Melbourne when a friend of mine was ordering a dress, the fitter after the lady had chosen the stuff, and pattern, said, 'Of course you'll leave the details to me, ma'am,' the details including the length of the skirt and all the gatherings and miscellaneous ornamentations, which make all the difference between a pretty and a tasteless dress, and in which individuality has a chance of showing itself. As regards civility in the first-class establishments, there is little difference from the obsequiousness of the old country; but what difference there is, is in favour of the colony. In the second-rate shops there is often an unnecessary assertion of the shopman's equality with his customer, and a great indifference as to whether he buys or not. In the small shops where the proprietor or his family serve you themselves, the thermometer of civility registers a rise again, though sometimes after a rough fashion.

No mention of Australian shops is complete without an allusion to the fruit and vegetable shops and markets, where every kind of fruit and vegetable can be obtained at a very low price; the varying climates obtainable within a small area enabling each fruit to remain much longer in season than in England.

AMUSEMENTS.

The change to a more genial climate and clearer skies has not been altogether without effect upon the temperament of the colonists. Like the stock from which they spring their ideas of pleasure are still limited. They are still, above all, a serious people; no disposition to abate this seriousness has shown itself, even in the rising generation. On the contrary, brought up in a country where idleness is a reproach, they have the serious side of life always before them. To 'get on' is the watchword of young Australia, and getting-on means hard work. But the more ample reward attaching to labour out here leaves the colonist more leisure. And this leisure he devotes to working at play.

That 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' is already an accepted maxim, is exemplified by the numerous holidays and the way in which they are spent. There must be pretty nearly a dozen public holidays in the year. Saturday is always a half-holiday. Nine till five are the accepted hours for the clerk; half-past nine till six for the shop-assistant. The eight-hour system is generally accepted in all classes of manual labour. Some shops are open on Saturday evenings; but there is a strong movement to abolish this system. The clerk is rarely called back to work after hours. In all trades and professions the hours and work of the subordinates are much less than in England. When a public holiday falls on a Monday, Saturday for most purposes becomes a whole holiday also. Christmas Day falling on Monday in 1882, business did not begin again till Wednesday. So on Friday everybody had to lay in their stock of bread and meat to last till Wednesday morning. In wholesale business, in the professions and amongst the working-classes, the whole week from Christmas Eve to the 2nd of January is practically a holiday. It is quite useless to attempt to do any business during that period. In most places it is about Twelfth Day before things get into trim again. During the first few days of the year the work is done by half the ordinary staff The colonist certainly endeavours to get as much pleasure as he can out of existence. He has a full appreciation of the value of amusement. He is not himself amusing, but he thoroughly enjoys amusing himself.

The abundance of fine and temperate weather makes outdoor life preferable to indoor during eight months of the year. Perhaps this is a reason why the colonists live in such poor houses and care so little how they are furnished. Town-life is a recent invention in Australia; and town-life as it is known at home, in the sense that numbers of people live in a town all their lives and only go into the country for an airing, is quite unknown. The majority of the population still lives, more or less, in the bush. Our ideals are country ideals and not town ideals. For all these reasons the principal amusements of the Australians are outdoor sports of one kind or another; and if the interest taken in them proportionate to the population be the criterion, this may fairly claim to be the most sporting country in the world. In Australia alone, of all countries, can any sport be called national in the sense that the whole nation, from the oldest greybeard to the youngest child, takes an interest in it.

Cricket must, I suppose, take the first place amongst Australian sports, because all ages and all classes are interested in it; and not to be interested in it amounts almost to a social crime. The quality of Australian cricket has already spoken for itself in England. Of its quantity it is difficult to give any idea. Cricket clubs are perhaps numerable, though yearly increasing; but of the game itself there is no end. There is no class too poor to play, as at home. Every little Australian that is 'born alive' is a little cricketer, a bat, or bowler, or field. Cricket is the colonial carriere ouverte aux talents. As Napoleon's soldiers remembered that they carried a marshal's baton in their knapsacks, so the young Australians all remember that they have a chance of becoming successors of that illustrious band of heroes who have recently conquered the mother-country and looted her into the bargain, though the idea of gain certainly never enters into their heads in connection with cricket. It may be, and it is most probable, that English cricket will soon recover the laurels which the Australians carried away in 1882; but I venture to prophesy that from 1890 onwards, the cricket championship will, except through occasional bad-luck, become permanently resident in Australia. The success of the first Australian Eleven bred cricketers by the thousand. If that eleven was picked out of, say, 10,000 men and boys playing cricket, the present has been chosen from 20,000, and by 1890 the eleven will be chosen from 100,000. Certainly, very few of these can afford to devote themselves solely to cricket; but most of them will play from five to seven o'clock through six months of the year, and on holidays, half-holidays, and odd moments through nine months. Some measure of the interest which attaches to cricket can be gathered from the space devoted to it in every paper, and the fact that during the tour of the Australian Elevens the full scores of every match they played, together with details of the more important matches, were cabled from London every day, and this at 10s. 6d. a word. At the intercolonial and international cricket matches in Melbourne, as many as 23,000 persons have, on one day, paid their shilling to gain admittance into the cricket ground, and 10,000 is about an average attendance.

The other day Parliament was most suddenly and unexpectedly dissolved in Melbourne. In a place where political feeling runs so high, the greatest excitement might have been expected over such an occurrence. But 'Reuter,' who may be considered an impartial authority, merely cabled to New Zealand, 'The dissolution.'

Chiefly owing to the impossibility of bringing about an international football match, the popularity of football is more local than that of cricket; but in Melbourne I think it is more intense. Patriotism cannot, of course, be roused when no national interests are at stake, but club rivalry is decidedly stronger. Some measure of the popularity of the game may be gathered from the fact, that the member who has sat in the last three parliaments for the most important working-man's constituency, owes his seat entirely to his prowess on behalf of the local football club. In no other way has he, or does he pretend to have the slightest qualifications. Of course there are numbers of people amongst the upper and middle classes who still have a holy horror of football as a dangerous game, and the want of unanimity in rules prevents the two principal colonies from meeting on equal terms. In the older colony the Rugby Union rules are played. Victoria has invented a set of rules for herself—a kind of compound between the Rugby Union and Association. South Australia plays the Victorian game. I suppose it is a heresy for an old Marlburian to own it, but after having played all three games, Rugby, Association and Victorian—the first several hundred times, the second a few dozen times, and the third a couple of score of times—I feel bound to say that the Victorian game is by far the most scientific, the most amusing both to players and onlookers, and altogether the best; and I believe I may say that on this point my opinion is worth having. Of course, men who are accustomed to the English games, and have not played the Victorian, will hold it ridiculous that the solution of the best game of football problem should be found, as I believe it has been found, in Melbourne. But I would ask them to remember that the Victorian game was founded by rival public school men, who, finding that neither party was strong enough to form a club of its own, devised it—of course not in its present elaborate state—as a compromise between the two. In corroboration of my opinion I would point to the facts that, while Sydney is at least as good at cricket as Melbourne, there are not a dozen football clubs in Sydney (where they play Rugby Union), as against about a hundred in Melbourne; that the attendance at the best matches in Sydney is not one-third of what it is in Melbourne; that the average number of people who go to see football matches on a Saturday afternoon in Sydney is not one-tenth of that in Melbourne; and that in Sydney people will not pay to see the game, while in Melbourne the receipts from football matches are larger than they are from cricket matches. The quality of the attendance, also, in Melbourne is something remarkable; but of some 10,000 people, perhaps, who pay their sixpences to see the Melbourne and Carlton Clubs play of an afternoon, there are not a thousand who are not intensely interested in the match, and who do not watch its every turn with the same intentness which characterizes the boys at Lord's during the Eton and Harrow match. A good football match in Melbourne is one of the sights of the world. Old men and young get equally excited. The quality of the play, too, is much superior to anything the best English clubs can produce. Of course it is not easy to judge of this when the games played are different, but on such points as drop-kicking, dodging, and catching, comparison can be made with the Rugby game; and every 'footballer' (the word, if not coined, has become commonly current here) knows what I mean when I say, that there is much more 'style' about the play of at least half a dozen clubs in Victoria, than about the 'Old Etonians' or the 'Blackheath', which are the two best clubs I have seen play in England.

Of athletic meetings there are plenty, but they do not attract much interest as compared with cricket and football. Nor can rowing be called a thoroughly national pastime, though both in Sydney and Melbourne there are good rivers. The two colonies row each other annually; and in Sydney, more especially, there is a good deal of excitement over this event. But the interest felt in rowing is not much greater than in England. It is a popular sport, and that is all.

Yachting is very popular in Sydney, the harbour being almost made on purpose for it; but yachting is only a rich man's pleasure. Lawn-tennis is as much in fashion here as at home, but it is not cultivated with the same ardour. The best players in Sydney and Melbourne would not be considered as more than third-rate at home. Bicycling is gaining in favour in Melbourne and Adelaide; Sydney is rather hilly for it. There are polo and gun clubs in all three towns, but they are, of course, small and aristocratic rather than popular.

Fox-hunting there is none; but there are hunt clubs in the principal towns who run after a drag—in Melbourne after a kangaroo, and occasionally even after a deer. The country is of course monotonous, and wants very good riding. There are no sensational water-jumps even at steeplechase meetings, the colonial horse not being accustomed to water. But it wants a good horse to get over the unvarying succession of post and rail fences. People who talk about the jumps in steeplechases at home being hard should try a run over a colonial course of 4-feet-6-inch post and rails. The horses are accustomed to it, but not so always the riders. Up in the bush there is plenty of kangaroo-hunting to be got at almost any station. The squatters often pay a shilling a head for kangaroos, and very fair sport they afford when not too numerous. The wallaby is a smaller kind of kangaroo which is also hunted.

There are snipe to be shot in Australia; but wild duck is really the best kind of shooting we get, and far more easily obtainable. They are much more varied in kind than at home. Rabbits are generally too plentiful to afford much fun. I have pelted them by the score from the veranda of a station-house in South Australia. At best they are poor sport. The kangaroos and wallaby are generally too tame. Amongst other animals shootable are the native bear—a sluggish creature looking like a small bear; the bandicoot, a small animal with a pig's head and snout; the native cat; cockatoos, parrots, eagles, hawks, owls, parroquets, wild turkey, quail, native pheasants, teal, native companions, water-hens, and the black swan and the opossum. Of these the wild turkey affords the best fun. You have to stalk them in a buggy, and drive in a gradually narrowing circle round them till you get within shot. The opossum you shoot by moonlight, getting them between your gun and the moon as they jump from tree to tree. Teal are fairly numerous. Pheasants, partridges, and quail, like the deer, were imported, and have bred rapidly; but they are not sufficiently preserved.

On fishing I am no authority; but I have always understood that the fishing in Australia was very poor. Trout are being acclimatized in Victoria, but the day of the angler has yet to come.

The population of Victoria is 880,000; of Melbourne and suburbs, within a ten-mile radius, 280,000. During the Exhibition year over 100,000 people paid a shilling, or more for admission to the Flemington Race Course on the Melbourne Cup day. The usual number on that occasion is 60,000 to 80,000. I don't know any better way of asserting Australian, and especially Victorian, supremacy as the racing country par excellence, in comparison with which England, proportionately to her population and her wealth, must indeed take a back-seat. There is not an inhabited nook or corner of Australia where an annual meeting is not got up, and well attended too. This meeting is the rendezvous of the whole country-side, and generally ends up with a dance, and what is colonially known as a 'drunk.'

The large number of imported horses, the care taken in their selection and the prices which have been paid in England for the best sires, are sufficient proof that for strain of blood Australia is not to be beaten in the world, whilst the progeny of this imported stock has for distance beaten the best records of the English turf. Thus while Kettledrum's 2.43 is the best time—if my memory serve me right—on record for the Epsom Derby, there have been several 2.43's in Australia, and three years ago Darebin won in 2.41 1/2. And if it be objected that the imperfections of the Epsom course account for the difference, I would point to Commotion's victory in the Champion Stakes last New Year's Day—three miles in 5.26. The times here are most carefully taken, and whilst admitting that time can only furnish a rough test of merit, the times I have mentioned are sufficient to show that colonial horses can at least claim comparison with those at home. Doubtless before long we shall see an Australian colt running at Epsom; but the difficulties of age and transit must always severely handicap any Australian horse performing on the English turf.

The Victoria Racing Club of Melbourne may fairly claim to be the premier club in Australia, and in the perfection of its arrangements and of the course at Flemington, it stands a head and shoulders above any European club. Already it has an excellent stand, and yet L30,000 have just been voted for its improvement. The lawn is perfection. The hill behind the stand would appear to have been made by nature in order to allow the half-crown public to see the finish, as well as the half-guinea folk in the stand. The course is flat as a pancake, well turfed and drained. The surroundings remind one of Longchamps. On race-days trains run out from Melbourne every ten minutes; and, as you can buy your train and race ticket beforehand in the town, you need never be jostled or hurried. Everything works as if by machinery. It would really pay the South Western officials to take a lesson at the Spencer Street Station next Cup-day, to prevent the annual scramble at Waterloo every Ascot meeting.

The V.R.C. hold three race-meetings in the year at Flemington, together with a steeplechase meeting in July. The principal meeting is the autumn meeting of four days on the second of which the blue ribbon of the Australian turf—the Melbourne Cup—is run. One hundred and twenty-eight horses entered for this race last year, and twenty-four ran. The latter number is considerably below the average. The Cup is a handicap sweepstakes of twenty sovs., the distance being two miles, and the added money only L500. Altogether the V.R.C. gave L13,000 of added money last year, the greatest amount given to a single race being L1,000 for the Champion Stakes. Next to the V.R.C., the Australian Jockey Club of Sydney ranks; but there are four other racing clubs in Melbourne, two more in Sydney, and two in Adelaide—all holding good meetings, which are well attended and well arranged. The minor meetings in Sydney and Melbourne are, however, getting to be mere gate-money and betting affairs, and do not—with one exception—attract horses from the other colonies.

Undoubtedly the chief fault of Australian racing is the prevalence of handicaps. We do not get so many short-distance races as at home, but, unless there is a prospect of a keen struggle between two special favourites, the public will not attend weight-for-age races in numbers at all adequate to defray their expenses, while a good handicap is always remunerative. The V.R.C. does its best to hold out against popular feeling by giving liberally to weight-for-age races, but without plenty of handicaps they could not find money for the weight-for-age races, far less for the luxurious arrangements of their courses.

The colonial jockeys cannot be said to be at all equal to the English, and for really good riding one must still go to the old country; but every year an improvement is visible, and before long we may reasonably expect that Australia will have its Archer, or at least its Cannon.

On all Australian courses the ring is kept well away from the enclosure. Last year the V.R.C. obliged the bookmakers to take out licenses to ply their craft at all on the course. And this brings me to the subject of betting and gambling generally. If the Australians are a racing community, so also are they a gambling community. The popularity of the Melbourne Cup is largely due to its being the great gambling event of the year. Every township in the remote bush has its guinea sweepstake over the Cup, every town hovel its half-crown one. The bookmaking fraternity muster strong on all racecourses, and apparently make an uncommonly good living out of their avocation. All kinds of laws have been made against gambling, but they have proved utterly useless. It is estimated that over a million of money changes hands annually over the Cup. Everybody backs his fancy, if only because, unless he is a strict Methodist, it would be peculiar not to do so. One of the peculiar features of this gambling mania are the numerous guinea sweepstakes got up every year by a man named Miller and his imitators. Miller last year had L120,000 entrusted to him for thousand and two thousand guinea sweeps in the Cup alone. He takes ten per cent. for management, and the rest is divided into so much for the winner, a fair sum for second and third, and the balance amongst runners and acceptances. Even those who draw a horse at all get something. Miller has many imitators, two of whom have bolted with the money entrusted to them; but deriving so liberal an income from them—something like L5,000 a year he is hardly likely to be dishonest.

Passing from racing to horses generally. The riding capacities of the Australians are well known. Nearly every one born in the colonies learns to ride as a boy, and not to be able to ride is to write yourself down a duffer. Horseflesh is so marvelously cheap, that it is not taken so much care of as at home. In outward appearance, the Australian horse has not so much to recommend him as a rule, but his powers of endurance rival those fabled of the Arabian. A grass-fed horse has been known to go as much as 100 miles in a day.

In 1796, i.e., only eight years after the establishment of a convict settlement at Botany Bay, the Victoria Theatre, Sydney, was opened with the famous prologue—

'True patriots all, for be it understood We left our country for our country's good: No private views disgraced our generous zeal, What urged our travels was our country's weal; And none will doubt but that our emigration Was proved most useful to the British nation.'

The author was an ex-pickpocket; the actors were all convicts, and the price of admission was the same all over the house—one shilling, payable in flour, wheat, or liquor! Such a first night must have been unique in the history of the drama.

The modern Australian stage, however, only dates back as far as 1853. How popular it had become may be judged from the fact that Melbourne has four theatres, Sydney two, and Adelaide two, besides concert halls. As in England, these theatres have nothing to recommend them outside, nor can the interior arrangements be commended. A large part of their beer revenue is derived from drinking bars which are kept in connection with them. One of these, though respectable enough, is generally unpleasantly in close proximity to the entrance to the best seats in the house, and the other forming a rendezvous for all the bad characters in the town. The auditoria are nearly all badly ventilated, and ill fitted up, the only exceptions being the Theatre Royal at Adelaide, and the Bijou in Melbourne. The approaches and exits, are for the most part poor. Boxes are unknown, and the stalls are only second-rate seats. The dress-circle, which is considered the best part of the house, consists of a kind of open gallery fitted up like the stalls of a London theatre. Above are the 'gods,' and below the pit. Prices of admission are very moderate; I have been told that during Ristori's and De Murska's visits, as much as ten shillings was charged for a dress-circle seat, but six shillings is the highest charge that has been made since 1876. In any theatre six shillings is the usual amount for the better performances, the worst only asking four, and at some theatres coming down as low as 3 shillings. Except when an Italian Opera Company is playing, full dress is unnecessary, and even unusual, at the theatre.

The colonial taste in theatrical matters follows the English pretty closely. Opera-bouffe and Gilbert and Sullivan are preferred to everything else. Next in popularity is the 'New Babylon' type of play. Low comedy also draws well; and I have often wondered that Mr. Toole has not paid us a visit. Opera pure and simple used to be more appreciated than it is; but as the companies which produced it were always very second-rate, its temporary disappearance is not altogether to be regretted. The class of opera company that usually comes out here may be imagined when I tell you that Rose Hersee was a favourite prima donna! There are now sufficient resident operatic singers of the third class to perform opera without assistance from European stars; but by themselves these purely colonial companies do not draw well, except in pieces of the 'Patience,' or 'Tambour-Major' type. The Byron comedies are popular throughout Australia. Thanks to a company which came out from Enaland in 1880, and most of the members of which have taken up their abode here, they have been much better acted than any other class of plays. The modern society drama is not much appreciated, partly because the life in which its action takes place is little understood, and partly on account of the lack of the class of actors required to make the pieces successful. Dion Boucicault is still a favourite. Shakespeare is frequently played but, although the stage-mounting has been exceptionally good, and we have had such very fair actors as Creswick, and Hoskins, and Scott-Siddons, a high, authority has recently declared that Rignold's 'Henry V.' is the only Shakespearean performance, that has paid for many years.

The average quality of the acting on the Australian boards is by no means good. The difference between first and second rate art is not understood by a sufficiently large number of people to make it profitable for such companies as the Bancrofts, and Messrs. Hare and Kendall's, or stars of the first magnitude, to come out here. Since Ristori was here in 1874, Scott-Siddons, Creswick and Rignold, have been the best known actors we have seen; although Marshall's Quilp, Vernon's Bunthorne, and Hoskins's Touchstone, were impersonations of a high-class. Soldene, curious to say, did not hit the popular taste. The cardinal fault of colonial acting seems to me to be exaggeration. Most of our actors are artificial and stagey; even those who clear themselves of these faults seem to play down to the understanding of their audience. The 'star' system is as prevalent as in England. The stock companies are for the most part very poor. Pieces which require a large number of persons on the stage of course suffer. Colonial supernumeraries can only be compared with those at country theatres at home. Considering the circumstances, however, the scenery and mounting are as a rule most creditable. The last two years, especially, there has been a great improvement in this department. Melbourne is decidedly the theatrical centre of Australia. It has twice as many theatres as Sydney; most pieces are brought out there for the first time in the colonies; its audiences are more appreciative and critical; its stock companies are better. If a piece succeeds in Melbourne, its success everywhere else is assured.

Whether it is on account of the warmer climate I do not know, but certainly the colonists are a more musical people than the English. Of course I do not mean that there are any considerable number of people here who really understand classical music, or who play any instrument or sing really well. On the contrary, as I think I have said in some other connection, there is no part of the world where you hear so much bad music, professional and amateur. But it is also true, that there are few parts where you hear so much music. Almost every working-man has his girls taught to strum the piano. Amateur concerts are exceedingly popular. Most young people think they can sing, and Nature has certainly endowed the young colonials with, on the average, far better and more numerous voices than she has bestowed on English boys and girls. Sometimes when you are bored in a drawing-room by bad music and poor singing, you are inclined to think that the colonial love of music is an intolerable nuisance. Especially is this the case with me, who have been constantly interrupted in writing by my neighbour's daughters strumming the only two tunes they know—and those tunes 'Pinafore,' and 'Madame Angot.' But if you are out for a walk on a summer's evening, and look into the windows of working men's cottages, you will see the old folk after their day's labour gathered round the piano in the sitting-room to hear their daughters play. I cannot hold with those who think a working-man's daughter should not learn music. Their reasoning is illogical—for being able to play the piano is in itself harmless, and may keep the girl out of mischief. Further, it gives a great deal of pleasure to her parents and friends, and often to herself as well.

As for musical performances apart from opera, there are plenty of them. Twice a week there is an organ recital in the Melbourne Town Hall. Hardly a night passes without a concert of some kind is going on. As in theatrical matters, Melbourne takes the lead in all things musical. Last Christmas-week it was actually so ambitious as to get up a Musical Festival. The Town Hall organ is excellent. A good concert will always draw well. Ketten—who was not a marvel—had crowded houses night after night, with no other attraction but his pianoforte. Wilheling, who really deserved all the praise he got, found ample success in Melbourne, and a fair measure of it in Sydney and Adelaide. Arabella Goddard was, I believe, well satisfied with her Australian tour, though it was made when the population was not two-thirds of what it is now, and much less cultured. The colonists are genuinely fond of music, bushmen and townsmen alike. They may not know very much about it, but they are anxious to learn all they can. They will even pay to hear something above their appreciation, if the Australasian tells them that it will improve their musical taste. The orchestra in the Melbourne Town Hall will accommodate 500 performers, and the hall itself can seat 4,000 people. The Sydney and Adelaide Town Halls are little smaller, and yet it is no uncommon sight to see them filled whenever a good concert is provided. Besides their town halls, each city has a smaller hall, devoted to musical entertainments.

The most remunerative spectacular representation is what the most celebrated colonial impresario, Mr. R S. Smythe, calls a 'one-man show.' Mr. Archibald Forbes and Mr. R. A. Proctor both made fabulous sums out of their trip to the colonies; and if Arthur Sketchley failed, it was purely for want of a good agent. In Adelaide, which, as a Puritan community, looks somewhat askance at opera and drama, the popularity of good lectures is beyond belief.

In a horse-loving country circuses are of course popular. Perhaps in no other part of the world can a circus obtain so critical and appreciative an attendance. Christy Minstrels and conjurors apparently do well, considering how very poor some of the miscellaneous entertainments which visit Australia are, it is most remarkable that they should contrive to get so good audiences.

Household amusements are much the same as at home, although more frequently indulged in. The more frank relations between the sexes make dancing a favourite pastime. In this less pretentious social atmosphere a dance can be given without all the costly paraphernalia customary in England, and a far larger class of people are able to afford to give parties and balls. 'Assemblies' are held every season in all the towns, the season being, of course, in the winter months. Even the servants are accustomed to go to balls, and a mistress would only make herself ridiculous who looked upon their going to one as anything but proper. And here I agree with the colonists. So long as her work is done for the day, and provided that she does not go to so many balls as to interfere with her capacity for doing her work, I cannot see what impropriety there is in Biddy going to her ball. No doubt she enjoys dancing, and how can it do her any more harm than her young mistress? With all the universal love of dancing, which permeates even the strictest Puritans amongst the young colonials, there is very little good dancing to be met with. People out here do not attach much importance to what are called 'accomplishments.' To dance is pleasant, but it would be a waste of time to take trouble to learn to dance well.

A mining population is always a gambling one and a card-playing one. In Adelaide the old Puritan element still sets its face as steadily as it can against cards as the devil's playthings; but young Australia will not put up with any such prejudices. Of course the mining townships are the centre of gambling with cards; but the passion extends sufficiently widely to do a good deal of harm. 'Euchre' is the favourite game, then 'Nap' and 'Loo;' but it would not be fair to call the Australians a card-gambling people in comparison with the Californians.

NEWSPAPERS.

This is essentially the land of newspapers. The colonist is by nature an inquisitive animal, who likes to know what is going on around him. The young colonial has inherited this proclivity. Excepting the Bible, Shakespeare, and Macaulay's 'Essays,' the only literature within the bushman's reach are newspapers. The townsman deems them equally essential to his well-being. Nearly everybody can read, and nearly everybody has leisure to do so. Again, the proportion of the population who can afford to purchase and subscribe to newspapers is ten times as large as in England; hence the number of sheets issued is comparatively much greater. Every country township has its weekly or bi-weekly organ. In Victoria alone there are over 200 different sheets published. Nor is the quality inferior to the quantity. On the contrary, if there is one institution of which Australians have reason to be proud, it is their newspaper press.

Almost without exception it is thoroughly respectable and well-conducted. From the leading metropolitan journals to the smallest provincial sheets, the tone is healthy, the news trustworthy. The style is purely English, without a touch of Americanism. Reports are fairly given; telegrams are rarely invented; sensation is not sought after; criticisms, if not very deep, are at least impartial, and written according to the critic's lights. Neither directly nor indirectly does anybody even think of attempting to bribe either conductors of journals or their reporters; the whole press is before everything, honest. Although virulence in politics is frequent, scurrility is confined to a very few sheets. The enterprise displayed in obtaining telegraphic intelligence and special reports on the questions of the day, whether Australian or European, is wonderful, considering the small population. In literary ability the public have nothing to complain of.

Melbourne attracts to itself most of the able and clever men in literature and journalism There is a pleasant press club there called the 'Yorick,' which forms a sort of literary focus; and for one clever, writer whom you find in the other colonies put together, there are two in Melbourne. It is the only Australian city which can claim to have anything approaching to a literary centre. It is no wonder, then, that the Argus is the best daily paper published, out of England. There are people who assert that it is only second to the Times; but without going so far as this, there is ample room for surprise on the part of the stranger, and pride on that of the Australian, that so excellent a paper can be produced amidst so small a population, and under so great difficulties of distance from the centres of news and civilization. The Argus will compare favourably with the Manchester Guardian, Leeds Mercury, or any other of the best provincial journals. In many respects it will be found superior to them; but although the amount of reading matter it contains is often larger than in the Standard or Daily News, it cannot reasonably claim comparison with them. The leading articles are able, though often virulent; the news of the day well arranged and given in a concise, business-like manner; the telegrams—European, intercolonial, and provincial—are full, the expenditure in this department being very large. Literary articles are more numerous than in the London dailies, and are generally well executed. The theatrical critiques, though the best in Australia, are somewhat poor. The reports of parliamentary proceedings, public meetings, etc., are exceedingly full and very intelligently given, and their relative importance is well estimated. Throughout, the paper is admirably proportioned and well edited, the paragraphs being much more carefully written than in any London paper except the Times. There is rarely a slipshod sentence to be found in any part of the paper, which is the more remarkable as slipshod writing is a noticeable characteristic of almost every other colonial paper. The leading articles are for the most part supplied by contributors not on the permanent staff, two university professors being amongst the best known. They also write reviews and literary articles, though the doyen in that department is Mr. James Smith, to whom the Argus pays a retaining fee of L500 a year. Art criticism is also in Mr. Smith's hands; and although all his work is essentially bookish and wanting in originality, he thoroughly understands his subjects, and his style and language are excellent.