powers over the streets from Parliament for thirty years. At the end of the lease the lines become the property of the various municipalities, without any charge, excepting that the tram stables have to be taken over at a valuation. Twelve years of the lease have now expired, so that in eighteen years this magnificent revenue-producing property will pass to the municipalities. As the income from traffic receipts amounts to over £330,000 a year, and the working expenses to less than £200,000, the wisdom of the policy which dictated these terms in favour of the municipalities will be at once apparent. The company sets apart a certain amount of its revenue for a sinking fund, so that at the end of its term its debt will be liquidated.
The streets of Melbourne are broad and straight, and hence they are well suited to the tram traffic. The main streets are 99 ft. in width, and between each two of those broad thoroughfares runs a narrow one, which bears the name of the principal street, with the prefix "little" added—as Collins Street, "Little Collins Street"; Bourke Street, "Little Bourke Street"; and the like. Until a few years ago, many of the relics of the very early days could be seen in the streets, small and dilapidated weatherboard shops holding their place in the midst of more pretentious structures. But within the last twelve years a great portion of the city has been rebuilt, and only a few of these antiquities can now be discovered. The other extreme has, indeed, been reached, for there are no by-laws of the city regulating the height of buildings, and therefore there was no restraint upon the builders, who, during the boom period, ran up structures from 90 ft. to 100 ft. high, and of ten to twelve stories. These stand up like towers here and there, and are a disfigurement to the architecture of the city, which, as a general rule, is very handsome
