INTEKNAL COMMUNICATION
311)
The staple articles of import into the United Kingdom from Victoria are wool and gold. The imports ot wool into Great Britain were as follows in each of the last five years : —
Teais
Quantities
Value
£ 3,885,171 2,803,192 4,145,940 1
Years
Quantities
Value
1893 1894 1895
Lbs. 93,429,673 95,539,914 111,193,444
1896 1897
Lbs. 82,370,220 84,456,615
£
3,277,464 3,154,930
Among the minor articles of merchandise imported into the United King- dom from Victoria in 1897 were tallow, 223,987^. ; leather, 329,004^. ; pre- served and frozen meat, 82,200Z. ; fresh mutton, 138,090Z. ; butter, 816,399^.; sheep skins and furs, 145,735Z, ; tin, 91,3761.
The British exports to Victoria embrace nearly all articles of home manufacture, chief among them iron, wrought and unwrought, 586,808Z. ; carriages, cycles, &c., 157,438/.; hardware and cutlery, 73,130/. ; woollen goods, 521,880/. ; apparel and haberdashery, 297,622/. ; cotton goods, 869,505/. ; machinery, 104,831/.; paper, 181,252/.; spirits, 139,828/.; beer and ale, 60,048/., in 1897.
Shipping and Navigation.
The registered shipping in 1897 consisted of 259 sailing vessels of 40,637 tons, and 149 steamers of 55,737 tons, total 408 vessels of 96,374 tons.
The shipping inwards and outwards has been as follows for five years : —
Years
Entered
Cleared
Vessels
Tons
Vessels
Tons
1893 1894 1895 1896 1897
1,889 2,083 1,948
1,882 1,888
2,009,187 2,163,716 2,181,539 2,276,478 2,437,190
1,887 2,045 1,889 1,900 1,882
2,020,551 2,127,743 2,167,147 2,289,752 2,428,182
Of the vessels entered in 1897, 359 of 846,250 tons, and of those cleared 357 of 848,547 tons were Britisti ; 1,371 of 1,242,918 tons entered, and 1,370 of 1,249,306 tons cleared, were colonial. Of the total entered 1,668 of 2,342,447 tons, and cleared 1,612 of 2,256,068 tons, were at the port, Melbourne.
Internal Communication.
The railways in Victoria all belong to the State. There were 3,130 miles of railway completed at the end of 1896-97.
The total cost of the lines open to June 30, 1897, was 38,325,517/.— of which 2,800,000/. was provided out of the general revenue and the remainder from loans — being about an average of 12,315/. per mile for the lines open. The gross receipts in the year 1896-97 amounted to 2,615,935/. ; and the ex- penditure to 1,563,805/., or 60 per cent, of the receipts. The profit on working was thus 1,052,130/. being equivalent to 275 per cent, of the mean capital cost, or 2 "97 of the borrowed capital, which l)cars interest at the average rate of 3 '9 per cent. Besides the sum of £2,800,000 paid towards construction (before mentioned) certain other sums amounting in the aggregate to close
