Australia

The Commonwealth of, a member of the British Empire. The commonwealth comprises six former colonies-New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania. The union was proclaimed at Sydney, January 1, 1901. The six colonies named are now known as the "Original States." Melbourne (1909) is the temporary seat of the Federal government.

The form of government is not essentially different from that of the United States, but it corresponds even more closely to the government of the Dominion of Canada. Legislative authority is vested in a governor-general, a senate, and a house of representatives. The governor-general is appointed by the crown, that is to say, by the king of the United Kingdom. The commonwealth Senate consists of six senators for each of the Original States, chosen for six years. The House of Representatives is composed as nearly as may be of twice as many members as there are senators, the several states choosing representatives in proportion to their population. The House continues in office for three years, unless sooner dismissed. The commonwealth has jurisdiction over railways, shipping, commerce, lighthouses, finance, defense, postal and telegraph service, marriage and divorce, emigration and immigration, weights and measures, census, and statistics.

Each of the Original States has a local legislature, consisting of a senate or a legislative council, and a house of representatives. The members of the legislative council of New South Wales and that of Queensland are appointed by the crown for life; otherwise state senators and state representatives are elected.

Although nominally subject to the British Empire, the Commonwealth of Australia is both independent and radical. To begin with, the colonists insisted on the term Commonwealth, as representing a greater degree of independence than either Dominion or Colony.

The Invalid and Old Age Pension Act passed in 1908 grants pensions to persons who are not less than sixty-five years of age, and who have lived in Australia at least twenty-five years. The grant must not exceed $125 a year. The pensioner's whole income, including the pension, must not exceed twice that sum. Invalids' pensions are granted to persons who become incapacitated after supporting themselves respectably for not less than five years. Women have the same right to vote as men. The Australian ballot system, whereby every voter retires into a booth and marks his ballot in private, has already been adopted by a number of the United States. The Torrens Land System, whereby the government attends to the sale of real estate and thereby is enabled to guarantee title, is another Australian device. The telegraph and telephone lines are owned by the commonwealth. Railroads are numerous in the more thickly settled portions of the country. Over ninetenths of the railroads are owned by the commonwealth. Several thousand miles of railway line are of narrow gauge.

Australia trades chiefly with the mother country. Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane are the chief cities of export. The products of the mine, the stock ranch, the farm, the orchard, and the jungle are sent abroad and exchanged for apparel, cloth, books, chemicals, and machinery.

Australia is preeminently a country of intelligence, of opportunity, and of a future. Postal facilities, free schools, independent churches, and general thrift are characteristics of the commonwealth. The municipalities follow the example of the commonwealth, or rather the commonwealth has followed the example of the municipalities, in acquiring or establishing public utilities. The Australians intend to have no corporations taking an undue part in politics.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See New Zealand; Tasmania; Sydney; Rabbit; Kangaroo; Boomerang; Duckbill