ABORIGINES

the origin of the natives of australia presents a difficult problem. the chief difficulty in deciding their ethnical relations is their remarkable physical difference from the neighbouring peoples. and if one turns from physical criteria to their manners and customs it is only to find fresh evidence of their isolation. while their neighbours, the malays, papuans and polynesians, all cultivate the soil, and build substantial huts and houses, the australian natives do neither. pottery, common to malays and papuans, the bows and arrows of the latter, and the elaborate canoes of all three races, are unknown to the australians. they then must be considered as representing an extremely primitive type of mankind, and it is necessary to look far afield for their prehistoric home. origin. wherever they came from, there is abundant evidence that their first occupation of the australian continent must have been at a time so remote as to permit of no traditions. no record, no folk tales, as in the case of the maoris of new zealand, of their migration, are preserved by the australians. true, there are legends and tales of tribal migrations and early tribal history, but nothing, as a.w. howitt points out, which can be twisted into referring even indirectly to their first arrival. it is almost incredible there should be none, if the date of their arrival is to be reckoned as only dating back some centuries. again, while they differ physically from neighbouring races, while there is practically nothing in common between them and the malays, the polynesians, or the papuan melanesians, they agree in type so closely among themselves that they must be regarded as forming one race. yet it is noteworthy that the languages of their several tribes are different. the occurrence of a large number of common roots proves them to be derived from one source, but the great variety of dialects--sometimes unintelligible between tribes separated by only a few miles--cannot be explained except by supposing a vast period to have elapsed since their first settlement. there is evidence in the languages, too, which supports the physical separation from their new zealand neighbours and, therefore, from the polynesian family of races. the numerals in use were limited. in some tribes there were only three in use, in most four. for the number "five" a word meaning "many" was employed. this linguistic poverty proves that the australian tongue has no affinity to the polynesian group of languages, where denary enumeration prevails: the nearest polynesians, the maoris, counting in thousands. further evidence of the antiquity of australian man is to be found in the strict observance of tribal boundaries, which would seem to show that the tribes must have been settled a long time in one place. a further difficulty is created by a consideration of the tasmanian people, extinct since 1876. for the tasmanians in many ways closely approximated to the papuan type. they had coarse, short, woolly hair and papuan features. they clearly had no racial affinities with the australians. they did not possess the boomerang or woomerah, and they had no boats. when they were discovered, a mere raft of reeds in which they could scarcely venture a mile from shore was their only means of navigation. yet while the tasmanians are so distinctly separated in physique and customs from the australians, the fauna and flora of tasmania and australia prove that at one time the two formed one continent, and it would take an enormous time for the formation of bass strait. how did the tasmanians with their papuan affinities get so far south on a continent inhabited by a race so differing from papuans? did they get to tasmania before or after its separation from the main continent? if before, why were they only found in the south? it would have been reasonable to expect to find them sporadically all over australia. if after, how did they get there at all? for it is impossible to accept the theory of one writer that they sailed or rowed round the continent--a journey requiring enormous maritime skill, which, according to the theory, they must have promptly lost. four points are clear: (1) the australians represent a distinct race; (2) they have no kinsfolk among the neighbouring races; (3) they have occupied the continent for a very long period; (4) it would seem that the tasmanians must represent a still earlier occupation of australia, perhaps before the bass strait existed. several theories have been propounded by ethnologists. an attempt has been made to show that the australians have close affinities with the african negro peoples, and certain resemblances in language and in customs have been relied on. sorcery, the scars raised on the body, the knocking out of teeth, circumcision and rules as to marriage have been quoted; but many such customs are found among savage peoples far distant from each other and entirely unrelated. the alleged language similarities have broken down on close examination. a.r. wallace is of the opinion that the australians "are really of caucasian type and are more nearly allied to ourselves than to the civilized japanese or the brave and intelligent zulus." he finds near kinsmen for them in the ainus of japan, the khmers and chams of cambodia and among some of the micronesian islanders who, in spite of much crossing, still exhibit marked caucasic types. he regards the australians as representing the lowest and most primitive examples of this primitive caucasic type, and he urges that they must have arrived in australia at a time when their ancestors had no pottery, knew no agriculture, domesticated no animals, had no houses and used no bows and arrows. this theory has been supported by the investigations of dr klaatsch, of the university of heidelberg, who would, however, date australian ancestry still farther back, for his studies on the spot have convinced him that the australians are "a generalized, not a specialized, type of humanity--that is to say, they are a very primitive people, with more of the common undeveloped characteristics of man, and less of the qualities of the specialized races of civilization." dr klaatsch's view is that they are survivals of a primitive race which inhabited a vast antarctic continent of which south america, south africa and australia once formed a part, as evidenced by the identity of many species of birds and fish. he urges that the similarities of some of the primitive races of india and africa to the aborigines of australia are indications that they were peopled from one common stock. this theory, plausible and attractive as it is, and fitting in, as it does, with the acknowledged primitive character of the australian blackfellow, overlooks, nevertheless, the tasmanian difficulty. why should a papuan type be found in what was certainly once a portion of the australian continent? the theory which meets this difficulty is that which has in its favour the greatest weight of evidence, viz. that the continent was first inhabited by a papuan type of man who made his way thither from flores and timor, new guinea and the coral sea. that in days so remote as to be undateable, a dravidian people driven from their primitive home in the hills of the indian deccan made their way south via ceylon (where they may to-day be regarded as represented by the veddahs) and eventually sailed and drifted in their bark boats to the western and north-western shores of australia. it is difficult to believe that they at first arrived in such numbers as at once to overwhelm the papuan population. there were probably several migrations. what seems certain, if this theory is adopted, is that they did at last accumulate to an extent which permitted of their mastering the former occupiers of the soil, who were probably in very scattered and defenceless communities. in the slow process of time they drove them into the most southerly corner of australia, just as the saxons drove the celts into cornwall and the welsh hills. even if this dravidian invasion is put subsequent to the bass strait forming, even if one allows the probability of much crossing between the two races at first, in time the hostilities would be renewed. with their earliest settlements on the north-north-west coasts, the dravidians would probably tend to spread out north, north-east and east, and a southerly line of retreat would be the most natural one for the papuans.[3] when at last they were driven to the strait they would drift over on rafts or in clumsy shallops; being thereafter left in peace to concentrate their race, then possibly only in an approximately pure state, in the island to which the dravidians would not take the trouble to follow them, and where they would have centuries in which once more to fix their racial type and emphasize over again those differences, perhaps temporarily marred by crossing, which were found to exist on the arrival of the whites. this indo-aryan origin for the australian blackfellows is borne out by their physique. in spite of their savagery they are admitted by those who have studied them to be far removed from the low or simian type of man. dr charles pickering (1805-1878), who studied the australians on the spot, writes: "strange as it may appear, i would refer to an australian as the finest model of the human proportions i have ever met; in muscular development combining perfect symmetry, activity and strength, while his head might have compared with the antique bust of a philosopher." huxley concluded, from descriptions, that "the deccan tribes are indistinguishable from the australian races." sir w.w. hunter states that the dravidian tribes were driven southwards in hindustan, and that the grammatical relations of their dialects are "expressed by suffixes," which is true as to the australian languages. he states that bishop caldwell,[4] whom he calls "the great missionary scholar of the dravidian tongue," showed that the south and western australian tribes use almost the same words for "i, thou, he, we, you, as the dravidian fishermen on the madras coast." when in addition to all this it is found that physically the dravidians resemble the australians; that the boomerang is known among the wild tribes of the deccan alone (with the doubtful exception of ancient egypt) of all parts of the world except australia, and that the australian canoes are like those of the dravidian coast tribes, it seems reasonable enough to assume that the australian natives are dravidians, exiled in remote times from hindustan, though when their migration took place and how they traversed the indian ocean must remain questions to which, by their very nature, there can be no satisfactory answer. the low stage of culture of the australians when they reached their new home is thus accounted for, but their stagnation is remarkable, because they must have been frequently in contact with more civilized peoples. in the north of australia there are traces of malay and papuan blood. that a far more advanced race had at one time a settlement on the north-west coast is indicated by the cave-paintings and sculptures discovered by sir george grey. in caves of the valley of the glenelg river, north-west australia, about 60 m. inland and 20 m. south of prince regent's river, are representations of human heads and bodies, apparently of females clothed to the armpits, but all the faces are without any indication of mouths. the heads are surrounded with a kind of head-dress or halo and one wears a necklace. they are drawn in red, blue and yellow. the figures are almost life-size. rough sculptures, too, were found, and two large square mounds formed of loose stones, and yet perfect parallelograms in outline, placed due east and west. in the same district sir george grey noticed among the blackfellows people he describes as "almost white." on the gascoyne river, too, were seen natives of an olive colour, quite good-looking; and in the neighbourhood of sydney rock-carvings have been also found. all this points to a temporary occupation by a race at a far higher stage of culture than any known australians, who were certainly never capable of executing even the crude works of art described. physique. physically the typical australian is the equal of the average european in height, but is inferior in muscular development, the legs and arms being of a leanness which is often emphasized by an abnormal corpulence. the bones are delicately formed, and there is the lack of calf usual in black races. the skull is abnormally thick and the cerebral capacity small. the head is long and somewhat narrow, the forehead broad and receding, with overhanging brows, the eyes sunken, large and black, the nose thick and very broad at the nostrils. the mouth is large and the lips thick but not protuberant. the teeth are large, white and strong. in old age they appear much ground down; particularly is this the case with women, who chew the different kinds of fibres, of which they make nets and bags. the lower jaw is heavy; the cheekbones somewhat high, and the chin small and receding. the neck is thicker and shorter than that of most europeans. the colour of the skin is a deep copper or chocolate, never sooty black. when born, the australian baby is of a much lighter colour than its parents and remains so for about a week. the hair is long, black or very dark auburn, wavy and sometimes curly, but never woolly, and the men have luxuriant beards and whiskers, often of an auburn tint, while the whole body inclines to hairiness. on the balonne river, queensland, baron mikluho maclay found a group of hairless natives. the head hair is usually matted with grease and dirt, but when clean is fine and glossy. the skin gives out an objectionable odour, owing to the habit of anointing the body with fish-oils, but the true fetor of the negro is lacking in the australian. the voices of the blackfellows are musical. their mental faculties, though inferior to those of the polynesian race, are not contemptible. they have much acuteness of perception for the relations of individual objects, but little power of generalization. no word exists in their language for such general terms as tree, bird or fish; yet they have invented a name for every species of vegetable and animal they know. the grammatical structure of some north australian languages has a considerable degree of refinement. the verb presents a variety of conjugations, expressing nearly all the moods and tenses of the greek. there is a dual, as well as a plural form in the declension of verbs, nouns, pronouns and adjectives. the distinction of genders is not marked, except in proper names of men and women. all parts of speech, except adverbs, are declined by terminational inflections. there are words for the elementary numbers, one, two, three; but "four" is usually expressed by "two-two." they have no idea of decimals. the number and diversity of separate languages is bewildering. character. in disposition the australians are a bright, laughter-loving folk, but they are treacherous, untruthful and hold human life cheaply. they have no great physical courage. they are mentally in the condition of children. none of them has an idea of what the west calls morality, except the simple one of right or wrong arising out of property. a wife will be beaten without mercy for unfaithfulness to her husband, but the same wife will have had to submit to the first-night promiscuity, a widespread revel which roth shows is a regular custom in north-west-central queensland. a husband claims his wife as his absolute property, but he has no scruple in handing her over for a time to another man. there is, however, no proof that anything like community of women or unlimited promiscuity exists anywhere. it would be wrong, however, to conclude that moral considerations have led up to this state of things. of sexual morality, in the everyday sense of the word, there is none. in his treatment of women the aboriginal may be ranked lower than even the fuegians. yet the australian is capable of strong affections, and the blind (of whom there have always been a great number) are cared for, and are often the best fed in a tribe. manners. the australians when first discovered were found to be living in almost a prehistoric simplicity. their food was the meat they killed in the chase, or seeds and roots, grubs or reptiles. they never, in any situation, cultivated the soil for any kind of food-crop. they never reared any kind of cattle, or kept any domesticated animal except the dog, which probably came over with them in their canoes. they nowhere built permanent dwellings, but contented themselves with mere hovels for temporary shelter. they neither manufactured nor possessed any chattels beyond such articles of clothing, weapons, ornaments and utensils as they might carry on their persons, or in the family store-bag for daily use. in most districts both sexes are entirely nude. sometimes in the south during the cold season they wear a cloak of skin or matting, fastened with a skewer, but open on the right-hand side. when going through the bush they sometimes wear an apron of skins, for protection merely. no headgear is worn, except sometimes a net to confine the hair, a bunch of feathers, or the tails of small animals. the breast or back, of both sexes, is usually tattooed, or rather, scored with rows of hideous raised scars, produced by deep gashes made at puberty. their dwellings for the most part are either bowers, formed of the branches of trees, or hovels of piled logs, loosely covered with grass or bark, which they can erect in an hour, wherever they encamp. but some huts of a more substantial form were seen by captain matthew flinders on the south-east coast in 1799, and by captain king and sir t. mitchell on the north-east, where they no longer appear. the ingenuity of the race is mostly exhibited in the manufacture of their weapons of warfare and the chase. while the use of the bow and arrow does not seem to have occurred to them, the spear and axe are in general use, commonly made of hard-wood; the hatchets of stone, and the javelins pointed with stone or bone. the characteristic weapon of the australian is the boomerang (q.v.). their nets, made by women, either of the tendons of animals or the fibres of plants, will catch and hold the kangaroo or the emu, or the very large fish of australian rivers. canoes of bent bark, for the inland waters, are hastily prepared at need; but the inlets and straits of the north-eastern sea-coast are navigated by larger canoes and rafts of a better construction. as to food, they are omnivorous. in central queensland and elsewhere, snakes, both venomous and harmless, are eaten, the head being first carefully smashed to pulp with a stone. tribal organization. the tribal organization of the australians was based on that of the family. there were no hereditary or formally elected chiefs, nor was there any vestige of monarchy. the affairs of a tribe were ruled by a council of men past middle age. each tribe occupied a recognized territory, averaging perhaps a dozen square miles, and used a common dialect. this district was subdivided between the chief heads of families. each family, or family group, had a dual organization which has been termed (1) the social, (2) the local. the first was matriarchal, inheritance being reckoned through the mother. no territorial association was needed. all belonged to the same totem or totemic class, and might be scattered throughout the tribe, though subject to the same marriage laws. the second was patriarchal and of a strictly territorial nature. a family or group of families had the same hunting-ground, which was seldom changed, and descended through the males. thus, the sons inherited their fathers' hunting-ground, but bore their mothers' name and therewith the right to certain women for wives. the social or matriarchal took precedence of the local or patriarchal organization. in many cases it arranged the assemblies and ceremonial of the tribe; it regulated marriage, descent and relationship; it ordered blood feuds, it prescribed the rites of hospitality and so on. nevertheless the local side of tribal life in time tended to overwhelm the social and to organize the tribe irrespective of matriarchy, and inclined towards hereditary chieftainship. the most intricate and stringent rules existed as to marriage within and without the totemic inter-marrying classes. there is said to be but one exception to the rule that marriage must be contracted outside the totem name. this exception was discovered by messrs spencer and gillen among the arunta of central australia, some allied septs, and their nearest neighbours to the north, the kaitish. this tribe may legally marry within the totem, but always avoids such unions. even in casual amours these class laws were invariably observed, and the young man or woman who defied them was punished, he with death, she with spearing or beating. at the death of a man, his widows passed to his brother of the same totem class. such a system gave to the elder men of a tribe a predominant position, and generally respect was shown to the aged. laws and penalties in protection of property were enforced by the tribe. thus, among some tribes of western australia the penalty for abducting another's wife was to stand with leg extended while each male of the tribe stuck his spear into it. laws, however, did not protect the women, who were the mere chattels of their lords. stringent rules, too, governed the food of women and the youth of both sexes, and it was only after initiation that boys were allowed to eat of all the game the forest provided. in every case of death from disease or unknown causes sorcery was suspected and an inquest held, at which the corpse was asked by each relative in succession the name of the murderer. this formality having been gone through, the flight of the first bird which passed over the body was watched, the direction being regarded as that in which the sorcerer must be sought. sometimes the nearest relative sleeps with his head on the corpse, in the belief that he will dream of the murderer. the most sacred duty an australian had to perform was the avenging of the death of a kinsman, and he was the object of constant taunts and insults till he had done so. cannibalism was almost universal, either in the case of enemies killed in battle or when animal food was scarce. in the luritcha tribe it was customary when a child was in weak health to kill a younger and healthy one and feed the weakling on its flesh. cannibalism seems also to have sometimes been in the nature of a funeral observance, in honour of the deceased, of whom the relatives reverently ate portions. religion. they had no special forms of religious worship, and no idols. the evidence on the question of whether they believed in a supreme being is very contradictory. messrs spencer and gillen appear to think that such rudimentary idea of an all-father as has, it is thought, been detected among the blackfellows is an exotic growth fostered by contact with missionaries. a.w. howitt and dr roth appear to have satisfied themselves of a belief, common to most tribes, in a mythic being (he has different names in different tribes) having some of the attributes of a supreme deity. but mr howitt finds in this being "no trace of a divine nature, though under favourable conditions the beliefs might have developed into an actual religion." other authorities suggest that it is going much too far to deny the existence of religion altogether, and instance as proof of the divinity of the supra-normal anthropomorphic beings of the baiame class, the fact that the yuin and cognate tribes dance around the image of daramulun (their equivalent of baiame) and the medicine men "invocate his name." a good deal perhaps depends on each observer's view of what religion really is. the australians believed in spirits, generally of an evil nature, and had vague notions of an after-life. the only idea of a god known to be entertained by them seems to be that of the euahlayi and kamilaori tribe, baiame, a gigantic old man lying asleep for ages, with his head resting on his arm, which is deep in the sand. he is expected one day to awake and eat up the world. researches go to show that baiame has his counterpart in other tribes, the myth varying greatly in detail. but the australians are distinguished by possessing elaborate initiatory ceremonies. circumcision of one or two kinds was usual in the north and south, but not in western australia or on the murray river. in south australia boys had to undergo three stages of initiation in a place which women were forbidden to approach. at about ten they were covered with blood from head to foot, several elder men bleeding themselves for the purpose. at about twelve or fourteen circumcision took place and (or sometimes as an alternative on the east coast) a front tooth was knocked out, to the accompaniment of the booming of the bullroarer (q.v.). at the age of puberty the lad was tattooed or scarred with gashes cut in back, shoulders, arms and chest, and the septum of the nose was pierced. the gashes varied in patterns for the different tribes. girls, too, were scarred at puberty and had teeth knocked out, &c. the ceremonies--known to the whites under the native generic term for initiatory rites, _bora_,--were much the same throughout australia. polygamy was rare, due possibly to the scarcity of women.[5] infanticide was universally recognized. the mode of disposing of the dead varied. among some tribes a circular grave was dug and the body placed in it with its face towards the east, and a high mound covered with bark or thatch raised over it. in new south wales the body is often burned and the ashes buried. on the lower murray the body is placed on a platform of sticks and left to decay. young children are often not buried for months, but are carried about by their mothers. at the funeral of men there is much mourning, the female relatives cutting or tearing their hair off and plastering their faces with clay, but for women no public ceremonies took place. the numbers of the native australians are steadily diminishing. it was estimated that when first visited by europeans the native population did not much exceed 200,000. a remnant of the race exists in each of the provinces, while a few tribes still wander over the interior. authorities.--dr a.w. howitt, _the native tribes of south-east australia_ (1904) and _on the organization of australian tribes_ (1889); g.t. bettany, _the red, brown and black men of australia_ (1890); b. spencer and f.j. gillen, _native tribes of central australia_ (1899); _the northern tribes of central australia_ (london, 1904); e.m. curr, _the australian race_ (3 vols., 1886-1887); g.w. rusden, _history of australia_ (1897); _australasia_, british empire series (kegan paul & co., 1900); a.r. wallace, _australasia_ (1880, new ed., 2 vols., 1893-1895); rev. lorimer fison and dr a.w. howitt, _kamilaroi and kurnai, group marriage and relationship_ (melbourne, 1880); h. ling roth, _queensland aborigines_ (brisbane, 1897); carl lumholtz, _among cannibals_ (1889); walter e. roth, _ethnological studies among the north-west-central queensland aborigines_ (london, 1897); mrs k. langloh parker, _euahlayi tribes_ (1905); f.j. gillen, _notes on manners and customs of the aborigines of the macdonnell ranges belonging to the arunta tribe_; j.e. frazer, "the beginnings of religion and totemism among the australian aborigines," _fortnightly review_, july 1905; n.w. thomas, _native tribes of australia_ (1907). (c. ar.) history 1. _the discovery of australia_. it is impossible to say who were the first discoverers of australia, although there is evidence that the chinese had some knowledge of the continent so far back as the 13th century. the malays, also, would seem to have been acquainted with the northern coast; while marco polo, who visited the east at the close of the 13th century, makes reference to the reputed existence of a great southern continent. there is in existence a map, dedicated to henry viii. of england, on which a large southern land is shown, and the tradition of a terra australis appears to have been current for a long period before it enters into authentic history. in 1503 a french navigator named binot paulmyer, sieur de gonneville, was blown out of his course, and landed on a large island, which was claimed to be the great southern land of tradition, although flinders and other authorities are inclined to think that it must have been madagascar. some french authorities confidently put forward a claim that guillaume le testu, of provence, sighted the continent in 1531. the portuguese also advance claims to be the first discoverers of australia, but so far the evidence cannot be said to establish their pretensions. as early as 1597 the dutch historian, wytfliet, describes the australis terra as the most southern of all lands, and proceeds to give some circumstantial particulars respecting its geographical relation to new guinea, venturing the opinion that, were it thoroughly explored, it would be regarded as a fifth part of the world. de torres. early in the 17th century philip iii. of spain sent out an expedition from callao, in peru, for the purpose of searching for a southern continent. the little fleet comprised three vessels, with the portuguese pilot, de quiros, as navigator, and de torres as admiral or military commander. they left callao on the 21st of december 1605, and in the following year discovered the island now known as espiritu santo, one of the new hebrides group, which de quiros, under the impression that it was indeed the land of which he was in search, named _la austrialia del espiritu santo_. sickness and discontent led to a mutiny on de quiros' vessel, and the crew, overpowering their officers during the night, forced the captain to navigate his ship to mexico. thus, abandoned by his consort, de torres, compelled to bear up for the philippines to refit, discovered and sailed through the strait that bears his name, and may even have caught a glimpse of the northern coast of the australian continent. his discovery was not, however, made known until 1792, when dalrymple rescued his name from oblivion, bestowing it upon the passage which separates new guinea from australia. de quiros returned to spain to re-engage in the work of petitioning the king to despatch an expedition for the purpose of prosecuting the discovery of the terra australis. he was finally successful in his petitions, but died before accomplishing his work, and was buried in an unknown grave in panama, never being privileged to set his foot upon the continent the discovery of which was the inspiration of his life. dutch discoverers. during the same year in which de torres sailed through the strait destined to make him famous, a little dutch vessel called the "duyfken," or "dove," set sail from bantam, in java, on a voyage of discovery. this ship entered the gulf of carpentaria, and sailed south as far as cape keerweer, or turn-again. here some of the crew landed, but, being attacked by natives, made no attempt to explore the country. in 1616 dirk hartog discovered the island bearing his name. in 1622 the "leeuwin," or "lioness," made some discoveries on the south-west coast; and during the following year the yachts "pera" and "arnheim" explored the shores of the gulf of carpentaria. arnheim land, a portion of the northern territory, still appears on many maps as a memento of this voyage. among other early dutch discoverers were edel; pool, in 1629, in the gulf of carpentaria; nuyts, in the "guide zeepaard," along the southern coast, which he called, after himself, nuyts land; de witt; and pelsaert, in the "batavia." pelsaert was wrecked on houtman's abrolhos; his crew mutinied, and he and his party suffered greatly from want of water. the record of his voyage is interesting from the fact that he was the first to carry back to europe an authentic account of the western coast of australia, which he described in any but favourable terms. it is to dutch navigators in the early portion of the 17th century that we owe the first really authentic accounts of the western coast and adjacent islands, and in many instances the names given by these mariners to prominent physical features are still retained. by 1665 the dutch possessed rough charts of almost the whole of the western littoral, while to the mainland itself they had given the name of new holland. of the dutch discoverers, pelsaert was the only one who made any detailed observations of the character of the country inland, and it may here be remarked that his journal contains the first notice and description of the kangaroo that has come down to us. in 1642 abel janszoon tasman sailed on a voyage of discovery from batavia, the headquarters of the governor and council of the dutch east indies, under whose auspices the expedition was undertaken. he was furnished with a yacht, the "heemskirk," and a fly-boat, the "zeehaen" (or "sea hen"), under the command of captain jerrit jansen. he left batavia on what has been designated by dutch historians the "happy voyage," on the 14th of august 1642. after a visit to the mauritius, then a dutch possession, tasman bore away to the south-east, and on the 24th of november sighted the western coast of the land which he named van diemen's land, in honour of the governor under whose directions he was acting. the honour was later transferred to the discoverer himself, and the island is now known as tasmania. tasman doubled the southern extremity of van diemen's land and explored the east coast for some distance. the ceremony of hoisting a flag and taking possession of the country in the name of the government of the netherlands was actually performed, but the description of the wildness of the country, and of the fabulous giants by which tasman's sailors believed it to be inhabited, deterred the dutch from occupying the island, and by the international principle of "non-user" it passed from their hands. resuming his voyage in an easterly direction, tasman sighted the west coast of the south island of new zealand on the 13th of december of the same year, and describes the coast-line as consisting of "high mountainous country." dampier. the first english navigator to sight the australian continent was william dampier, who made a visit to these shores in 1688, as supercargo of the "cygnet," a trader whose crew had turned buccaneers. on his return to england he published an account of his voyage, which resulted in his being sent out in the "roebuck" in 1699 to prosecute his discoveries further. to him we owe the exploration of the coast for about 900 m.--from shark's bay to dampier's archipelago, and thence to roebuck bay. he appears to have landed in several places in search of water. his account of the country was quite as unfavourable as pelsaert's. he described it as barren and sterile, and almost devoid of animals, the only one of any importance somewhat resembling a raccoon--a strange creature, which advanced by great bounds or leaps instead of walking, using only its hind legs, and covering 12 or 15 ft. at a time. the reference is, of course, to the kangaroo, which pelsaert had also remarked and quaintly described some sixty years previously. during the interval elapsing between dampier's two voyages, an accident led to the closer examination of the coasts of western australia by the dutch. in 1684 a vessel had sailed from holland for the dutch possessions in the east indies, and after rounding the cape of good hope, she was never again heard of. some twelve years afterwards the east india company fitted out an expedition under the leadership of commander william de vlamingh, with the object of searching for any traces of the lost vessel on the western shores of new holland. towards the close of the year 1696 this expedition reached the island of rottnest, which was thoroughly explored, and early the following year a landing party discovered and named the swan river. the vessels then proceeded northward without finding any traces of the object of their search, but, at the same time, making fairly accurate charts of the coast-line. cook. the great voyage of captain james cook, in 1769-1770, was primarily undertaken for the purposes of observing the transit of venus, but he was also expressly commissioned to ascertain "whether the unexplored part of the southern hemisphere be only an immense mass of water, or contain another continent." h.m.s. "endeavour," the vessel fitted out for the voyage, was a small craft of 370 tons, carrying twenty-two guns, and built originally for a collier, with a view rather to strength than to speed. chosen by cook himself, she was renamed the "endeavour," in allusion to the great work which her commander was setting out to achieve. mr charles green was commissioned to conduct the astronomical observations, and sir joseph banks and dr solander were appointed botanists to the expedition. after successfully observing the transit from the island of tahiti, or otaheite, as cook wrote it, the "endeavour's" head was turned south, and then north-west, beating about the pacific in search of the eastern coast of the great continent whose western shores had been so long known to the dutch. on the 6th of october 1769 the coast of new zealand was sighted, and two days later cook cast anchor in poverty bay, so named from the inhospitality and hostility of the natives. after voyaging westward for nearly three weeks, cook, on the 19th of april 1770, sighted the eastern coast of australia at a point which he named after his lieutenant, who discovered it, point hicks, and which modern geographers identify with cape everard. the "endeavour" then coasted northward, and after passing and naming mount dromedary, the pigeon house, point upright, cape st george and red point, botany bay was discovered on the 28th of april 1770, and as it appeared to offer a suitable anchorage, the "endeavour" entered the bay and dropped anchor. the ship brought-to opposite a group of natives, who were cooking over a fire. the great navigator and his crew, unacquainted with the character of the australian aborigines, were not a little astonished that these natives took no notice of them or their proceedings. even the splash of the anchor in the water, and the noise of the cable running out through the hawse-hole, in no way disturbed them at their occupation, or caused them to evince the slightest curiosity. but as the captain of the "endeavour" ordered out the pinnace and prepared to land, the natives threw off their nonchalance; for on the boat approaching the shore, two men, each armed with a bundle of spears, presented themselves on a projecting rock and made threatening signs to the strangers. it is interesting to note that the ingenious _wommera_, or throw-stick, which is peculiar to australia, was first observed on this occasion. as the men were evidently determined to oppose any attempt at landing, a musket was discharged between them, in the hope that they would be frightened by the noise, but it produced no effect beyond causing one of them to drop his bundle of spears, of which, however, he immediately repossessed himself, and with his comrade resumed the same menacing attitude. at last one cast a stone towards the boat, which earned him a charge of small shot in the leg. nothing daunted, the two ran back into the bush, and presently returned furnished with shields made of bark, with which to protect themselves from the firearms of the crew. such intrepidity is certainly worthy of passing notice. unlike the american indians, who supposed columbus and his crew to be supernatural beings, and their ships in some way endowed with life, and were thrown into convulsions of terror by the first discharge of firearms which they witnessed, these australians were neither excited to wonder by the ship nor overawed by the superior number and unknown weapons of the strangers. cook examined the bay in the pinnace, and landed several times; but by no endeavour could he induce the natives to hold any friendly communication with him. the well-known circumstance of the great variety of new plants here obtained, from which botany bay derives its name, should not be passed over. before quitting the bay the ceremony was performed of hoisting the union jack, first on the south shore, and then near the north head, formal possession of the territory being thus taken for the british crown. during the sojourn in botany bay the crew had to perform the painful duty of burying a comrade--a seaman named forby sutherland, who was in all probability the first british subject whose body was committed to australian soil. after leaving botany bay, cook sailed northward. he saw and named port jackson, but forbore to enter the finest natural harbour in australia. broken bay and other inlets, and several headlands, were also seen and named, but the vessel did not come to an anchor till moreton bay was reached, although the wind prevented cook from entering this harbour. still sailing northward, taking notes as he proceeded for a rough chart of the coast, and landing at bustard and keppel bays and the bay of inlets, cook passed over 1300 m. without the occurrence of any event worthy of being chronicled, till suddenly one night at ten o'clock the water was found to shoal, without any sign of breakers or land. while cook was speculating on the cause of this phenomenon, and was in the act of ordering out the boats to take soundings, the "endeavour" struck heavily, and fell over so much that the guns, spare cables, and other heavy gear had at once to be thrown overboard to lighten the ship. as day broke, attempts were made to float the vessel off with the morning tide; but these were unsuccessful. the water was rising so rapidly in the hold that with four pumps constantly going the crew could hardly keep it in check. at length one of the midshipmen suggested the device of "fothering," which he had seen practised in the west indies. this consists of passing a sail, attached to cords, and charged with oakum, wool, and other materials, under the vessel's keel, in such a manner that the suction of the leak may draw the canvas into the aperture, and thus partially stop the vent. this was performed with great success, and the vessel was floated off with the evening tide. the land was soon after made near the mouth of a small stream, which cook called, after the ship, the endeavour river. a headland close by he named cape tribulation. the ship was steered into the river, and there careened and thoroughly repaired. cook having completed the survey of the east coast, to which he gave the name of new south wales, sighted and named cape york, the northernmost point of australia, and took final possession of his discoveries northward from 38 deg. s. to 10-1/2 deg. s., on a spot which he named possession island, thence returning to england by way of torres straits and the indian ocean. the great navigator's second voyage, undertaken in 1772, with the "resolution" and the "adventure," is of less importance. the vessels became separated, and both at different times visited new zealand. captain tobias furneaux, in the "adventure," also found his way to storm bay in tasmania. in 1777, while on his way to search for a north-east passage between the atlantic and pacific oceans, cook again touched at the coast of tasmania and new zealand. on his first voyage, in 1770, cook had some grounds for the belief that van diemen's land, as tasmania was then called, was a separate island. the observations of captain furneaux, however, did not strengthen this belief, and when making his final voyage, the great navigator appears to have definitely concluded that it was part of the mainland of australia. this continued to be the opinion of geographers until 1798, when bass discovered the strait which bears his name. the next recorded expedition is a memorable one in the annals of australian history--the despatch of a british colony to the shores of botany bay. the fleet sailed in may 1787, and arrived off the australian coast early in the following january. 2. _inland exploration._ for a period of twenty-five years after the first establishment of a british settlement in australia, the colonists were only acquainted with the country along the coast extending northwards about 70 m. from sydney and about a like distance to the south and shut in to the west by the blue mountain range, forming a narrow strip not more than 50 m. wide at its broadest part. oxley. the blue mountains attain a height of between 3000 and 4000 ft. only, but they are intersected with precipitous ravines 1500 ft. deep, which baffled every effort to reach the interior until in 1813, when a summer of severe drought had made it of vital importance to find new pastures, three of the colonists, messrs blaxland, lawson and wentworth, more fortunate than their predecessors in exploration, after crossing the nepean river at emu plains and ascending the dividing range, were able to reach a position enabling them to obtain a view of the grassy valley of the fish river, which lies on the farther side of the dividing range. the western descent of the mountains appeared to the explorers comparatively easy, and they returned to report their discovery. a line of road was constructed across the mountains as far as the macquarie river by the surveyor, mr evans, and the town of bathurst laid out. this marks the beginning of the occupation of the interior of the continent. some small expeditions were made from bathurst, resulting in the discovery of the lachlan, and in 1816 the first of the great exploration expeditions of australia was fitted out under lieutenant oxley, r.n. oxley was accompanied by mr evans and mr allan cunningham the botanist, and the object of his expedition was to trace the course of the lachlan in a westerly direction. oxley traced the river until it lost itself in the swamps east of 147 deg. e., then crossing the river he traversed the country between the lachlan and murrumbidgee as far as 34 deg. s. and 144 deg. 30' e. on his return journey oxley again crossed the lachlan about 160 m., measured along the river, below the point where he left it on his journey south. continuing in a north-easterly direction oxley struck the macquarie river at a place he called wellington, and from this place in the following year he organized a second expedition in hopes of discovering an inland sea. he was, however, disappointed in this, as after descending the course of the macquarie below mount harris, he found that the river ended in an immense swamp overgrown with reeds. oxley now turned aside--led by mr evans's report of the country eastward--crossed the arbuthnot range, and traversing the liverpool plains, and ascending the peel and cockburn rivers to the blue mountains, gained sight of the open sea, which he reached at port macquarie. a valuable extension of geographical knowledge had been gained by this circuitous journey of more than 800 m. yet its result was a disappointment to those who had looked for means of inland navigation by the macquarie river, and by its supposed issue in a mediterranean sea. during the next two or three years public attention was occupied with captain king's maritime explorations of the north-west coast in three successive voyages, and by explorations of western australia in 1821. these steps were followed by the foundation of a settlement on melville island, in the extreme north, which, however, was soon abandoned. in 1823 lieutenant oxley proceeded to moreton bay and port curtis, the first place 500 m., the other 690 m. north of sydney, to choose the site of a new penal establishment. from a shipwrecked english sailor he met with, who had lived with the savages, he heard of the river brisbane. about the same time, in the opposite direction, south-west of sydney, a large extent of the interior was revealed. messrs hamilton hume and hovell set out from lake george, crossed the murrumbidgee, and, after following the river for a short distance, struck south, skirting the foothills of what are now known as the australian alps until they reached a fine river, which was called the hume after the leader's father. crossing the murray at albury, the explorers, bearing to the south-west, skirted the western shore of port philip and reached the sea-coast near where the town of geelong now stands. in 1827 and the two following years, cunningham prosecuted instructive explorations on both sides of the liverpool range, between the upper waters of the hunter and those of the peel and other tributaries of the brisbane north of new south wales. some of his discoveries, including those of pandora's pass and the darling downs, were of great practical utility. darling. by this time much had thus been done to obtain an acquaintance with the eastern parts of the australian continent, although the problem of what could become of the large rivers flowing north-west and south-west into the interior was still unsolved. with a view to determine this question, governor sir ralph darling, in the year 1828, sent out the expedition under captain charles sturt, who, proceeding first to the marshes at the end of the macquarie river, found his progress checked by the dense mass of reeds in that quarter. he therefore turned westward, and struck a large river, with many affluents, to which he gave the name of the darling. this river, flowing from north-east to south-west, drains the marshes in which the macquarie and other streams from the south appeared to be lost. the course of the murrumbidgee, a deep and rapid river, was followed by the same eminent explorer in his second expedition in 1831 with a more satisfactory result. he travelled on this occasion nearly 2000 m., and discovered that both the murrumbidgee, carrying with it the waters of the lachlan morass, and likewise the darling, from a more northerly region, finally joined another and larger river. this stream, the murray, in the upper part of its course runs in a north-westerly direction, but afterwards turning southwards, almost at a right angle, expands into lake alexandrina on the south coast, about 60 m. south-east of the town of adelaide, and finally enters the sea at encounter bay in e. long. 139 deg. mitchell. after gaining a practical solution of the problem of the destination of the westward-flowing rivers, sir thomas mitchell, in 1833, led an expedition northward to the upper branches of the darling; the party met with a sad disaster in the death of richard cunningham, brother of the eminent botanist, who was murdered by the blacks near the bogan river. the expedition reached the darling on the 25th of may 1833, and after establishing a depot at fort bourke, mitchell traced the darling southwards for 300 m. until he was certain the river was identical with that reported by sturt as joining the murray about 142 deg. e. eyre. meantime, from the new colony of adelaide, south australia, on the shores of gulf st vincent, a series of adventurous journeys to the north and to the west was begun by mr eyre, who explored a country very difficult of access. in 1840 he performed a feat of extraordinary personal daring, travelling all the way along the barren sea-coast of the great australian bight, from spencer gulf to king george sound. eyre also explored the interior north of the head of spencer gulf, where he was misled, however, by appearances to form an erroneous theory about the water-surfaces named lake torrens. it was left to the veteran explorer, sturt, to achieve the arduous enterprise of penetrating from the darling northward to the very centre of the continent. this was in 1845, the route lying for the most part over a stony desert, where the heat (reaching 131 deg. fahr.), with scorching winds, caused much suffering to the party. the most northerly point reached by sturt on this occasion was about s. lat. 24 deg. 25'. [illustration: map: australia] leichhardt. a military station having been fixed by the british government at port victoria, on the coast of arnheim land, for the protection of shipwrecked mariners on the north coast, it was thought desirable to find an overland route between this settlement and moreton bay, in what then was the northern portion of new south wales, now called queensland. this was the object of dr leichhardt's expedition in 1844, which proceeded first along the banks of the dawson and the mackenzie, tributaries of the fitzroy river, in queensland. it thence passed farther north to the burdekin, ascending to the source of that river, and turned westward across a table-land, from which there was an easy descent to the gulf of carpentaria. skirting the low shores of this gulf, all the way round its upper half to the roper, leichhardt crossed arnheim land to the alligator river, which he descended to the western shore of the peninsula, and arrived at port victoria, otherwise port essington, after a journey of 3000 m., performed within a year and three months. in 1847 leichhardt undertook a much more formidable task, that of crossing the entire continent from east to west. his starting-point was on the fitzroy downs, north of the river condamine, in queensland, between the 26th and 27th degrees of s. latitude. but this eminent explorer had not proceeded far into the interior before he met his death, his last despatch dating from the cogoon, 3rd of april 1848. in the same region, from 1845 to 1847, sir thomas mitchell and mr e.b. kennedy explored the northern tributaries of the darling, and a river in s. lat. 24 deg., named the barcoo or victoria, which flows to the south-west. this river was more thoroughly examined by mr a.c. gregory in 1858. mr kennedy lost his life in 1848, being killed by the natives while attempting to explore the peninsula of cape york, from rockingham bay to weymouth bay. among the performances of less renown, but of much practical utility in surveying and opening new paths through the country, we may mention that of captain banister, showing the way across the southern part of western australia, from swan river to king george sound, and that of messrs robinson and g.h. haydon in 1844, making good the route from port phillip to gipps' land with loaded drays, through a dense tangled scrub, which had been described by strzelecki as his worst obstacle. again, in western australia there were the explorations of the arrowsmith, the murchison, the gascoyne, and the ashburton rivers, by captain grey, mr roe, governor fitzgerald, mr r. austin, and the brothers gregory, whose discoveries have great importance from a geographical point of view. stuart. these local researches, and the more comprehensive attempts of leichhardt and mitchell to solve the chief problems of australian geography, must yield in importance to the grand achievement of mr stuart in 1862. the first of his tours independently performed, in 1858 and 1859, were around the south australian lakes, namely, lake torrens, lake eyre and lake gairdner. these waters had been erroneously taken for parts of one vast horse-shoe or sickle shaped lake, only some 20 m. broad, believed to encircle a large portion of the inland country, with drainage at one end by a marsh into spencer gulf. the mistake, shown in all the old maps of australia, had originated in a curious optical illusion. when mr eyre viewed the country from mount deception in 1840, looking between lake torrens and the lake which now bears his own name, the refraction of light from the glittering crust of salt that covers a large space of stony or sandy ground produced an appearance of water. the error was discovered, after eighteen years, by the explorations of mr babbage and major warburton in 1858, while mr stuart, about the same time, gained a more complete knowledge of the same district. a reward of l10,000 having been offered by the legislature of south australia to the first man who should traverse the whole continent from south to north, starting from the city of adelaide, mr stuart resolved to make the attempt. he started in march 1860, passing lake torrens and lake eyre, beyond which he found a pleasant, fertile country till he crossed the macdonnell range of mountains, just under the line of the tropic of capricorn. on the 23rd of april he reached a mountain in s. lat. nearly 22 deg., and e. long. nearly 134 deg., which is the most central marked point of the australian continent, and has been named central mount stuart. mr stuart did not finish his task on this occasion, on account of indisposition and other causes. but the 18th degree of latitude had been reached, where the watershed divided the rivers of the gulf of carpentaria from the victoria river, flowing towards the north-west coast. he had also proved that the interior of australia was not a stony desert, like the region visited by sturt in 1845. on the first day of the next year, 1861, mr stuart again started for a second attempt to cross the continent, which occupied him eight months. he failed, however, to advance farther than one geographical degree north of the point reached in 1860, his progress being arrested by dense scrubs and the want of water. burke and wills. meanwhile, in the province of victoria, by means of a fund subscribed among the colonists and a grant by the legislature, the ill-fated expedition of messrs burke and wills was started. it made for the barcoo (cooper's creek), with a view to reach the gulf of carpentaria by a northerly course midway between sturt's track to the west and leichhardt's to the east. the leading men of the party were mr robert o'hara burke, an officer of police, and mr william john wills, of the melbourne observatory. leaving the main body of his party at menindie on the darling under a man named wright, burke, with seven men, five horses and sixteen camels, pushed on for cooper's creek, the understanding being that wright should follow him in easy stages to the depot proposed to be there established. wright frittered away his time in the district beyond the darling and did not attempt to follow the party to cooper's creek, and burke, tired of waiting, determined to push on. accordingly, dividing his party, leaving at the depot four men and taking with him wills and two men, king and gray, with a horse and six camels, he left cooper's creek on the 16th of december and crossed the desert traversed by sturt fifteen years before. they got on in spite of great difficulties, past the mckinlay range of mountains, s. lat. 21 deg. and 22 deg., and then reached the flinders river, which flows into the head of the gulf of carpentaria. here, without actually standing on the sea-beach of the northern shore, they met the tidal waters of the sea. on the 23rd of february 1861 they commenced the return journey, having in effect accomplished the feat of crossing the australian continent. gray, who had fallen ill, died on the 16th of april. five days later, burke, wills and king had repassed the desert to the place on cooper's creek (the barcoo, s. lat. 27 deg. 40', e. long. 140 deg. 30'), where they had left the depot, with the rest of the expedition. here they experienced a cruel disappointment. the depot was abandoned; the men in charge had quitted the place the same day, believing that burke and those with him were lost. the men who had thus abandoned the depot rejoined the main body of the expedition under wright, who at length moved to cooper's creek, and, incredible to relate, neglected to search for the missing explorers. burke, wills and king, when they found themselves so fearfully left alone and unprovided in the wilderness, wandered about in that district till near the end of june. they subsisted miserably on the bounty of some natives, and partly by feeding on the seeds of a plant called nardoo. at last both wills and burke died of starvation. king, the sole survivor, was saved by meeting the friendly blacks, and was found alive in september by mr a.w. howitt's party, sent on purpose to find and relieve that of burke. four other parties, besides howitt's, were sent out that year from different australian provinces. three of them, respectively commanded by mr walker, mr landsborough, and mr norman, sailed to the north, where the latter two landed on the shores of the gulf of carpentaria, while mr walker marched inland from rockhampton. the fourth party, under mr j. mckinlay, from adelaide, made for the barcoo by way of lake torrens. by these means, the unknown region of mid australia was simultaneously entered from the north, south, east and west, and important additions were made to geographical knowledge landsborough crossed the entire continent from north to south. between february and june 1862; and mckinlay, from south to north, before the end of august in that year. the interior of new south wales and queensland, all that lies east of the 140th degree of longitude, was examined. the barcoo or cooper's creek and its tributary streams were traced from the queensland mountains, holding a south-westerly course to lake eyre in south australia; the flinders, the gilbert, the gregory, and other northern rivers watering the country towards the gulf of carpentaria were also explored. these valuable additions to australian geography were gained through humane efforts to relieve the lost explorers. the bodies of burke and wills were recovered and brought to melbourne for a solemn public funeral, and a noble monument has been erected to their honour. mr stuart, in 1862, made his third and final attempt to traverse the continent from adelaide along a central line, which, inclining a little westward, reaches the north coast of arnheim land, opposite melville island. he started in january, and on the 7th of april reached the farthest northern point, near s. lat. 17 deg., where he had turned back in may of the preceding year. he then pushed on, through a very thick forest, with scarcely any water, till he came to the streams which supply the roper, a river flowing into the western part of the gulf of carpentaria. having crossed a table-land of sandstone which divides these streams from those running to the western shores of arnheim land, mr stuart, in the month of july, passed down what is called the adelaide river of north australia. thus he came at length to stand on the verge of the indian ocean; "gazing upon it," a writer has said, "with as much delight as balboa, when he crossed the isthmus of darien from the atlantic to the pacific." the line crossing australia which was thus explored has since been occupied by the electric telegraph connecting adelaide, melbourne, sydney, and other australian cities with london. gosse. warburton. a third part, at least, of the interior of the whole continent, between the central line of stuart and the known parts of western australia, from about 120 deg. to 134 deg. e. long., an extent of half a million square miles, still remained a blank in the map. but the two expeditions of 1873, conducted by william christie gosse (1842-1881), afterwards deputy surveyor-general for south australia, and colonel (then major) egerton warburton, made a beginning in the exploration of this _terra incognita_ west of the central telegraph route. that line of more than 1800 m., having its southern extremity at the head of spencer gulf, its northern at port darwin, in arnheim land, passes central mount stuart, in the middle of the continent, s. lat. 22 deg., e. long. 134 deg. mr gosse, with men and horses provided by the south australian government, started on the 21st of april from the telegraph station 50 m. south of central mount stuart, to strike into western australia. he passed the reynolds range and lake amadeus in that direction, but was compelled to turn south, where he found a tract of well-watered grassy land. a singular rock of conglomerate, 2 m. long, 1 m. wide, and 1100 ft. high, with a spring of water in its centre, struck his attention. the country was mostly poor and barren, sandy hillocks, with scanty growth of spinifex. mr gosse, having travelled above 600 m., and getting to 26 deg. 32' s. and 127 deg. e., two degrees within the western australian boundary, was forced to return. meantime a more successful attempt to reach the western coast from the centre of australia was made by major warburton, with thirty camels, provided by mr (afterwards sir) t. elder, of south australia. leaving the telegraph line at alice springs (23 deg. 40' s., 133 deg. 14' e.), 1120 m. north of adelaide city, warburton succeeded in making his way to the de grey river, western australia. overland routes had now been found possible, though scarcely convenient for traffic, between all the widely separated australian provinces. in northern queensland, also, there were several explorations about this period, with results of some interest. that performed by mr w. hann, with messrs warner, tate and taylor, in 1873, related to the country north of the kirchner range, watered by the lynd, the mitchell, the walsh and the palmer rivers, on the east side of the gulf of carpentaria. the coasting expedition of mr g. elphinstone dalrymple, with messrs hill and johnstone, finishing in december 1873, effected a valuable survey of the inlets and navigable rivers in the cape york peninsula. forrest. giles. of the several attempts to cross western australia, even major warburton's expedition, the most successful, had failed in the important particular of determining the nature of the country through which it passed. major warburton had virtually raced across from the macdonnell range in south australia to the headwaters of the oakover river on the north-west coast, without allowing himself sufficient time to note the characteristics of the country. the next important expedition was differently conducted. john (afterwards sir john) forrest was despatched by the perth government with general instructions to obtain information regarding the immense tract of country out of which flow the rivers falling into the sea on the northern and western shores of western australia. leaving yewin, a small settlement about lat. 28 deg. s., long. 116 deg. e., forrest travelled north-east to the murchison river, and followed the course of that river to the robinson ranges; thence his course lay generally eastward along the 26th parallel. forrest and his party safely crossed the entire extent of western australia, and entering south australia struck the overland telegraph line at peake station, and, after resting, journeyed south to adelaide. forrest traversed seventeen degrees of desert in five months, a very wonderful achievement, more especially as he was able to give a full report of the country through which he passed. his report destroyed all hope that pastoral settlement would extend to the spinifex region; and the main object of subsequent explorers was to determine the extent of the desert in the direction of north and south. ernest giles made several attempts to cross the central australian desert, but it was not until his third attempt that he was successful. his journey ranks almost with forrest's in the importance of its results and the success with which the appalling difficulties of the journey were overcome. through the generosity of sir thomas elder, of adelaide, giles's expedition was equipped with camels. it started on the 23rd of may 1875 from port augusta. working westerly along the line of the 30th parallel, giles reached perth in about five months. after resting in perth for a short time, he commenced the return journey, which was made for the most part between the 24th and 25th parallels, and again successfully traversed the desert, reaching the overland telegraph line in about seven months. giles's journeys added greatly to our knowledge of the characteristics of western and south australia, and he was able to bear out the common opinion that the interior of australia west of 132 deg. e. long, is a sandy and waterless waste, entirely unfit for settlement. recent explorers. the list of explorers since 1875 is a long one; but after forrest's and giles's expeditions the main object ceased to be the discovery of pastoral country: a new zest had been added to the cause of exploration, and most of the smaller expeditions concerned themselves with the search for gold. amongst the more important explorations may be ranked those of tietkins in 1889, of lindsay in 1891, of wells in 1896, of hubbe in 1896, and of the hon. david carnegie in 1896-97. lindsay's expedition, which was fitted out by sir thomas elder, the generous patron of australian exploration, entered western australia about the 26th parallel south lat., on the line of route taken by forrest in 1874. from this point the explorer worked in a south-westerly direction to queen victoria springs, where he struck the track of giles's expedition of 1875. from the springs the expedition went north-west and made a useful examination of the country lying between 119 deg. and 115 deg. meridians and between 26 deg. and 28 deg. s. lat. wells's expedition started from a base about 122 deg. 20' e. and 25 deg. 54' s., and worked northward to the joanna springs, situated on the tropic of capricorn and near the 124th meridian. from the springs the journey was continued along the same meridian to the fitzroy river. the country passed through was mostly of a forbidding character, except where the kimberley district was entered, and the expedition suffered even more than the usual hardships. the establishment of the gold-fields, with their large population, caused great interest to be taken in the discovery of practicable stock routes, especially from south australia in the east, and from kimberley district in the north. alive to the importance of the trade, the south australian government despatched hubbe from oodnadatta to coolgardie. he successfully accomplished his journey, but had to report that there was no practicable route for cattle between the two districts. one of the most successful expeditions which traversed western australia was that led and equipped by the hon. david carnegie, which started in july 1896, and travelled north-easterly until it reached alexander spring; then turning northward, it traversed the country between wells's track of 1896 and the south australian border. the expedition encountered very many hardships, but successfully reached hall creek in the kimberley district. after a few months' rest it started on the return journey, following sturt creek until its termination in gregory's salt sea, and then keeping parallel with the south australian border as far as lake macdonald. rounding that lake the expedition moved south-west and reached the settled districts in august 1897. the distance travelled was 5000 m., and the actual time employed was eight months. this expedition put an end to the hope, so long entertained, that it was possible to obtain a direct and practicable route for stock between kimberley and coolgardie gold-fields; and it also proved that, with the possible exception of small isolated patches, the desert traversed contained no auriferous country. it may be said that exploration on a large scale is now at an end; there remain only the spaces, nowhere very extensive, between the tracks of the old explorers yet to be examined, and these are chiefly in the northern territory and in western australia north of the tropic of capricorn. the search for gold and the quest for unoccupied pasturage daily diminish the extent of these areas. 3. _political history._ early colonization. of the six australian states, new south wales is the oldest. it was in 1788, eighteen years after captain cook explored the east coast, that port jackson was founded as a penal station for criminals from england; and the settlement retained that character, more or less, during the subsequent fifty years, transportation being virtually suspended in 1839. the colony, however, from 1821 had made a fair start in free industrial progress. by this time, too, several of the other provinces had come into existence. van diemen's land, now called tasmania, had been occupied as early as 1803. it was an auxiliary penal station under new south wales till in 1825 it became a separate government. from this island, ten years later, parties crossed bass strait to port phillip, where a new settlement was shortly established, forming till 1851 a part of new south wales, but now the state of victoria. in 1827 and 1829, an english company endeavoured to plant a settlement at the swan river, and this, added to a small military station established in 1825 at king george sound, constituted western australia. on the shores of the gulf st vincent, again, from 1835 to 1837, south australia was created by another joint-stock company, as an experiment in the wakefield scheme of colonization. such were the political component parts of british australia up to 1839. the early history, therefore, of new south wales is peculiar to itself. unlike the other mainland provinces, it was at first held and used chiefly for the reception of british convicts. when that system was abolished, the social conditions of new south wales, victoria, and south australia became more equal. previous to the gold discoveries of 1851 they may be included, from 1839, in a general summary view. rise of new south wales. the first british governors at sydney, from 1788, ruled with despotic power. they were naval or military officers in command of the garrison, the convicts and the few free settlers. the duty was performed by such men as captain arthur phillip, captain hunter, and others. in the twelve years' rule of general macquarie, closing with 1821, the colony made a substantial advance. by means of bond labour roads and bridges were constructed, and a route opened into the interior beyond the blue mountains. a population of 30,000, three-fourths of them convicts, formed the infant commonwealth, whose attention was soon directed to the profitable trade of rearing fine wool sheep, first commenced by captain john mcarthur in 1803. during the next ten years, 1821-1831, sir thomas brisbane and sir ralph darling, two generals of the army, being successively governors, the colony increased, and eventually succeeded in obtaining the advantages of a representative institution, by means of a legislative council. then came general sir richard bourke, whose wise and liberal administration proved most beneficial. new south wales became prosperous and attractive to emigrants with capital. its enterprising ambition was encouraged by taking fresh country north and south. in the latter direction, explored by mitchell in 1834 and 1836, lay australia felix, now victoria, including the well-watered, thickly-wooded country of gipps' land. growth of victoria. this district, then called port phillip, in the time of governor sir george gipps, 1838-1846, was growing fast into a position claiming independence. melbourne, which began with a few huts on the banks of the yarra-yarra in 1835, was in 1840 a busy town of 6000 inhabitants, the population of the whole district, with the towns of geelong and portland, reaching 12,850; while its import trade amounted to l204,000, and its exports to l138,000. such was the growth of infant victoria in five years; that of adelaide or south australia, in the same period, was nearly equal to it. at melbourne there was a deputy governor, mr latrobe, under sir george-gipps at sydney. adelaide had its own governors, first captain hindmarsh, next colonel gawler, and then captain george grey. western australia progressed but slowly, with less than 4000 inhabitants altogether, under governors stirling and hutt. discovery of gold. the general advancement of australia, to the era of the gold-mining, had been satisfactory, in spite of a severe commercial crisis, from 1841 to 1843, caused by extravagant land speculations and inflated prices. victoria produced already more wool than new south wales, the aggregate produce of australia in 1852 being 45,000,000 lb.; and south australia, between 1842 and this date, had opened most valuable mines of copper. the population of new south wales in 1851 was 190,000; that of victoria, 77,000; and that of south australia about the same. at summerhill creek, 20 m. north of bathurst, in the macquarie plains, gold was discovered, in february 1851, by mr e. hargraves, a gold-miner from california. the intelligence was made known in april or may; and then began a rush of thousands,--men leaving their former employments in the bush or in the towns to search for the ore so greatly coveted in all ages. in august it was found at andersen's creek, near melbourne; a few weeks later the great ballarat gold-field, 80 m. west of that city, was opened; and after that, bendigo to the north. not only in these lucky provinces, new south wales and victoria, where the auriferous deposits were revealed, but in every british colony of australasia, all ordinary industry was left for the one exciting pursuit. the copper mines of south australia were for the time deserted, while tasmania and new zealand lost many inhabitants, who emigrated to the more promising country. the disturbance of social, industrial and commercial affairs, during the first two or three years of the gold era, was very great. immigrants from europe, and to some extent from north america and china, poured into melbourne, where the arrivals in 1852 averaged 2000 persons in a week. the population of victoria was doubled in the first twelvemonth of the gold fever, and the value of imports and exports was multiplied tenfold between 1851 and 1853. the colony of victoria was constituted a separate province in july 1851, mr latrobe being appointed governor, followed by sir charles hotham and sir henry barkly in succession. responsible government. the separation of the northern part of eastern australia, under the name of queensland, from the original province of new south wales, took place in 1859. at that time the district contained about 25,000 inhabitants; and in the first six years its population was quadrupled and its trade trebled. at the beginning of 1860, when the excitement of the gold discoveries was wearing off, five of the states had received from the home government the boon of responsible government, and were in a position to work out the problem of their position without external interference; it was not, however, until 1890 that western australia was placed in a similar position. after the establishment of responsible government the main questions at issue were the secular as opposed to the religious system of public instruction, protection as opposed to a revenue tariff, vote by ballot, adult suffrage, abolition of transportation and assignment of convicts, and free selection of lands before survey; these, and indeed all the great questions upon which the country was divided, were settled within twenty years of the granting of self-government.[6] with the disposal of these important problems, politics in australia became a struggle for office between men whose political principles were very much alike, and the tenure of power enjoyed by the various governments did not depend upon the principles of administration so much as upon the personal fitness of the head of the ministry, and the acceptability of his ministry to the members of the more popular branch of the legislature. general australian problems. the two most striking political events in the modern history of australia, as a whole, apart from the readiness it has shown to remain a part of the british empire (q.v.), and to develop along imperial lines, are the advent of the labour party and the establishment of federation. as regards the last mentioned it may be said that it was accomplished from within, there being no real external necessity for the union of the states. leading politicians have in all the states felt the cramping effects of mere domestic legislation, albeit on the proper direction of such legislation depends the well-being of the people; and to this sense of the limitations of local politics was due, as much as to anything else, the movement towards federation. agrarian legislation. before coming, however, to the history of federation, and the evolution of the labour party, we must refer briefly to some other questions which have been of general interest in australia. taking the states as a whole, agrarian legislation has been the most important subject that has engrossed the attention of their parliaments, and every state has been more or less engaged in tinkering with its land laws. the main object of all such legislation is to secure the residence of the owners on the land. the object of settlers, however, in a great many, perhaps in the majority of instances, is to dispose of their holdings as soon as possible after the requirements of the law have been complied with, and to avoid permanent settlement. this has greatly facilitated the formation of large estates devoted chiefly to grazing purposes, contrary to the policy of the legislature, which has everywhere sought to encourage tillage, or tillage joined to stock-rearing, and to discourage large holdings. the importance of the land question is so great that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that it is usual for every parliament of australia to have before it a proposal to alter or amend its land laws. since 1870 there have been five radical changes made in new south wales. in victoria the law has been altered five times, and in queensland and south australia seven times. immigration question. the prevention or regulation of the immigration of coloured races has also claimed a great share of parliamentary attention. the agitation against the influx of chinese commenced very soon after the gold discoveries, the european miners objecting strongly to the presence of these aliens upon the diggings. the allegations made concerning the chinese really amounted to a charge of undue industry. the chinese were hard-working and had the usual fortune attending those who work hard. they spent little on drink or with the storekeepers, and were, therefore, by no means popular. as early as 1860 there had been disturbances of a serious character, and the chinese were chased off the goldfields of new south wales, serious riots occurring at lambing flat, on the burrangong goldfield. the chinese difficulty, so far as the mining population was concerned, was solved by the exhaustion of the extensive alluvial deposits; the miners' prejudice against the race, however, still exists, though they are no longer serious competitors, and the laws of some of the states forbid any chinese to engage in mining without the express authority in writing of the minister of mines. the nearness of china to australia has always appeared to the australian democracy as a menace to the integrity of the white settlements; and at the many conferences of representatives from the various states, called to discuss matters of general concern, the chinese question has always held a prominent place, but the absence of any federal authority had made common action difficult. in 1888 the last important conference on the chinese question was held in sydney and attended by delegates from all the states. previously to the meeting of the conference there had been a great deal of discussion in regard to the influx of chinese, and such influx was on all sides agreed to be a growing danger. the conference, therefore, merely expressed the public sentiment when it resolved that, although it was not advisable to prohibit altogether this class of immigration, it was necessary in the public interests that the number of chinese privileged to land should be so limited as to prevent the people of that race from ever becoming an important element in the community. in conformity with this determination the various state legislatures enacted new laws or amended the existing laws to cope with the difficulty; these remained until they were in effect superseded by commonwealth legislation. the objection to admitting immigrants was not only to the chinese, but extended to all asiatics; but as a large proportion of the persons whose entrance into the colonies it was desired to stop were british subjects, and the imperial government refused to sanction any measure directly prohibiting in plain terms the movement of british subjects from one part of the empire to another, resort was made to indirect legislation; this was the more advisable, as the rise of the japanese power in the east and the alliance of that country with great britain rendered it necessary to pay attention to the susceptibilities of a powerful nation whose subjects might be affected by restrictive laws. eventually the difficulty was overcome by the device of an educational test based on the provisions of an act in operation in natal. it was provided that a person was to be prohibited from landing in australia who failed to write in any prescribed language fifty words dictated to him by the commonwealth officer supervising immigration. the efficacy of this legislation is in its administration, the language in which coloured aliens are usually tested being european. the agitation against the chinese covered a space of over fifty years, a long period in the history of a young country, and was promoted and kept alive almost entirely by the trades unions, and the restriction acts were the first legislative triumph of the labour party, albeit that party was not at the time directly represented in parliament. bank crisis of 1893. one of the most notable events in the modern history of australia occurred shortly after the great strike of 1890. this was what is ordinarily termed the bank crisis of 1893. although this crisis followed on the great strike, the crisis of two things had no real connexion, the crisis being the natural result of events long anterior to 1890. the effects of the crisis were mainly felt in the three eastern states, queensland, new south wales and victoria, tasmania and south australia being affected chiefly by reason of the fact of their intimate financial connexion with the eastern states. the approach of the crisis was heralded by many signs. deposits were shifted from bank to bank, there were small runs on several of the savings banks guaranteed by the government, mortgagees required additional security from their debtors, bankruptcies became frequent, and some of the banks began to accumulate gold against the evil day. the building societies and financial institutions in receipt of deposits, or so many of them as were on an unsound footing, failed at an early period of the depression, so also did the weaker banks. there was distrust in the minds of the depositors, especially those whose holdings were small, and most of the banks were, at a very early period, subjected to the strain of repaying a large proportion of their deposits as they fell due. for a time the money so withdrawn was hoarded, but after a while it found its way back again into the banks. the crisis was by no means a sudden crash, and even when the failures began to take place they were spread over a period of sixteen weeks. the first noticeable effect of the crisis was a great scarcity of employment. much capital was locked up in the failed banks, and was therefore not available for distribution amongst wage-earners. wages fell precipitately, as also did rents. there was an almost entire cessation of building, and a large number of houses in the chief cities remained untenanted, the occupants moving to lodgings and more than one family living in a single house. credit became greatly restricted, and all descriptions of speculative enterprise came to an end. the consuming power of the population was greatly diminished, and in the year following the crisis the imports into australia from abroad diminished by four and three-quarter millions. in fact, everywhere the demand for goods, especially of those for domestic consumption, fell away; and there was a reduction in the average number of persons employed in the manufacturing industries to the extent of more than 20%. the lack of employment in factories naturally affected the coal mining industry, and indeed every industry in the states, except those connected with the export trade, was severely affected. during the crisis banks having a paid-up capital and reserves of l5,000,000 and deposits of l53,000,000 closed their doors. most of these, however, reopened for business before many weeks. the crisis was felt in the large cities more keenly than in the country districts, and in melbourne more severely than in any other capital. the change of fortune proved disastrous to many families, previously to all appearances in opulent circumstances, but by all classes alike their reverses were borne with the greatest bravery. in its ultimate effects the crisis was by no means evil. its true meaning was not lost upon a business community that had had twenty years of almost unchecked prosperity. it required the chastening of adversity to teach it a salutary lesson, and a few years after, when the first effects of the crisis had passed away, business was on a much sounder footing than had been the case for very many years. one of the first results was to put trade on a sound basis and to abolish most of the abuses of the credit system, but the most striking effect of the crisis was the attention which was almost immediately directed to productive pursuits. agriculture everywhere expanded, the mining industry revived, and, if it had not been for the low prices of staple products, the visible effects of the crisis would have passed away within a very few years. drought of 1902. another matter which deserves attention was the great drought which culminated in the year 1902. for some years previously the pastoral industry had been declining and the number of sheep and cattle in australia had greatly diminished, but the year 1902 was one of veritable drought. the failure of the crops was almost universal and large numbers of sheep and cattle perished for want of food. the truth is, pastoralists for the most part carried on their industry trusting very greatly to luck, not making any special provisions against the vicissitudes of the seasons. enormous quantities of natural hay were allowed every year to rot or be destroyed by bush fires, and the bountiful provision made by nature to carry them over the seasons of dry weather absolutely neglected; so that when the destructive season of 1902 fell upon them, over a large area of territory there was no food for the stock. the year 1903 proved most bountiful, and in a few years all trace of the disastrous drought of 1902 passed away. but beyond this the pastoralist learnt most effectually the lesson that, in a country like australia, provision must be made for the occasional season when the rainfall is entirely inadequate to the wants of the farmer and the pastoralist. federation. the question of federation was not lost sight of by the framers of the original constitution which was bestowed upon new south wales. in the report of the committee of the legislative council appointed in 1852 to prepare a constitution for that colony, the following passage occurs:--"one of the most prominent legislative measures required by the colony, and the colonies of the australian group generally, is the establishment at once of a general assembly, to make laws in relation to those intercolonial questions that have arisen or may hereafter arise among them. the questions which would claim the exercise of such a jurisdiction appear to be (1) intercolonial tariffs and the coasting trade; (2) railways, roads, canals, and other such works running through any two of the colonies; (3) beacons and lighthouses on the coast; (4) intercolonial gold regulations; (5) postage between the said colonies; (6) a general court of appeal from the courts of such colonies; (7) a power to legislate on all other subjects which may be submitted to them by addresses from the legislative councils and assemblies of the colonies, and to appropriate to any of the above-mentioned objects the necessary sums of money, to be raised by a percentage on the revenues of all the colonies interested." this wise recommendation received very scant attention, and it was not until the necessities of the colonies forced them to it that an attempt was made to do what the framers of the original constitution suggested. federation at no time actually dropped out of sight, but it was not until thirty-five years later that any practical steps were taken towards its accomplishment. meanwhile a sort of makeshift was devised, and the imperial parliament passed a measure permitting the formation of a federal council, to which any colony that felt inclined to join could send delegates. of the seven colonies new south wales and new zealand stood aloof from the council, and from the beginning it was therefore shorn of a large share of the prestige that would have attached to a body speaking and acting on behalf of a united australia. the council had also a fatal defect in its constitution. it was merely a deliberative body, having no executive functions and possessing no control of funds or other means to put its legislation in force. its existence was well-nigh forgotten by the people of australia until the occurrence of its biennial meetings, and even then but slight interest was taken in its proceedings. the council held eight meetings, at which many matters of intercolonial interest were discussed. the last occasion of its being called together was in 1899, when the council met in melbourne. in 1889 an important step towards federation was taken by sir henry parkes. the occasion was the report of major-general edwards on the defences of australia, and sir henry addressed the other premiers on the desirability of a federal union for purposes of defence. the immediate result was a conference at parliament house, melbourne, of representatives from each of the seven colonies. this conference adopted an address to the queen expressing its loyalty and attachment, and submitting certain resolutions which affirmed the desirability of an early union, under the crown, of the australasian colonies, on principles just to all, and provided that the remoter australasian colonies should be entitled to admission upon terms to be afterwards agreed upon, and that steps should be taken for the appointment of delegates to a national australasian convention, to consider and report upon an adequate scheme for a federal convention. in accordance with the understanding arrived at, the various australasian parliaments appointed delegates to attend a national convention to be held in sydney, and on the 2nd march 1891 the convention held its first meeting. sir henry parkes was elected president, and he moved a series of resolutions embodying the principles necessary to establish, on an enduring foundation, the structure of a federal government. these resolutions were slightly altered by the conference, and were adopted in the following form:-- 1. the powers and rights of existing colonies to remain intact, except as regards such powers as it may be necessary to hand over to the federal government. 2. no alteration to be made in states without the consent of the legislatures of such states, as well as of the federal parliament. 3. trade between the federated colonies to be absolutely free. 4. power to impose customs and excise duties to be in the federal government and parliament. 5. military and naval defence forces to be under one command. 6. the federal constitution to make provision to enable each state to make amendments in the constitution if necessary for the purposes of federation. other formal resolutions were also agreed to, and on the 31st of march sir samuel griffith, as chairman of the committee on constitutional machinery, brought up a draft constitution bill, which was carefully considered by the convention in committee of the whole and adopted on the 9th of april, when the convention was formally dissolved. the bill, however, fell absolutely dead, not because it was not a good bill, but because the movement out of which it arose had not popular initiative, and therefore failed to reach the popular imagination. although the bill drawn up by the convention of 1891 was not received by the people with any show of interest, the federation movement did not die out; on the contrary, it had many enthusiastic advocates, especially in the colony of victoria. in 1894 an unofficial convention was held at corowa, at which the cause of federation was strenuously advocated, but it was not until 1895 that the movement obtained new life, by reason of the proposals adopted at a meeting of premiers convened by mr g.h. reid of new south wales. at this meeting all the colonies except new zealand were represented, and it was agreed that the parliament of each colony should be asked to pass a bill enabling the people to choose ten persons to represent the colony on a federal convention; the work of such convention being the framing of a federal constitution to be submitted to the people for approval by means of the referendum. during the year 1896 enabling acts were passed by new south wales, victoria, tasmania, south australia and western australia, and delegates were elected by popular vote in all the colonies named except western australia, where the delegates were chosen by parliament. the convention met in adelaide on the 22nd of march 1897, and, after drafting a bill for the consideration of the various parliaments, adjourned until the 2nd of september. on that date the delegates reassembled in sydney, and debated the bill in the light of the suggestions made by the legislatures of the federating colonies. in the course of the proceedings it was announced that queensland desired to come within the proposed union; and in view of this development, and in order to give further opportunity for the consideration of the bill, the convention again adjourned. the third and final session was opened in melbourne on the 20th of january 1898, but queensland was still unrepresented; and, after further consideration, the draft bill was finally adopted on the 16th of march and remitted to the various colonies for submission to the people. the constitution was accepted by victoria, south australia and tasmania by popular acclamation, but in new south wales very great opposition was shown, the main points of objection being the financial provisions, equal representation in the senate, and the difficulty in the way of the larger states securing an amendment of the constitution in the event of a conflict with the smaller states. as far as the other colonies were concerned, it was evident that the bill was safe, and public attention throughout australia was fixed on new south wales, where a fierce political contest was raging, which it was recognized would decide the fate of the measure for the time being. the fear was as to whether the statutory number of 80,000 votes necessary for the acceptance of the bill would be reached. this fear proved to be well founded, for the result of the referendum in new south wales showed 71,595 votes in favour of the bill and 66,228 against it, and it was accordingly lost. in victoria, tasmania and south australia, on the other hand, the bill was accepted by triumphant majorities. western australia did not put it to the vote, as the enabling act of that colony only provided for joining a federation of which new south wales should form a part. the existence of such a strong opposition to the bill in the mother colony convinced even its most zealous advocates that some changes would have to be made in the constitution before it could be accepted by the people; consequently, although the general election in new south wales, held six or seven weeks later, was fought on the federal issue, yet the opposing parties seemed to occupy somewhat the same ground, and the question narrowed itself down to one as to which party should be entrusted with the negotiations to be conducted on behalf of the colony, with a view to securing a modification of the objectionable features of the bill. the new parliament decided to adopt the procedure of again sending the premier, mr reid, into conference, armed with a series of resolutions affirming its desire to bring about the completion of federal union, but asking the other colonies to agree to the reconsideration of the provisions which were most generally objected to in new south wales. the other colonies interested were anxious to bring the matter to a speedy termination, and readily agreed to this course of procedure. accordingly a premiers' conference was held in melbourne at the end of january 1899, at which queensland was for the first time represented. at this conference a compromise was effected, something was conceded to the claims of new south wales, but the main principles of the bill remained intact. the bill as amended was submitted to the electors of each colony and again triumphantly carried in victoria, south australia and tasmania. in new south wales and queensland there were still a large number of persons opposed to the measure, which was nevertheless carried in both colonies. new south wales having decided in favour of federation, the way was clear for a decision on the part of western australia. the enabling bill passed the various stages in the parliament of that colony, and the question was then adopted by referendum. in accordance with this general verdict of all the states, the colonial draft bill was submitted to the imperial government for legislation as an imperial act; and six delegates were sent to england to explain the measure and to pilot it through the cabinet and parliament. a bill was presented to the british parliament which embodied and established, with such variations as had been accepted on behalf of australia by the delegates, the constitution agreed to at the premiers' conference of 1899 and speedily became law. under this act, which was dated the 9th of july 1900, a proclamation was issued on the 17th of september of the same year, declaring that, on and after the 1st of january 1901, the people of new south wales, victoria, south australia, queensland, tasmania and western australia should be united in a federal commonwealth under the name of the commonwealth of australia. provisions of the act of 1900. the six colonies entering the commonwealth were denominated original states, and new states might be admitted, or might be formed by separation from or union of two or more states or parts of states; and territories (as distinguished from states) might be taken over and governed under the legislative power of the commonwealth. the legislative power is vested in a federal parliament, consisting of the sovereign, a senate, and a house of representatives, the sovereign being represented by a governor-general. the senate was to consist of the same number of members (not less than six) for each state, the term of service being six years, but subject to an arrangement that half the number would retire every three years. the house of representatives was to consist of members chosen in the different states in numbers proportioned to their population, but never fewer than five. the first house of representatives was to contain seventy-five members. for elections to the senate the governors of states, and for general elections of the house of representatives the governor-general, would cause writs to be issued. the senate would choose its own president, and the house of representatives its speaker; each house would make its own rules of procedure; in each, one-third of the number of members would form a quorum; the members of each must take oath, or make affirmation of allegiance; and all alike would receive an allowance of l400 a year. the legislative powers of the parliament have a wide range, many matters being transferred to it from the colonial parliaments. the more important subjects with which it deals are trade, shipping and railways; taxation, bounties, the borrowing of money on the credit of the commonwealth; the postal and telegraphic services; defence, census and statistics; currency, coinage, banking, bankruptcy; weights and measures; copyright, patents and trade marks; marriage and divorce; immigration and emigration; conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes. bills imposing taxation or appropriating revenue must not originate in the senate, and neither taxation bills nor bills appropriating revenue for the annual service of the government may be amended in the senate, but the senate may return such bills to the house of representatives with a request for their amendment. appropriation laws must not deal with other matters. taxation laws must deal with only one subject of taxation; but customs and excise duties may, respectively, be dealt with together. votes for the appropriation of the revenue shall not pass unless recommended by the governor-general. the constitution provides means for the settlement of disputes between the houses, and requires the assent of the sovereign to all laws. the executive power is vested in the governor-general, assisted by an executive council appointed by himself. he has command of the army and navy, and appoints federal ministers and judges. the ministers are members of the executive council, and must be, or within three months of their appointment must become, members of the parliament. the judicial powers are vested in a high court and other federal courts, and the federal judges hold office for life or during good behaviour. the high court has appellate jurisdiction in cases from other federal courts and from the supreme courts of the states, and it has original jurisdiction in matters arising under laws made by the federal parliament, in disputes between states, or residents in different states, and in matters affecting the representatives of foreign powers. special provisions were made respecting appeals from the high court to the sovereign in council. the constitution set forth elaborate arrangements for the administration of finance and trade during the transition period following the transference of departments to the commonwealth. within two years uniform customs duties were to be imposed; thereafter the parliament of the commonwealth had exclusive power to impose customs and excise duties, or to grant bounties; and trade within the commonwealth was to be absolutely free. exceptions were made permitting the states to grant bounties on mining and (with the consent of the parliament) on exports of produce or manufactures--western australia being for a time partially exempted from the prohibition to impose import duties. the constitution, parliament and laws of each state, subject to the federal constitution, retained their authority; state rights were carefully safeguarded, and an inter-state commission was given powers of adjudication and of administration of the laws relating to trade, transport and other matters. provision was made for necessary alteration of the constitution of the commonwealth, but so that no alteration could be effected unless the question had been directly submitted to, and the change accepted by the electorate in the states. the seat of government was to be within new south wales, not less than 100 m. distant from sydney, and of an area not less than 100 sq. m. until other provision was made, the governor-general was to have a salary of l10,000, paid by the commonwealth. respecting the salaries of the governors of states, the constitution made no provision. the choice of governor-general of the new commonwealth fell upon lord hopetoun (afterwards lord linlithgow), who had won golden opinions as governor of victoria a few years before; mr (afterwards sir edmund) barton, who had taken the lead among the australian delegates, became first prime minister; and the commonwealth was inaugurated at the opening of 1901. the first parliament under the constitution was elected on the 29th and 30th of march 1901, and was opened by the prince of wales on the 9th of may following. in october 1908 the yass-canberra district, near the town of yass, n.s.w., was at length selected by both federal houses to contain the future federal capital. labour movement. the great strike of 1890. the labour movement in australia may be traced back to the early days when transportation was in vogue, and the free immigrant and the time-expired convict objected to the competition of the bond labourer. the great object of these early struggles being attained, labour directed its attention mainly to securing shorter hours. it was aided very materially by the dearth of workers consequent on the gold discoveries, when every man could command his own price. when the excitement consequent on the gold finds had subsided, there was a considerable reaction against the claims of labour, and this was greatly helped by the congested state of the labour market; but the principle of an eight-hours day made progress, and was conceded in several trades. in the early years of the 'seventies the colonies entered upon an era of well-being, and for about twelve years every man, willing to work and capable of exerting himself, readily found employment. the labour unions were able to secure in these years many concessions both as to hours and wages. in 1873 there was an important rise in wages, in the following year there was a further advance, and another in 1876; but in 1877 wages fell back a little, though not below the rate of 1874. in 1882 there was a very important advance in wages; carpenters received 11s. a day, bricklayers 12s. 6d., stone-masons 11s. 6d., plasterers 12s., painters 11s., blacksmiths 10s., and navvies and general labourers 8s., and work was very plentiful. for five years these high wages ruled; but in 1886 there was a sharp fall, though wages still remained very good. in 1888 there was an advance, and again in 1889. in 1890 matters were on the eve of a great change and wages fell, in most cases to a point 20% below the rates of 1885. during the whole period from 1873 onwards, prices, other than of labour, were steadily tending downwards, so that the cost of living in 1890 was much below that of 1873. taking everything into consideration the reduction was, perhaps, not less than 20%, so that, though the nominal or money wages in 1873 and 1890 were the same, the actual wages were much higher in the latter year. much of the improvement in the lot of the wage-earners has been due to the labour organizations, yet so late as 1881 these organizations were of so little account, politically, that when the law relating to trades unions was passed in new south wales, the english law was followed, and it was simply enacted that the purposes of any trades union shall not be deemed unlawful (so as to render a member liable to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or otherwise) merely by reason that they are in restraint of trade. after the year 1884 labour troubles became very frequent, the new south wales coal miners in particular being at war with the colliery owners during the greater part of the six years intervening between then and what is called the great strike. the strong downward tendency of prices made a reduction of wages imperative; but the labouring classes failed to recognize any such necessity, and strongly resented any reductions proposed by employers. it was hard indeed for a carter drawing coal to a gasworks to recognize the necessity which compelled a reduction in his wages because wool had fallen 20%. nor were other labourers, more nearly connected with the producing interests, satisfied with a reduction of wages because produce had fallen in price all round. up to 1889 wages held their ground, although work had become more difficult to obtain, and some industries were being carried on without any profit. it was at such an inopportune time that the most extensive combination of labour yet brought into action against capital formulated its demands. it is possible that the london dockers' strike was not without its influence on the minds of the australian labour leaders. that strike had been liberally helped by the australian unions, and it was confidently predicted that, as the australian workers were more effectively organized than the english unions, a corresponding success would result from their course of action. a strike of the newcastle miners, after lasting twenty-nine weeks, came to an end in january 1890, and throughout the rest of the year there was great unrest in labour circles. on the 6th of september the silver mines closed down, and a week later a conference of employers issued a manifesto which was met next day by a counter-manifesto of the intercolonial labour conference, and almost immediately afterwards by the calling out of 40,000 men. the time chosen for the strike was the height of the wool season, when a cessation of work would be attended with the maximum of inconvenience. sydney was the centre of the disturbance, and the city was in a state of industrial siege, feeling running to dangerous extremes. riotous scenes occurred both in sydney and on the coal-fields, and a large number of special constables were sworn in by the government. towards the end of october 20,000 shearers were called out, and many other trades, principally concerned with the handling or shipping of wool, joined the ranks of the strikers, with the result that the maritime and pastoral industries throughout the whole of australia were most injuriously disturbed. the great strike terminated early in november 1890, the employers gaining a decisive victory. the colonies were, however, to have other and bitter experiences of strikes before labour recognized that of all means for settling industrial disputes strikes are, on the whole, the most disastrous that it can adopt. the strikes of the years 1890 and 1892 are just as important on account of their political consequences as from the direct gains or losses involved. political consequences. as one result of the strike of 1890 a movement was set afoot by a number of enthusiasts, more visionary than practical, that has resulted in a measure of more or less disaster. this was the planting of a colony of communistic australians in south america. after much negotiation the leader, mr william lane, a brisbane journalist, decided on paraguay, and he tramped across the continent, preaching a new crusade, and gathering in funds and recruits in his progress. on the 16th of july 1893 the first little army of "new australians" left sydney in the "royal tar," which arrived at montevideo on the 31st of august. other consignments of intending settlers in "new australia" followed; but though the settlement is still in existence it has completely failed to realize the impracticable ideals of its original members. the queensland government assisted some of the disillusioned to escape from the paradise which proved a prison; some managed to get away on their own account; and those that have remained have split into as many settlements almost as there are settlers. another effect of the great strike was in a more practical direction. new south wales was the first country which endeavoured to settle its labour grievances through the ballot-box and to send a great party to parliament as the direct representation of labour, pledged to obtain through legislation what it was unable to obtain by strikes and physical force. the principle of one-man one-vote had been persistently advocated without arousing any special parliamentary or public enthusiasm until the meeting of the federal convention in 1891. the convention was attended by sir george grey, who was publicly welcomed to the colony by new zealanders resident in sydney, and by other admirers, and his reception was an absolute ovation. he eloquently and persistently advocated the principle of one-man one-vote as the bed-rock of all democratic reform. this subsequently formed the first plank of the labour platform. several attempts had been made by individuals belonging to the labour party to enter the new south wales parliament, but it was not until 1891 that the occurrence of a general election gave the party the looked-for opportunity for concerted action. the results of the election came as a complete surprise to the majority of the community. the labour party captured 35 seats out of a house of 125 members; and as the old parties almost equally divided the remaining seats, and a fusion was impossible, the labour representatives dominated the situation. it was not long, however, before the party itself became divided on the fiscal question; and a protectionist government coming into power, about half the labour members gave it consistent support and enabled it to maintain office for about three years, the party as a political unit being thus destroyed. the events of these three years taught the labour leaders that a parliamentary party was of little practical influence unless it was able to cast on all important occasions a solid vote, and to meet the case a new method was devised. the party therefore determined that they would refuse to support any person standing in the labour interests who refused to pledge himself to vote on all occasions in such way as the majority of the party might decide to be expedient. this was called the "solidarity pledge," and, united under its sanction, what was left of the labour party contested the general election of 1894. the result was a defeat, their numbers being reduced from 35 to 19; but a signal triumph was won for solidarity. very few of the members who refused to take the pledge were returned and the adherents of the united party were able to accomplish more with their reduced number than under the old conditions. the two features of the labour party in new south wales are its detachment from other parties and the control of the caucus. the caucus, which is the natural corollary of the detachment, determines by majority the vote of the whole of the members of the party, independence of action being allowed on minor questions only. so far the party has refrained from formal alliance with the other great parties of the state. it supports the government as the power alone capable of promoting legislation, but its support is given only so long as the measures of the government are consistent with the labour policy. this position the labour party has been able to maintain with great success, owing to the circumstance that the other parties have been almost equally balanced. parliamentary labour party. the movement towards forming a parliamentary labour party was not confined to new south wales; on the contrary, it was common to all the states, having its origin in the failure of the great strike of 1890. the experience of the party was also much the same as in new south wales, but its greatest triumphs were achieved in south australia. the labour party has been in power in queensland, western australia and south australia, and has, on many occasions, decided the fate of the government on a critical division in all the states except tasmania and victoria. different ideals dominate the party in the different states. the one ideal which has just been described represents the labour party from the new south wales standpoint. the only qualification worth mentioning is the signing of the pledge of solidarity. the other ideal, typified by the south australian party, differs from this in one important respect. to the labour party in that state are admitted only persons who have worked for their living at manual labour, and this qualification of being an actual worker is one that was strongly insisted upon at the formation of the party and strictly adhered to, although the temptation to break away from it and accept as candidates persons of superior education and position has been very great. on the formation of the commonwealth a labour party was established in the federal houses. it comprises one-third of the representation in the house of representatives, and perhaps a still larger proportion in the senate. the party is, however, formed on a broader basis than the state parties, the solidarity pledge extends only to votes upon which the fate of a government depends. naturally, however, as the ideals of the members of the party are the same, the members of the labour party will be generally found voting together on all important divisions, the chief exception being with regard to free trade or protection. the labour party held power in the commonwealth for a short period, and has had the balance of power in its hands ever since the formation of the commonwealth. (t. a. c.) recent legislation. australian legislation in the closing years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th bore the most evident traces of the labour party's influence. in all the colonies a complete departure from principles laid down by the leading political economists of the 19th century was made when acts were passed subjecting every branch of domestic industry to the control of specially constituted tribunals, which were empowered among other important functions to fix the minimum rate of wages to be paid to all grades of workmen. (see also the articles arbitration and conciliation; trade unions; labour legislation.) victoria. victoria was the pioneer in factory legislation, the first victorian act of that character dating from 1873. in 1884 a royal commission, appointed two years earlier to inquire into the conditions of employment in the colony and certain allegations of "sweating" that had then recently been made, reported that:--"the most effective mode of bringing about industrial co-operation and mutual sympathy between employers and employed, and thus obviating labour conflicts in the future, is by the establishment of courts of conciliation in victoria, whose procedure and awards shall have the sanction and authority of law." this report led to the passing of a number of acts which, proving ineffectual, were followed by the factories and shops act of 1896, passed by the ministry of mr (afterwards sir alexander) peacock. this measure, together with several subsequent amending acts, of which the most important became law in 1903, 1905 and 1907, forms a complete industrial code in which the principle of state regulation of wages is recognized and established. its central enactment was to bring into existence (1) "special boards," consisting of an equal number of representatives of employers and workmen respectively in any trade, under the presidency of an independent chairman, and (2) a court of industrial appeals. a special board may be formed at the request of any union of employers or of workmen, or on the initiative of the labour department. after hearing evidence, which may be given on oath, the special board issues a "determination," fixing the minimum rate of wages to be paid to various classes of workers of both sexes and different ages in the trade covered by the determination, including apprentices; and specifying the number of hours per week for which such wages are payable, with the rates for overtime when those hours are exceeded. the determination is then gazetted, and it becomes operative over a specified area, which varies in different cases, on a date fixed by the board. either party, or the minister for labour, may refer a determination to the court of industrial appeals, and the court, in the event of a special board failing to make a determination, may itself be called upon to frame one. the general administration of the factories and shops acts, to which the special boards owe their being, is vested in a chief inspector of factories, subject to the control of the minister of labour in matters of policy. before the end of 1906 fifty-two separate trades in victoria had obtained special boards, by whose determinations their operations were controlled. south australia. a similar system was introduced into south australia by an act passed in 1900 amending the factory act of 1894, which was the first legislation of the sort passed in that state. queensland. in queensland, where the earliest factory legislation dates from 1896, keen parliamentary conflict raged round the proposal in 1907 to introduce the special boards system for fixing wages. more than one change of government occurred before the bill became law in april 1908. new south wales. in new south wales, whose example was followed by western australia, the machinery adopted for fixing the statutory rate of wages was of a somewhat different type. the model followed in these two states was not victoria but new zealand, where an industrial conciliation and arbitration act was passed in 1894. a similar measure, under the guidance of the attorney-general, the hon. b.r. wise, was carried after much opposition in new south wales in 1901, to remain in force till the 30th of june 1908. by it an arbitration court was instituted, consisting of a president and assessors representing the employers' unions and the workers' unions respectively; in any trade in which a dispute occurs, any union of workmen or employers registered under the act was given the right to bring the matter before the arbitration court, and if the court makes an award, an application may be made to it to make the award a "common rule," which thereupon becomes binding over the trade affected, wherever the act applies. the award of the court is thus the equivalent of the determination of a special board in victoria, and deals with the same questions, the most important of which are the minimum rates of wages and the number of working hours per week. the act contained stringent provisions forbidding strikes; but in this respect it failed to effect its purpose, several strikes occurring in the years following its enactment, in which there were direct refusals to obey awards. western australia. in the years 1900 and 1902 acts were passed in western australia still more closely modelled on the new zealand act than was the above-mentioned statute in new south wales. unlike the latter, they reproduced the institution of district conciliation boards in addition to the arbitration court; but these boards were a failure here as they were in new zealand, and after 1903 they fell into disuse. in western australia, too, the act failed to prevent strikes taking place. in 1907 a serious strike occurred in the timber trade, attended by all the usual accompaniments, except actual disorder, of an industrial conflict. federal arbitration act of 1904. in all this legislation one of the most hotly contested points was whether the arbitration court should be given power to lay it down that workers who were members of a trade union should be employed in preference to non-unionists. this power was given to the tribunal in new south wales, but was withheld in western australia. it was the same question that formed the chief subject of debate over the federal conciliation and arbitration act, which, after causing the defeat of more than one ministry, passed through the commonwealth parliament in 1904. it was eventually compromised by giving the power, but only with safeguarding conditions, to the federal arbitration court. this tribunal differs from similar courts in the states inasmuch as it consists of a single member, called the "president," an officer appointed by the governor-general from among the justices of the high court of australia. the president has the power to appoint assessors to advise him on technical points; and considerable powers of devolution of authority for the purpose of inquiry and report are conferred upon the court, the main object of which is to secure settlement by conciliatory methods. the distinctive object of the federal act, as defined in the measure itself, is to provide machinery for dealing with industrial disputes extending beyond any one state, examples of which were furnished by the first two important cases submitted to the court--the one concerning the merchant marine of australia, and the other the sheep shearers, both of which were heard in 1907. an additional duty was thrown on the federal arbitration court by the customs and excise tariff acts of 1906, in which were embodied the principles known as the "new protection." by the customs act the duty was raised on imported agricultural implements, while as a safeguard to the consumer the maximum prices for the retail of the goods were fixed. in order to provide a similar protection for the artisans employed in the protected industries, an excise duty was imposed on the home-produced articles, which was to be remitted in favour of manufacturers who could show that they paid "fair and reasonable" wages, and complied with certain other conditions for the benefit of their workmen. the chief authority for determining whether these conditions are satisfied or not is the federal arbitration court. old age pensions. the same period that saw this legislation adopted was also marked by the establishment of old age pensions in the three eastern states, and also in the commonwealth. by the federal act, passed in the session of 1908, a pension of ten shillings a week was granted to persons of either sex over sixty-five years of age, or to persons over sixty who are incapacitated from earning a living. the commonwealth legislation thus made provision for the aged poor in the three states which up to 1908 had not accepted the principle of old age pensions, and also for those who, owing to their having resided in more than one state, were debarred from receiving pension in any. tariff. an important work of the commonwealth parliament was the passing of a uniform tariff to supersede the six separate tariffs in force at the establishment of the commonwealth, but many other important measures were considered and some passed into law. during the first six years of federation there were five ministries; the tenure of office under the three-yearly system was naturally uncertain, and this uncertainty was reflected in the proposals of whatever ministry was in office. the great task of adjusting the financial business of the commonwealth on a permanent basis was one of very great difficulty, as the apparent interests of the states and of the commonwealth were opposed. up till 1908 it had been generally assumed that the constitution required the treasurer of the commonwealth to hand over to the states month by month whatever surplus funds remained in his hands. but in july 1908 a surplus revenue act was passed which was based on a different interpretation of the constitution. under this act the appropriation of these surplus funds to certain trust purposes in the federal treasury is held to be equivalent to payment to the states. the money thus obtained was appropriated in part to naval defence and harbours, and in part to the provision of old age pensions under the federal old age pension act of 1908. the act was strongly opposed by the government of queensland, and the question was raised as to whether it was based on a true interpretation of the constitution. the chief external interest, however, of the new financial policy of the commonwealth lay in its relation towards the empire as a whole. at the imperial conference in london in 1907 mr deakin, the commonwealth premier, was the leading advocate of colonial preference with a view to imperial commercial union; and though no reciprocal arrangement was favoured by the liberal cabinet, who temporarily spoke for the united kingdom, the colonial representatives were all agreed in urging such a policy, and found the opposition (the unionist party) in england prepared to adopt it as part of mr chamberlain's tariff reform movement. in spite of the official rebuff received from the mother-country, the australian ministry, in drawing up the new federal tariff, gave a substantial preference to british imports, and thus showed their willingness to go farther. (see the article british empire.) (r. j. m.) general bibliography.--for physical geography: barton, _australian physiography_ (brisbane, 1895); wall, _physical geography of australia_ (melbourne, 1883); taylor, _geography of new south wales_ (sydney, 1898); saville kent, _the great barrier reef of australia_ (london, 1893); a. agassiz, _visit to the barrier reef_ (cambridge, mass., 1899); j.p. thomson, _the physical geography of australia_ (smithsonian report, washington, 1898); j.w. gregory, _the dead heart of australia_. for flora: maiden, _useful native plants of australia_ (sydney, 1889); bentham and mueller, _flora australiensis_ (london, 1863-1878); fitzgerald, _australian orchids_ (sydney, 1870-1890); mueller, _census of australian plants_ (melbourne, 1889). for fauna: forbes, "the chatham islands; their relation to a former southern continent," _geographical journal_, vol. ii. (1893); hedley, "surviving refugees in austral lands of ancient antarctic life," _royal society n.s. wales_, 1895; "the relation of the fauna and flora of australia to those of new zealand," _nat. science_ (1893); tenison-woods, _the fish and fisheries of new south wales_ (sydney, 1883); ogilvy, _catalogue of australian mammals_ (sydney, 1892); aflalo, _natural history of australia_ (london, 1896); flower and lydekker, _mammals, living and extinct_ (london, 1891); j. douglas ogilby, _catalogue of the fishes of new south wales_, 4to (sydney, 1886). for statistics and miscellanea: t.a. coghlan, _a statistical account of the seven colonies of australasia_, 8vo (sydney, 1904); g. collingridge, _the discovery of australia_ (sydney, 1895); w. epps, _the land systems of australia_, 8vo (london, 1894); ernest favenc, _the history of australasian exploration_, royal 8vo (sydney, 1885); r.r. garraa, _the coming commonwealth: a handbook of federal government_ (sydney, 1897); george william rusden, _history of australia_, 3 vols. 8vo (london, 1883); k. schmeisser, _the goldfields of australasia_, 2 vols. (london, 1899); g.f. scott, _the romance of australian exploring_ (london, 1899); h. de r. walker, _australasian democracy_ (london, 1897); william westgarth, _half a century of australian progress_ (london, 1899); t.a. coghlan and t.t. ewing, _progress of australia in the 19th century_; g.p. tregarthen, _commonwealth of australia_; ida lee, _early days of australia_; w.p. reeves, _state experiments in australia and new zealand_; a. metin, _la socialisme sans doctrine_. footnotes: [1] the literature of the geology of australia is enumerated, to 1884, in the bibliography by etheridge and jack. a general summary of the stratigraphical geology was given by r. tate, _rep. austral. assoc. adv. sci._ vol. v. (1893), pp. 1-69. references to the chief sources of information regarding the states is given under each of them. a geological map of the whole continent, on the scale of 50 m. to the inch, was compiled by a. everett, and issued in 1887 in six sheets, by the geological survey of victoria. [2] the statistical portion of this article includes tasmania, which is a member of the australian commonwealth. [3] in his _discoveries in central australia_, e.t. eyre has ingeniously attempted to reconstruct the routes taken by the australians in their advance across the continent. he has relied, however, in his efforts to link the tribes together, too much on the prevalence or absence of such customs as circumcision--always very treacherous evidences--to allow of his hypothetical distribution being regarded very seriously. the migrations must have always been dependent upon physical difficulties, such as waterless tracts or mountain barriers. they were probably not definite massed movements, such as would permit of the survival of distinctive lines of custom between tribe and tribe; but rather spasmodic movements, sometimes of tribes or of groups, sometimes only of families or even couples, the first caused by tribal wars, the second to escape punishment for some offence against tribal law, such as the defiance of the rules as to clan-marriages. [4] _the languages of india_ (1875). [5] the existence of "group marriage" is a much-controverted point. this custom, which has been defined as the invasion of actual marriage by allotting permanent paramours, is confined to a special set of tribes. [6] australia, it may be noted, has woman's suffrage in all the states (victoria, the last, adopting it in november 1908), and for the federal assembly. austrasia. the word _austria_ signifies the realm of the east (ger. _ost reich_). in gregory of tours this word is still used vaguely, but the sense of it is gradually defined, and finally the name of _austria_ or _austrasia_ was given to the easternmost part of the frankish kingdom. it usually had metz for its capital, and the inhabitants of the kingdom were known as the _austrasii_. retrospectively, later historians have given this name to the kingdom of theuderich i. (511-534), of his son theudebert (534-548), and of his grandson theudebald (548-555); then, after the death of clotaire i., to the kingdom of sigebert (561-575), and of his son childebert (575-597). they have even tried to interpret the long struggle between fredegond and brunhilda as a rivalry between the two kings of neustria and austrasia. when these two words are at last found in the texts in their precise signification, austrasia is applied to that part of the frankish kingdom which clotaire ii. entrusted to his son dagobert, subject to the guardianship of pippin and arnulf (623-629), and which dagobert in his turn handed on to his son sigebert (634-639), under the guardianship of cunibert, bishop of cologne, and ansegisel, mayor of the palace. after the death of dagobert, austrasia and neustria almost always had separate kings, with their own mayors of the palace, and then there arose a real rivalry between these two provinces, which ended in the triumph of austrasia. the austrasian mayors of the palace succeeded in enforcing their authority in the western as well as in the eastern part, and in re-establishing to their own advantage the unity of the frankish kingdom. the mayor pippin the short was even powerful enough to take the title of king over the whole. at the time of charlemagne, the word austrasia underwent a change of meaning and became synonymous with _francia orientalis_, and was applied to the frankish dominions beyond the rhine (franconia). this franconia was in 843 included in the kingdom of louis the german, and was then increased by the addition of the territories of mainz, spires and worms, on the right bank of the river. see a. huguenin, _histoire du royaume merovingien d'austrasie_ (paris, 1857); aug. digot, _histoire du royaume d'austrasie_, 4 vols. (nancy, 1863); l. drapeyron, _essai sur l'origine, le developpement et les resultats de la lutte entre la neustrie et l'austrasie_ (paris, 1867); auguste longnon, _atlas historique_, 1st and 2nd parts. (c. pf.) austria. (ger. _osterreich_), a country of central europe, bounded e. by russia and rumania, s. by hungary, the adriatic sea and italy, w. by switzerland, liechtenstein and the german empire (bavaria), and n. by the german empire (saxony and prussia) and russia. it has an area of 115,533 sq. m., or about twice the size of england and wales together. austria is one of the states which constitute the austro-hungarian (habsburg) monarchy (see austria-hungary: _history_), and is also called cisleithania, from the fact that it contains the portion of that monarchy which lies to the west of the river leitha. austria does not form a geographical unity, and the constituent parts of this empire belong to different geographical regions. thus, tirol, styria and carinthia belong, like switzerland, to the system of the alps, but these provinces together with those lying in the basin of the danube form, nevertheless, a compact stretch of country. on the other hand galicia, extending on the eastern side of the carpathians, belongs to the great plain of russia; bohemia stretches far into the body of germany; while dalmatia, which is quite separated from the other provinces, belongs to the balkan peninsula. _coasts._--austria has amongst all the great european countries the most continental character, in so far as its frontiers are mostly land-frontiers, only about one-tenth of them being coast-land. the adriatic coast, which stretches for a distance of about 1000 m., is greatly indented. the gulf of trieste on the west, and the gulf of fiume or quarnero on the east, include between them the peninsula of istria, which has many sheltered bays. in the gulf of quarnero are the quarnero islands, of which the most important are cherso, veglia and lussin. the coast west of the mouth of the isonzo is fringed by lagoons, and has the same character as the venetian coast, while the gulf of trieste and the istrian peninsula have a steep coast with many bays and safe harbours. the principal ports are trieste, capodistria, pirano, parenzo, rovigno and pola, the great naval harbour and arsenal of austria. the coast of dalmatia also possesses many safe bays, the principal being those of zara, cattaro and ragusa, but in some places it is very steep and inaccessible. on the other hand a string of islands extends along this coast, which offer many safe and easily accessible places of anchorage to ships during the fierce winter gales which rage in the adriatic. the principal are pago, pasman, isola lunga and isola incoronata, brazza, lesina, curzola and meleda. the political divisions of austria correspond, for the most part, so closely to natural physical divisions that the detailed account of the physical features, natural resources and the movement of the population has been given under those separate headings. in this general article the geography of austria--physical, economical and political--has been treated in its broad aspects, and those points insisted upon which give an adequate idea of the country as a whole. _mountains._--austria is the most mountainous country of europe after switzerland, and about four-fifths of its entire area is more than 600 ft. above the level of the sea. the mountains of austria belong to three different mountain systems, namely, the alps (q.v.), the carpathians (q.v.), and the bohemian-moravian mountains. the danube, which is the principal river of austria, divides the alpine region, which occupies the whole country lying at its south, from the bohemian-moravian mountains and their offshoots lying at its north; while the valleys of the march and the oder separate the last-named mountains from the carpathians. of the three principal divisions of the alps--the western, the central and the eastern alps--austria is traversed by several groups of the central alps, while the eastern alps lie entirely within its territory. the eastern alps are continued by the karst mountains, which in their turn are continued by the dinaric alps, which stretch through croatia and dalmatia. the second great mountain-system of austria, the carpathians, occupy its eastern and north-eastern portions, and stretch in the form of an arch through moravia, silesia, galicia and bukovina, forming the frontier towards hungary, within which territory they principally extend. finally, the bohemian-moravian mountains, which enclose bohemia and moravia, and form the so-called quadrilateral of bohemia, constitute the link of the austrian mountain-system with the hilly region (the _mittelgebirge_) of central europe. only a little over 25% of the area of austria is occupied by plains. the largest is the plain of galicia, which is part of the extensive sarmatic plain; while in the south, along the isonzo, austria comprises a small part of the lombardo-venetian plain. several smaller plains are found along the danube, as the tulner becken in lower austria, and the wiener becken, the plain on which the capital is situated; to the north of the danube this plain is called the marchfeld, and is continued under the name of the marchebene into moravia as far north as olmutz. along the other principal rivers there are also plains of more or less magnitude, some of them possessing tracts of very fertile soil. _rivers._--austria possesses a fairly great number of rivers, pretty equally distributed amongst its crown lands, with the exception of istria and the karst region, where there is a great scarcity of even the smallest rivers. the principal rivers are: the danube, the dniester, the vistula, the oder, the elbe, the rhine and the adige or etsch. as the highlands of austria form part of the great watershed of europe, which divides the waters flowing northward into the north sea or the baltic from those flowing southward or eastward into the mediterranean or the black sea, its rivers flow in three different directions--northward, southward and eastward. with the exception of the small streams belonging to it which fall into the adriatic, all its rivers have their mouths in other countries, and its principal river, the danube, has also its source in another country. when it enters austria at the gorge of passau, where it receives the inn, a river which has as large a body of water as itself, the danube is already navigable. till it leaves the country at hainburg, just before pressburg, its banks are pretty closely hemmed by the alps, and the river passes through a succession of narrow defiles. but the finest part of its whole course, as regards the picturesqueness of the scenery on its banks, is between linz and vienna. where it enters austria the danube is 898 ft. above the level of the sea, and where it leaves it is only 400 ft.; it has thus a fall within the country of 498 ft., and is at first a very rapid stream, becoming latterly much slower. the danube has in austria a course of 234 m., and it drains an area of 50,377 sq. m. its principal affluents in austria, besides the inn, are the traun, the enns and the march. the dniester, which, like the danube, flows into the black sea, has its source in the carpathians in eastern galicia, and pursues a very winding course towards the south-east, passing into russia. it has in austria a course of 370 m. of which 300 are navigable, and drains an area of 12,000 sq. m. the vistula and the oder both fall into the baltic. the former rises in moravia, flows first north through austrian silesia, then takes an easterly direction along the borders of prussian silesia, and afterwards a north-easterly, separating galicia from russian poland, and leaving austria not far from sandomir. its course in austria is 240 m., draining an area of 15,500 sq. m. it is navigable for nearly 200 m., and its principal affluents are the dunajec, the san and the bug. the oder has also its source in moravia, flows first east and then north-east through austrian silesia into prussia. its length within the austrian territory is only about 55 m., no part of which is navigable. the only river of this country which flows into the north sea is the elbe. it has its source in the riesengebirge, not far from the schneekoppe, flows first south, then west, and afterwards north-west through bohemia, and then enters saxony. its principal affluents are the adler, iser and eger, and, most important of all, the moldau. the elbe has a course within the austrian dominions of 185 m., for about 65 of which it is navigable. it drains an area of upwards of 21,000 sq. m. the rhine, though scarcely to be reckoned a river of the country, flows for about 25 m. of its course between it and switzerland. the principal river of austria which falls into the adriatic is the adige or etsch. it rises in the mountains of tirol, flows south, then east, and afterwards south, into the plains of lombardy. it has in austria a course of 138 m., and drains an area of 4266 sq. m. its principal affluent is the eisak. of the streams which have their course entirely within the country, and fall into the adriatic, the principal is the isonzo, 75 m. in length, but navigable only for a short distance from its mouth. _lakes._--austria does not possess any great lakes; but has numerous small mountain lakes situated in the alpine region, the most renowned for the beauty of their situation being found in salzburg, salzkammergut, tirol and carinthia. there should also be mentioned the periodical lakes situated in the karst region, the largest of them being the lake of zirknitz. the numerous and large marshes, found now mostly in galicia and dalmatia, have been greatly reduced in the other provinces through the canalization of the rivers, and other works of sanitation. _mineral springs._--no other european country equals austria in the number and value of its mineral springs. they are mostly to be found in bohemia, and are amongst the most frequented watering-places in the world. the most important are, the alkaline springs of carlsbad, marienbad, franzensbad and bilin; the alkaline acidulated waters of giesshubel, largely used as table waters; the iron springs of marienbad, franzensbad and of pyrawarth in lower austria; the bitter waters of pullna, saidschitz and sedlitz; the saline waters of ischl and of aussee in styria; the iodine waters of hall in upper austria; the different waters of gastein; and lastly the thermal waters of teplitz-schonau, johannisbad, and of romerbad in styria. altogether there are reckoned to exist over 1500 mineral springs, of which many are not used. (o. br.) _geology._--the austro-hungarian monarchy is traversed by the great belt of folded beds which constitutes the alps and the carpathians; a secondary branch proceeding from the main belt runs along the adriatic coast and forms the julian and dinaric alps. in the space which is thus enclosed, lies the tertiary basin of the hungarian plain; and outside the belt, on the northern side, is a region which, geologically, is composite, but has uniformly resisted the carpathian folding. in the neighbourhood of vienna a gap in the folded belt--the gap between the alps and the carpathians--has formed a connexion between these two regions since the early part of the miocene period. on its outer or convex side the folded belt is clearly defined by a depression which is generally filled by modern deposits. beyond this, in russia and galicia, lies an extensive plateau, much of which is covered by flat-lying miocene and pliocene beds; but in the deep valleys of the dniester and its tributaries the ancient rocks which form the foundation of the plateau are laid bare. archaean granite is thus exposed at yampol and other places in russia, and this is followed towards the west by silurian and devonian beds in regular succession--the devonian being of the old red sandstone type characteristic of the british isles and of northern russia. throughout, the dip is very low and the beds are unaffected by the carpathian folds, the strike being nearly from north to south. after devonian times the region seems to have been dry land until the commencement of the upper cretaceous period, when it was overspread by the cenomanian sea, and the deposits of that sea lie flat upon the older sediments. some 25 or 30 m. of undulating country separate the dniester from the margin of the carpathian chain, and in this space the palaeozoic floor sinks far beneath the surface, so that not even the deep-cut valley of the pruth exposes any beds of older date than miocene. towards the north-west, also, the palaeozoic foundation falls beneath an increasing thickness of cretaceous beds and lies buried far below the surface. at lemberg a boring 1650 ft. in depth did not reach the base of the senonian. west of cracow the cretaceous beds are underlaid by jurassic and triassic deposits, the general dip being eastward. it is not till silesia that the palaeozoic formations again rise to the surface. here is the margin, often concealed by very modern deposits, of the great mass of archaean and palaeozoic rocks which forms nearly the whole of bohemia and moravia. the palaeozoic beds no longer lie flat and undisturbed, as in the polish plain. they are faulted and folded. but the folds are altogether independent of those of the carpathians; they are of much earlier date, and are commonly different in direction. the principal biding took place towards the close of the carboniferous period, and the _massif_ is a fragment of an ancient mountain chain, the _variscische gebirge_ of e. suess, which in permian and triassic times stretched across the european area from west to east. in bohemia and moravia the whole of the beds from the cambrian to the lower carboniferous are of marine origin; but after the carboniferous period the area appears to have been dry land until the beginning of the upper cretaceous period, when the sea again spread over it. the deposits of this sea are now visible in the large basin of upper cretaceous beds which stretches from dresden southeastward through bohemia. since the close of the cretaceous period the bohemian _massif_ has remained above the sea; but the depression which lies immediately outside the carpathian chain has at times been covered by an arm of the sea and at other times has been occupied by a chain of salt lakes, to which the salt deposits of wieliczka and numerous brine springs owe their origin. [illustration: geological map of austria-hungary.] the large area which is enclosed within the curve of the carpathians is for the most part covered by loess, alluvium and other modern deposits, but miocene and pliocene beds appear around its borders. in the hilly region of western transylvania a large mass of more ancient rocks is exposed; the carboniferous system and all the mesozoic systems have been recognized here, and granite and volcanic rocks occur. in the middle of hungary a line of hills rises above the plain, striking from the platten see towards the north-east, where it merges into the inner girdle of the carpathian chain. these hills are largely formed of volcanic rocks of late tertiary age; but near the platten see triassic beds of alpine type are well developed. the tertiary eruptions were not confined to this line of hills. they were most extensive along the inner border of the carpathians, and they occurred also in the north of bohemia. most of the eruptions took place during the miocene and pliocene periods. the mineral wealth of austria is very great. the older rocks are in many places peculiarly rich in metalliferous ores of all kinds. amongst them may be mentioned the silver-bearing lead ores of erzgebirge and of pribram in bohemia; the iron ores of styria and bukovina; and the iron, copper, cobalt and nickel of the districts of zips and gomor. the famous cinnabar and mercury mines of idria in carniola are in triassic beds; and the gold and silver of northern hungary and of transylvania are associated with the tertiary volcanic rocks. the carboniferous coal-fields of silesia and bohemia are of the greatest importance; while jurassic coal is worked at steyerdorf and funfkirchen in hungary, and lignite at many places in the tertiary beds. the great salt mines of galicia are in miocene deposits; but salt is also worked largely in the trias of the alps. (see also alps; carpathians; hungary and tirol.) (p. la.) _climate._--the climate of austria, in consequence of its great extent, and the great differences in the elevation of its surface, is very various. it is usual to divide it into three distinct zones. the most southern extends to 46 deg. n. lat., and includes dalmatia and the country along the coast, together with the southern portions of tirol and carinthia. here the seasons are mild and equable, the winters are short (snow seldom falling), and the summers last for five months. the vine and maize are everywhere cultivated, as well as olives and other southern products. in the south of dalmatia tropical plants flourish in the open air. the central zone lies between 46 deg. and 49 deg. n. lat., and includes lower and upper austria, salzburg, styria, carinthia, carniola, central and northern tirol, southern moravia and a part of bohemia. the seasons are more marked here than in the preceding. the winters are longer and more severe, and the summers are hotter. the vine and maize are cultivated in favourable situations, and wheat and other kinds of grain are generally grown. the northern zone embraces the territory lying north of 49 deg. n. lat., comprising bohemia, northern moravia, silesia and galicia. the winters are here long and cold; the vine and maize are no longer cultivated, the principal crops being wheat, barley, oats, rye, hemp and flax. the mean annual temperature ranges from about 59 deg. in the south to 48 deg. in the north. in some parts of the country, however, it is as low as 46 deg. 40' and even 36 deg. in vienna the average annual temperature is 50 deg., the highest temperature being 94 deg., the lowest 2 deg. fahr. in general the eastern part of the country receives less rain than the western. in the south the rains prevail chiefly in spring and autumn, and in the north and central parts during summer. storms are frequent in the region of the south alps and along the coast. in some parts in the vicinity of the alps the rainfall is excessive, sometimes exceeding 60 in. it is less among the carpathians, where it usually varies from 30 to 40 in. in other parts the rainfall usually averages from 20 to 24 in. _flora._--from the varied character of its climate and soil the vegetable productions of austria are very diverse. it has floras of the plains, the hills and the mountains; an alpine flora, and an arctic flora; a flora of marshes, and a flora of steppes; floras peculiar to the clay, the chalk, the sandstone and the slate formations. the number of different species is estimated at 12,000, of which one-third are phanerogamous, or flowering plants, and two-thirds cryptogamous, or flowerless. the crown land of lower austria far surpasses in this respect the other divisions of the country, having about four-ninths of the whole, and not less than 1700 species of flowering plants. as stated above, austria is a very mountainous country and the mountains are frequently covered with vegetation to a great elevation. at the base are found vines and maize; on the lower slopes are green pastures, or wheat, barley and other kinds of corn; above are often forests of oak, ash, elm, &c.; and still higher the yew and the fir may be seen braving the climatic conditions. corn grows to between 3400 and 4500 ft. above the level of the sea, the forests extend to 5600 or 6400 ft., and the line of perpetual snow is from 7800 to 8200 ft. _fauna._--the animal kingdom embraces, besides the usual domestic animals (as horses, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, asses, &c.), wild boars, deer, wild goats, hares, &c.; also bears, wolves, lynxes, foxes, wild cats, jackals, otters, beavers, polecats, martens, weasels and the like. eagles and hawks are common, and many kinds of singing birds. the rivers and lakes abound in different kinds of fish, which are also plentiful on the sea-coast. among the insects the bee and the silkworm are the most useful. the leech forms an article of trade. in all there are 90 different species of mammals, 248 species of birds, 377 of fishes and more than 13,000 of insects. _divisions._--austria is composed of seventeen "lands," called also "crown lands." of these, three--namely, bohemia, galicia and lodomeria, and dalmatia--are kingdoms; two--lower and upper austria--archduchies; six--salzburg, styria, carinthia, carniola, silesia and bukovina--duchies; two--gorz-gradisca and tirol--countships of princely rank (_gefurstete grafschaften_); two--moravia and istria--margraviates (march counties). vorarlberg bears the title simply of "land." trieste, with its district, is a town treated as a special crown land. for administrative purposes trieste, with gorz-gradisca and istria, constituting the kustenland (the coast land) and tirol and vorarlberg, are each comprehended as one administrative territory. the remaining lands constitute each an administrative territory by itself. _population._--austria had in 1900 a population of 26,107,304 inhabitants,[1] which is equivalent to 226 inhabitants per sq. m. as seen from the table below, the density of the population is unequal in the various crown lands. the most thickly populated province is lower austria; the alpine provinces are sparsely populated, while salzburg is the most thinly populated crown land of austria. as regards sex, for every 1000 men there were 1035 women, the female element being the most numerous in every crown land, except the kustenland, bukovina and dalmatia. compared with the census returns of 1890, the population shows an increase of 2,211,891, or 9.3% of the total population. the increase between the preceding census returns of 1880 and 1890 was of 1,750,093 inhabitants, or 7.9% of the total population. a very important factor in the movement of the population is the large over-sea emigration, mostly to the united states of america, which has grown very much during the last quarter of the 19th century, and which shows a tendency to become still larger. between 1891 and 1900 the number of over-sea emigrants was 387,770 persons. the movement of the population shown in the other vital statistics--births, marriages, deaths--are mostly satisfactory, and show a steady and normal progress. the annual rate per thousand of population in 1900 was: births, 37.0; still-births, 1.1; deaths, 25.2; marriages, 8.2. the only unsatisfactory points are the great number of illegitimate births, and the high infant mortality. of the total population of austria 14,009,233 were scattered in 26,321 rural communities with less than 2000 inhabitants; while the remainder was distributed in 1742 communities with a population of 2000-5000; in 260 communities with a population of 5000-10,000; in 96 towns with a population of 10,000-20,000; in 41 towns with a population of 20,000-50,000; in 6 towns with a population of 50,000-100,000; and in 6 towns with a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. the principal towns of austria are vienna (1,662,269), prague (460,849), trieste (132,879), lemberg (159,618), graz (138,370), brunn (108,944), cracow (91,310), czernowitz (67,622), pilsen (68,292) and linz (58,778). +-----------------+----------+-------------------------+------------+ | | | | density of | | administrative | areas in | population. | population | | territories. | square +------------+------------+ per sq. m. | | | miles. | 1890. | 1900. | in 1900. | +-----------------+----------+------------+------------+------------+ | austria-- | | lower austria | 7,654 | 2,661,799 | 3,100,493 | 405 | | upper austria | 4,617 | 785,831 | 809,918 | 175 | | salzburg | 2,757 | 173,510 | 193,247 | 69 | | styria | 8,642 | 1,282,708 | 1,350,058 | 156 | | carinthia | 3,992 | 361,008 | 367,344 | 91 | | carniola | 3,844 | 498,958 | 508,348 | 132 | | kustenland | 3,074 | 695,384 | 755,183 | 245 | | tirol and | | | | | | vorarlberg | 11,287 | 928,769 | 979,878 | 86 | | bohemia | 19,997 | 5,843,094 | 6,318,280 | 315 | | moravia | 8,555 | 2,276,870 | 2,435,081 | 284 | | silesia | 1,981 | 605,649 | 680,529 | 342 | | galicia | 30,212 | 6,607,816 | 7,295,538 | 241 | | bukovina | 4,022 | 646,591 | 729,921 | 181 | | dalmatia | 4,923 | 527,426 | 591,597 | 120 | | +----------+------------+------------+------------+ | total | 115,533 | 23,895,413 | 26,107,304 | 226 | +-----------------+----------+------------+------------+------------+ [illustration: austria-hungary distribution of races.] _races._--from an ethnographical point of view austria contains a diversity of races; in fact no other european state contains within its borders so many nationalities as the austrian empire. the three principal races of europe--the latin, the teutonic and the slavonic--are all represented in austria. the slavonic race, numbering 15,690,000, is numerically the principal race in austria, but as it is divided into a number of peoples, differing from one another in language, religion, culture, customs and historical traditions, it does not possess a national unity. besides, these various nationalities are geographically separated from one another by other races, and are divided into two groups. the northern group includes the czechs, the moravians, the slovaks, the ruthenians and the poles; while the southern group contains the slovenes, the servians and the croats. just as their historical traditions are different, so are also the aspirations of these various peoples of the slavonic race different, and the rivalries between them, as for instance between the poles and the ruthenians, have prevented them from enjoying the full political advantage due to their number. the germans, numbering 9,171,614, constitute the most numerous nationality in austria, and have played and still play the principal role in the political life of the country. the germans are in a relative majority over the other peoples in the empire, their language is the vehicle of communication between all the other peoples both in official life and in the press; they are in a relatively more advanced state of culture, and they are spread over every part of the empire. historically they have contributed most to the foundation and to the development of the austrian monarchy, and think that for all the above-mentioned reasons they are entitled to the principal position amongst the various nationalities of austria. the latin race is represented by the italians, ladini and rumanians. the following table gives the numbers of different nationalities, as determined by the languages spoken by them in 1900:-- germans 9,171,614 czechs and slovaks 5,955,397 poles 4,252,483 ruthenians 3,381,570 slovenes 1,192,780 italians and ladini 727,102 servians and croats 711,380 rumanians 230,963 magyars 9,516 the germans occupy exclusively upper austria, salzburg, vorarlberg, and, to a large extent, lower austria; then the north and central part of styria, the north and western part of carinthia, and the north and central part of tirol. in bohemia they are concentrated round the borders, in the vicinity of the mountains, and they form nearly half the population of silesia; besides they are found in every part of the monarchy. the czechs occupy the central and eastern parts of bohemia, the greatest part of moravia and a part of silesia. the poles are concentrated in western galicia, and in a part of silesia; the ruthenians in eastern galicia and a part of bukovina; the slovenes in carniola, gorz and gradisca, istria, the south of styria, and the trieste territory. the servians and croats are found in istria and dalmatia; the italians and ladini in southern tirol, gorz and gradisca, trieste, the coast of istria, and in the towns of dalmatia; while the rumanians live mostly in bukovina. _agriculture._--notwithstanding the great industrial progress made by austria during the last quarter of the 19th century, agriculture still forms the most important source of revenue of its inhabitants. in 1900 over 50% of the total population of austria derived their income from agricultural pursuits. the soil is generally fertile, although there is a great difference in the productivity of the various crown-lands owing to their geographical situation. the productive land of austria covers 69,519,953 acres, or 93.8% of the total area, which is 74,102,001 acres; to this must be added 0.4 of lakes and fishponds, making a total of 94.2% of productive area. the remainder is unproductive, or used for other, not agricultural purposes. the area of the productive land has been steadily increasing--it was estimated to cover about 89% in 1875,--and great improvements in the agricultural methods have also been introduced. of the whole productive area of austria, 37.6% is laid out in arable land; 34.6% in woods; 25.2% in pastures and meadows; 1.3% in gardens, 0.9% in vineyards; and 0.4% in lakes, marshes and ponds. the provinces having the largest proportion of arable land are bohemia, galicia, moravia and lower austria. the principal products are wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, potatoes, sugar beet, and cattle turnip. the produce of the ploughed land does not, on the whole, suffice for the home requirements. large quantities in particular of wheat and maize are imported from hungary for home consumption. only barley and oats are usually reaped in quantity for export. the provinces which have the lowest proportion of arable land are tirol and salzburg. besides these principal crops, other crops of considerable magnitude are: buckwheat in styria, galicia, carniola and carinthia; rape and rape-seed in bohemia and galicia, poppy in moravia and silesia; flax in bohemia, moravia, styria and galicia; hemp in galicia, chicory in bohemia; tobacco, which is a state monopoly, in galicia, bukovina, dalmatia and tirol; fuller's thistle in upper austria and styria; hops in bohemia, including the celebrated hops round saaz, in galicia and moravia; rice in the kustenland; and cabbage in bohemia, galicia, lower austria and styria. the principal garden products are kitchen vegetables and fruit, of which large quantities are exported. the best fruit districts are in bohemia, moravia, upper austria and styria. certain districts are distinguished for particular kinds of fruit, as tirol for apples, bohemia for plums, dalmatia for figs, pomegranates and olives. the chestnut, olive and mulberry trees are common in the south--chiefly in dalmatia, the kustenland and tirol; while in the south of dalmatia the palm grows in the open air, but bears no fruit. the vineyards of austria covered in 1901 an area of 626,044 acres, the provinces with the largest proportion of vineyards being dalmatia, the kustenland, lower austria, styria and moravia. the wines of dalmatia are mostly sweet wines, and not suitable to be kept for long periods, while those of the other provinces are not so sweet, but improve with age. _forests._--the forests occupy just a little over one-third of the whole productive area of austria, and cover 24,157,709 acres. in the forests tall timber predominates to the extent of 85%, and consists of conifers much more than of green or leaved trees, in the proportion of seventy against fifteen out of the 85% of the total forests laid out in tall timber. exceptions are the forest lands of the karst region, where medium-sized trees and underwood occupy 80%, and of dalmatia, where underwood occupies 92.6% of the whole forest land. the alpine region is well wooded, and amongst the other provinces bukovina is the most densely wooded, having 43.2% of its area under forests, while galicia with 25.9% is the most thinly-wooded crown-land of austria. the forests are chiefly composed of oak, pine, beech, ash, elm, and the like, and constitute one of the great sources of wealth of the country. forestry is carried on in a thoroughly scientific manner. large works of afforestation have been undertaken in carinthia, carniola and tirol with a view of checking the periodical inundations, while similar works have been successfully carried out in the karst region. _landed property._--of the whole territory of the state, 74,102,001 acres, about 29%, is appropriated to large landed estates; 71% is disposed of in medium and smaller properties. large landed property is most strongly represented in bukovina, where it absorbs 46% of the whole territory, and in salzburg, galicia, silesia and bohemia. to the state belongs 4-1/2% of the total territory. the church, the communities, and the corporations are also in possession of large areas of land; 4% (speaking roundly) of the territory of austria is held on the tenure of _fidei-commissum_. of the entire property in large landed estates, 59% is laid out in woods; of the property in _fidei-commissum_, 66% is woodland; of the entire forest land, about 10% is the property of the state; 14.5% is communal property; and 3.8% is the property of the church. the whole of the territory in large landed estates includes 52% of the entire forest land. the forest land held under _fidei-commissum_ amounts to over 9% of the entire forest land. _live stock._--although richly endowed by nature, austria cannot be said to be remarkable as a cattle-rearing country. indeed, except in certain districts of the alpine region, where this branch of human activity is carried on under excellent conditions, there is much room for improvement. the amount of live stock is registered every ten years along with the census of the population. +-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | | 1880. | 1890. | 1900. | +-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | horses | 1,463,282 | 1,548,197 | 1,711,077 | | mules and asses | 49,618 | 57,952 | 66,638 | | cattle | 8,584,077 | 8,643,936 | 9,506,626 | | goats | 1,006,675 | 1,035,832 | 1,015,682 | | sheep | 3,841,340 | 3,186,787 | 2,621,026 | | pigs | 2,721,541 | 3,549,700 | 4,682,734 | | beehives | 926,312 | 920,640 | 996,139 | +-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ austria is distinguished for the number and superiority of its horses, for the improvements of which numerous studs exist all over the country. all kinds of horses are represented from the heaviest to the lightest, from the largest to the smallest. the most beautiful horses are found in bukovina, the largest and strongest in salzburg; those of styria, carinthia, northern tirol and upper austria are also famous. in dalmatia, the kustenland and southern tirol, horses are less numerous, and mules and asses in a great measure take their place. the finest cattle are to be found in the alpine region; of the austrian provinces, salzburg and upper austria contain the largest proportion of cattle. the number of sheep has greatly diminished, but much has been done in the way of improving the breeds, more particularly in bohemia, moravia, silesia and upper and lower austria. the main object has been the improvement of the wool, and with this object the merino and other fine-woolled breeds have been introduced. goats abound mostly in dalmatia, bohemia and tirol. the rearing of pigs is carried on most largely in styria, bohemia, galicia and upper and lower austria. bees are extensively kept in carinthia, carniola, lower austria and galicia. the silk-worm is reared more particularly in southern tirol and in the kustenland, and the average annual yield is 5,000,000 lb. of cocoons. in the alpine region dairy-farming has attained a great degree of development, and large quantities of butter and cheese are annually produced. altogether, the rearing of cattle, with all its actual shortcomings, constitutes a great source of revenue, and yields a certain amount for export. _fisheries._--the fisheries of austria are very extensive, and are divided into river, lake and sea fisheries. the numerous rivers of austria swarm with a great variety of fishes. the lake fisheries are mostly pursued in bohemia, where pisciculture is an art of old standing, and largely developed. the sea fisheries on the coast of dalmatia and of the kustenland constitute an important source of wealth to the inhabitants of these provinces. about 4000 vessels, with a number of over 16,000 fishermen are employed, and the average annual catch realizes l240,000. in the mountainous regions of austria game is plentiful, and constitutes a large source of income. _minerals._--in the extent and variety of its mineral resources austria ranks among the first countries of europe. with the exception of platinum, it possesses every useful metal; thus, besides the noble metals, gold and silver, it abounds in ores of more or less richness in iron, copper, lead and tin. rich deposits of coal, both pit coal and brown coal are to be found, as well as extensive basins of petroleum, and large deposits of salt. in smaller quantities are found zinc, antimony, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese, bismuth, chromium, uranium, tellurium, sulphur, graphite and asphalt. there are also marble, roofing-slate, gypsum, porcelain-earth, potter's clay, and precious stones. it is therefore natural that mining operations should have been carried out in austria from the earliest times, as, for instance, the salt mines of hallstatt in upper austria, which had already been worked during the celtic and romanic period. famous through the middle ages were also the works, especially for the extraction of gold and silver, carried out in bohemia and moravia, whose early mining regulations, for instance those of iglau, were adopted in other countries. but the great industrial development of the 19th century, with its growing necessity for fuel, has brought about the exploitation of the rich coal-fields of the country, and to-day the coal mines yield the heaviest output of any mineral products. to instance the rapid growth in the extraction of coal, it is worth mentioning that in 1825 its output was about 150,000 tons; in 1875, or only after half a century, the output has become 100 times greater, namely, over 15,000,000 tons; while in 1900 it was 32,500,000 tons. coal is found in nearly every province of austria, with the exception of salzburg and bukovina, but the richest coal-fields are in bohemia, silesia, styria, moravia and carniola in the order named. iron ores are found more or less in all the crown-lands except upper austria, the kustenland and dalmatia, but it is most plentiful in styria, carinthia, bohemia and moravia. gold and silver ores are found in bohemia, salzburg and tirol. quicksilver is found at idria in carniola, which after almaden in spain is the richest mine in europe. lead is extracted in carinthia and bohemia, while the only mines for tin in the whole of austria are in bohemia. zinc is mostly found in galicia, tirol and bohemia, and copper is extracted in tirol, moravia and salzburg. petroleum is found in galicia, where ozocerite is also raised. rock-salt is extracted in galicia, while brine-salt is produced in salzburg, salzkammergut and tirol. graphite is extracted in bohemia, moravia, styria and lower austria. uranium, bismuth and antimony are dug out in bohemia, while procelain earth is found in bohemia and moravia. white, red, black and variously-coloured marbles exist in the alps, particularly in tirol and salzburg; quartz, felspar, heavy spar, rock-crystal, and asbestos are found in various parts; and among precious stones may be specially mentioned the bohemian garnets. the total value of the mines and foundry products throughout austria in 1875 was l5,000,000. the number of persons employed in the mines and in the smelting and casting works in the same year was 94,019. the total value of the mining products throughout austria in 1902 was l10,500,000, and the value of the product of the foundries was l3,795,000. of this amount l3,150,000 represents the value of the iron: raw steel and pig iron. the increase in the value of the mining products during the period 1892-1902 was 40%; and the increase in the product of the furnaces in the same period was 35%. the number of persons employed in 1902 in mining was 140,890; in smelting works 7148; and in the extraction of salt, 7963. the value of the chief mining products of austria in 1903 was: brown coal (21,808,583 tons), l4,182,516; coal (12,145,000 tons), l4,059,807; iron ores (1,688,960 tons), l615,273; lead ores, l135,965; silver ores, l119,637; quicksilver ores, l92,049; graphite, l78,437; tin ores, l78,275; copper ores, l22,119; manganese ores, l5368; gold ores, l4407; asphalt, l2250; alum and vitriol slate, l992. the production of petroleum was 660,000 tons, and of salt 340,000 tons. the value of the principal products of the smelting furnaces in 1903 was: iron (955,543 tons), l2,970,866; coke, l862,137; zinc (metallic), l174,344; silver, l141,594; copper, l57,542; sulphuric acid, l8488; copper vitriol, l5710; mineral colours, l5565; lead, l5067; tin, l4566; gold, l878; iron vitriol, l603; litharge, l384; quicksilver, l218; coal briquettes, l92,000. _industry._--the manufactures of austria were much developed during the last quarter of the 19th century, although austria as a whole cannot be said to be an industrial country. austria possesses many favourable conditions for a great industrial activity. it possesses an abundance of raw materials, of fuel--both mineral and wood,--of metals and minerals, in fact all the necessaries for a great and nourishing industry; and the rivers can easily be utilized as producers of motive power. it is besides densely populated, and has an adequate supply of cheap labour, while the undeveloped industries of the balkan states also offer a ready market for its products. the glass manufacture in bohemia is very old, and has kept up its leading position in the markets of the world up to the present day. industrial activity is greatly developed in bohemia, lower austria, silesia, moravia and vorarlberg, while in dalmatia and bukovina it is almost non-existent. the principal branches of manufactures are, the textile industry, the metallurgic industries; brewing and distilling; leather, paper and sugar; glass, porcelain and earthenware; chemicals; and scientific and musical instruments. the textile industry in all its branches--cotton, woollen, linen, silk, flax and hemp--is mostly concentrated in bohemia, moravia, silesia and lower austria. it is an old industry, and one which has made great progress since 1875. thus the number of mechanical looms increased more than threefold during this period, and numbered in 1902 about 120,000. in the same year the number of spindles at work was about 3,100,000. austria had in 1902, 21,837 textile factories with 337,514 workmen. the principal seat of the manufacture of cotton goods is in northern bohemia, from the eger to reichenberg, which can be considered as the lancashire of austria, lower austria between the wiener wald and the leitha, and in vorarlberg. woollen goods are manufactured in the above places, and besides in moravia, at brunn and at iglau; in silesia; and at biala in galicia. vienna is also distinguished for its manufacture of shawls. the coarser kind of woollen goods are manufactured all over the country, principally in the people's houses as a home industry. the most important places for the linen industry are in bohemia at trautenau; in moravia and silesia, while the commoner kinds of linen are mostly produced as a home industry by the peasants in the above-mentioned crown-lands. the manufacture of ribbons, embroidery and lace, the two latter being carried on principally as a house industry in vorarlberg and in the bohemian erzgebirge, also thrives. the industry in stitched stuffs is especially developed in northern bohemia. ready-made men's clothes and oriental caps (fezes) are produced on a large scale in bohemia and moravia. the manufacture of silk goods is mainly carried on in vienna, while the spinning of silk has its principal seat in southern tirol, and to a smaller extent in the kustenland. the metallurgic industry forms one of the most important branches of industry, because iron ore of excellent quality is extracted annually in great quantities. the principal seats of the iron and steel manufactures are in bohemia, moravia, silesia, upper and lower austria, styria and carinthia, which contain extensive iron-works. the most important manufactured products are cutlery, firearms, files, wire, nails, tin-plates, scythes, sickles, steel pens, needles, rails, iron furniture, drains, and kitchen utensils. a famous place for its iron manufacture is steyr in upper austria. the manufacture of machinery, for industrial and agricultural purposes, and of railway engines is mainly concentrated in vienna, wiener-neustadt, prague, brunn and trieste; while the production of rolling stock for railways is carried on in vienna, prague and graz. ship-building yards for sea-vessels are at trieste and pola; while for river-vessels the largest yards are at linz. among other metal manufactures, the principal are copper works at brixlegg and other places in tirol, and in galicia, tin and lead in bohemia, and metallic alloys, especially _packfong_ or german silver, an alloy of nickel and copper, at berndorf in lower austria. the precious metals, gold and silver, are principally worked in the larger towns, particularly at vienna and prague. vienna is also the principal seat for scientific and surgical instruments. in the manufacture of musical instruments austria takes a leading part amongst european states, the principal places of production being vienna, prague, koniggratz, graslitz and schonbach. the glass manufacture is one of the oldest industries in austria, and is mainly concentrated in bohemia. its products are of the best quality, and rule the markets of the world. in the manufacture of earthenwares austria plays also a leading part, and the porcelain industry round carlsbad and in the eger district in bohemia has a world-wide reputation. the leather industry is widely extended, and is principally carried on in lower austria, bohemia and moravia. vienna and prague are great centres for the boot and shoe trade, and the gloves manufactured in these towns enjoy a great reputation. the manufacture of wooden articles is widespread over the country, and is very varied. in vienna and other large towns the production of ornamental furniture has attained a great development. the industry in paper has also assumed great proportions, its principal seats being in bohemia, moravia, upper and lower austria. of food-stuffs, besides milling, and other flour products, the principal industry is the manufacture of sugar from beet-root. the sugar industry is almost exclusively carried on in bohemia, moravia, silesia and galicia. it has attained such large proportions that large districts in those provinces have been converted from wheat-growing districts into fields for the cultivation of beet-root. brewing is extensively carried on, and the beer produced is of a good quality. the largest brewing establishment is at schwechat near vienna, and large breweries are also found at pilsen and budweiss in bohemia, whose products enjoy a great reputation abroad. there were in austria 1341 breweries, which produced 422,993,120 gallons of beer. in 1902-1903. distilling is carried on on a large scale in galicia, bukovina, bohemia, moravia and lower austria; the number of distilleries being 1257, which produced 30,435,812 gallons of spirit. rosoglio, maraschino, and other liqueurs are made in dalmatia and moravia. the manufacture as well as the growth of tobacco is a government monopoly, which has 30 tobacco factories with over 40,000 work-people, the largest establishment being at hainburg in lower austria. other important branches of industry are the manufacture of chemicals, in vienna and in bohemia; petroleum refineries in galicia, and the extraction of various petroleum products; the manufacture of buttons; printing, lithographing, engraving, and map-making, especially in vienna, &c. in 1900 the various manufacturing industries employed in austria 3,138,800 persons, of whom 2,264,871 were workmen and 103,854 were labourers. including families and domestic servants, a little over 7,000,000 were dependent on industry for their livelihood. _commerce._--austria forms together with hungary one customs and commercial territory, and the statistics for the foreign trade are given under austria-hungary. owing to its situation, the bulk of the austrian trade is carried on the railways and on the inland navigable rivers. only a small portion is sea-borne trade, while the commercial interchange between the provinces lying on the adriatic coast is very small. _commercial navy._--the commercial sea navy of austria, excluding small coasting vessels and fishing-boats, consisted in 1900 of 154 vessels, with a tonnage of 198,322 tons, of which 123 vessels with a tonnage of 183,949 were steamers. the greatest navigation company is the austrian lloyd in trieste, which in 1900 employed 70 steamers of 165,430 tons. during 1900 the total tonnage of vessels engaged in the foreign trade, which entered all the austrian ports, was 1,448,764 tons under the austro-hungarian flag, and 888,707 under foreign flags; the total tonnage of vessels cleared during the same period was 1,503,532 tons under the austro-hungarian flag, and 866,591 under foreign flags. _government._--austria is a parliamentary or constitutional (limited) monarchy, its monarch bearing the title of emperor. the succession to the throne is hereditary, in the order of primogeniture, in the male line of the house of habsburg-lothringen; and failing this, in the female line. the monarch must be a member of the roman catholic church. the emperor of austria is also king of hungary, but except for having the same monarch and a few common affairs (see austria-hungary), the two states are quite independent of one another. the emperor has the supreme command over the armed forces of the country, has the right to confer degrees of nobility, and has the prerogatives of pardon for criminals. he is the head of the executive power, and shares the legislative power with the reichsrat; and justice is administered in his name. the constitution of austria is based upon the following statutes:--(1) the pragmatic sanction of the emperor charles vi., first promulgated on the 19th of april 1713, which regulated the succession to the throne; (2) the pragmatic patent of the emperor francis ii. of the 1st of august 1804, by which he took the title of emperor of austria; (3) the diploma of the emperor francis joseph i. of the 20th of october 1860, by which the constitutional form of government was introduced; (4) the diploma of the emperor francis joseph i. of the 26th of february 1861, by which the provincial diets were created; (5) the six fundamental laws of the 21st of december 1867, which contain the exposition and guarantee of the civil and political rights of the citizen, the organization of justice, the organization and method of election for the reichsrat, &c. the executive power is vested in the council of ministers, at whose head is the minister-president. there are eight ministries, namely, the ministry of the interior, of national defence, of worship and instruction, of finance, of commerce, of agriculture, of justice, and of railways. there are, further, two ministries, without portfolio, for galicia and bohemia. the civil administration in the different provinces is carried out by governors or stadtholders (_statthalter_), to whom are subordinate the heads of the 347 districts in which austria was divided in 1900, and of the 33 towns with special statute, i.e. of the towns which have also the management of the civil administration. local self-government of the provinces, districts and communities is also granted, and is exercised by various elective bodies. thus, the autonomous provincial administration is discharged by the provincial committees elected by the local diets; and the affairs of the communities are discharged by an elected communal council. the legislative power for all the kingdoms and lands which constitute austria is vested in the reichsrat. it consists of two houses: an upper house (the _herrenhaus_), and a lower house (the _abgeordnetenhaus_). the upper house is composed of (1) princes of the imperial house, who are of age (14 in 1907); (2) of the members of the large landed nobility, to which the emperor had conferred this right, and which is hereditary in their family (78 in 1907); (3) of 9 archbishops and 8 prince-bishops; and (4) of life members nominated by the emperor for distinguished services (170 in 1907). the lower house has undergone considerable changes since its creation in 1861, by the various modifications of the electoral laws passed in 1867, 1873, 1892, 1896 and 1907. the general spirit of those modifications was to broaden the electoral basis, and to extend the franchise to a larger number of citizens. the law of the 26th of january 1907 granted universal franchise to austrian male citizens over twenty-four years of age, who have resided for a year in the place of election. the lower house consists of 516 members, elected for a period of six years. the members receive payment for their services, as well as an indemnity for travelling expenses. a bill to become law must pass through both houses, and must receive the sanction of the emperor. the emperor is bound to summon the reichsrat annually. according to the imperial diploma of the 26th february 1861, local diets have been created for the legislation of matters of local interest. these provincial parliaments are 17 in number, and their membership varies from 22 members, which compose the diet of gorz and gradisca to the 242 members which constitute that of bohemia. they assemble annually and are composed of members elected for a period of six years, and of members _ex-officio_, namely, the archbishops and bishops of the respective provinces, and the rector of the local university. _religion._--religious toleration was secured throughout the habsburg dominions by the patent of the 13th of october 1781, but protestants were not given full civil rights until the issue of the _protestantenpatent_ of the 8th of april 1861, after the promulgation of the imperial constitution of the 26th of february. the principle underlying this and all subsequent acts is the guarantee to all religious bodies _recognized by law_ of freedom of worship, the management of their own affairs, and the undisturbed possession and disposal of their property. though all the churches are, in a sense, "established," the roman catholic church, to which the sovereign must belong, is the state religion. the reigning house, however, though strongly attached to the roman faith, has always resisted the extreme claims of the papacy, an attitude which in joseph ii.'s time resulted, under the influence of febronianism (q.v.), in what was practically a national schism. thus the emperor retains the right to tax church property, to nominate bishops, and to prohibit the circulation of papal bulls without his permission. by the concordat of august 18, 1855, this traditional attitude was to some extent reversed; but this agreement soon became a dead letter and was formally denounced by the austrian government after the promulgation of the dogma of papal infallibility. of the population of austria in 1900, 23,796,814 (91%) were roman catholics, including 3,134,439 uniate greeks and 2096 uniate armenians. there were 12,937 old catholics, in scattered communities, 606,764 members of the eastern orthodox church, mainly in bukovina and dalmatia, and 698 armenians, also mainly in bukovina. the protestants, who in the 16th century comprised 90% of the population, are now only 1.9%. in 1900, 365,505 of them were returned as belonging to the augsburg confession (lutheran), 128,557 to the helvetic (reformed). other christian confessions in austria are herrnhuters (moravian brethren) in bohemia, mennonites in galicia, lippovanians (akin to the russian skoptsi) in bukovina, and anglicans. the jews compose 4.7% of the population, and are strongest in galicia, lower austria, bohemia, moravia and bukovina. the roman catholic church is divided into eight provinces, seven of the latin rite--vienna, prague, lemberg, salzburg, olmutz, gorz and zara--with 23 bishoprics, and one of the greek rite (lemberg), with two bishoprics. the armenian bishopric of lemberg and the austrian part of the archdiocese of breslau are under the immediate jurisdiction of the holy see. the greek orthodox church has one archbishopric (at czernowitz) and two bishoprics. there are 559 communities of the jewish religion (253 in galicia, and 255 in bohemia). in 1900 there were, belonging to the roman catholic church, 541 monasteries with 7775 monks, and 877 convents with 19,194 nuns; while the greek orthodox church had 14 monasteries with 85 members. the evangelical church, according to the constitution granted by imperial decree on the 9th of april 1861 (modified by those of january 6, 1866 and december 9, 1891) is organized on a territorial basis, being administered by 10 superintendents, who are, in their turn, subject to the supreme church council (_k.k. oberkirchenrat_) at vienna, the emperor as sovereign being technically head of the church. the small anglican community at trieste is under the jurisdiction of the evangelical superintendent of vienna. _education._--the system of elementary schools dates from the time of maria theresa; the present organization was introduced by the education law of may 14, 1869 (amended in 1883). by this law the control of the schools, hitherto in the hands of the church, was assumed by the state, every local community being bound to erect and maintain public elementary schools. these are divided into _volksschulen_ (national or primary schools) and _burgerschulen_ (higher elementary schools). attendance is obligatory on all from the age of six to fourteen (in some provinces six to twelve). religious instruction is given by the parish priest, but in large schools a special grant is made or a teacher _ad hoc_ appointed in the higher classes (law of june 17, 1888). private schools are also allowed which, if fulfilling the legal requirements, may be accorded the validity of public primary schools. the language of instruction is that of the nationality prevalent in the district. in about 40% of the schools the instruction is given in german; in 26% in czech; in 28% in other slavonic languages, and in the remainder in italian, rumanian or magyar. in 1903 there were in austria 20,268 elementary schools with 78,025 teachers, frequented by 3,618,837 pupils, which compares favourably with the figures of the year 1875, when there were 14,257 elementary schools with 27,677 teachers, frequented by 2,050,808 pupils. about 88% of the children who are of school age actually attend school, but in some provinces like upper austria and salzburg nearly the full 100 attend, while in the eastern parts of the monarchy the percentage is much lower. in 1900 62% of the total population of austria could read and write, and 2.9% could only read. in the number of illiterates are included children under seven years of age. for the training of teachers of elementary schools there were in 1900 54 institutions for masters and 38 for mistresses. in these training colleges, as also in the secondary or "middle" schools (_mittelschulen_), religious instruction is also in the hands of the roman catholic church; but, by the law of june 20, 1870, the state must provide for such teaching in the event of the protestant pupils numbering 20 or upwards (the school authorities usually refuse to take more than 19 protestants in consequence). besides the elementary schools three other groups of educational establishments exist in austria: "middle" schools (_mittelschulen_); "high" schools (_hochschulen_); professional and technical schools (_fachlehranstalten_ and _gewerbeschulen_). the "middle" schools include the classical schools (_gymnasien_), "modern" schools with some latin teaching (_realgymnasien_), and modern schools simply (realschulen)--in 1903 there were 202 _gymnasien_, 19 _realgymnasien_ and 117 _realschulen_, with 7121 teachers and 111,012 scholars. the "high" schools include the universities and the technical high schools (_technische hochschulen_). of state universities there are eight:--vienna, gratz, innsbruck, prague (german), and czernowitz, in which german is the language of instruction; prague (bohemian) with czech; and cracow and lemberg with polish as the language of instruction. each university has four faculties--theology, law and political science, medicine, and philosophy. in czernowitz, however, the faculty of medicine is wanting. since 1905 an italian faculty of law has been added to the university of innsbruck. the theological faculties are all roman catholic, except czernowitz, where the theological faculty is orthodox eastern. all the universities are maintained by the state. the number of professors and lecturers was about 1596 in 1903; while the number of students was 17,498. _justice._--the judicial authorities in austria are:--(1) the county courts, 963 in number; (2) the provincial and district courts, 74 in number, to which are attached the jury courts,--both these courts are courts of first instance; (3) the higher provincial courts, 9 in number, namely, at vienna, graz, trieste, innsbruck, zara, prague, brunn cracow and lemberg; these are the cours of appeal from the lower courts, and have the supervision of the criminal courts in their jurisdiction; (4) the supreme court of justice and court of cassation in vienna. the judicial organization is independent of the executive power. there are also special courts for commercial, industrial, shipping, military and other matters. there is also the court of the empire at vienna, which has the power to decide in case of conflict between different authorities. _finance._--the growth of the austrian budget, is shown by the following figures:-- +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | | 1885 | 1895 | 1900 | 1905 | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ | expenditure | l44,121,600 | l55,396,916 | l66,003,494 | l74,013,000 | | revenue | l43,714,666 | l57,446,091 | l66,020,475 | l74,079,000 | +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+ the chief sources of revenue are direct taxes, indirect taxes, customs duties, post and telegraph and post-office savings banks receipts, railway receipts, and profits or royalties on forests, domains and mining. the direct taxes are divided into two groups, real and personal; the former include the land tax and house-rent tax, and the latter the personal income tax, tax on salaries, tax on commercial and industrial establishments, tax on all business with properly audited accounts (like the limited liability companies), and tax on investments. the principal indirect taxes are the tobacco monopoly, stamps and fees, excise duties on sugar, alcohol and beer, the salt monopoly, excise duty on mineral oil, and excise duty on meat and cattle for slaughtering. the national debt of austria is divided into two groups, a general national debt, incurred jointly by the two halves of the austro-hungarian monarchy for common affairs, and is therefore jointly borne by both parts, and a separate debt owed only by austria alone. the following table shows the growth of the austrian debt in millions sterling:-- +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ | 1885 | 1890 | 1895 | 1900 | 1905 | +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ | 45. | 88.23 | 119.60 | 140.68 | 167.91 | +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ at the close of 1903 the debt of austria was l156,724,000, an increase since 1900 of l16,044,000. this large increase is due to the great expenditure on public works, as railways, navigable canals, harbour works, &c., started by the austrian government since 1900. _railways._--as regards internal communications, austria is provided with an extensive network of railways, the industrial provinces being specially favoured. this has been accomplished in spite of the engineering difficulties owing to the mountainous nature of the country and of the great financial expenses resulting therefrom. the construction of the semmering railway, opened in 1854, for instance, was the first mountain railway built in the european continent, and marked an epoch in railway engineering. the first railway laid down in austria was in 1824 between budweis and kerschbaum, over a distance of 40 m., and was at first used for horse tramway. the first steam railway was opened in 1837 over a distance of about 10 m. between floridsdorf (near vienna) and wagram. from the first, the policy of the austrian government was to construct and to work the railways itself; and in granting concessions to private companies it stipulated among its conditions the reversionary right of the state, whereby the line becomes the property of the state without compensation after the lapse of the period of concession. with various modifications, according to its financial means, it vigorously pursued its policy, by both building railways itself, and encouraging private companies to build. in 1905 the total length of railways in austria was 13,590 m., of which 5017 m. belonged to and were worked by the state, and 3359 m. belonged to private companies, but were worked by the state. bibliography.--f. umlauft, _die lander osterreich-ungarns in wort und bild_ (15 vols., vienna, 1881-1889), _die osterreichisch-ungarische monarchic_ (3rd ed., vienna, 1896), _die osterreichische monarchic in wort und bild_ (24 vols., vienna, 1888-1902), and _die volker osterreich-ungarns_ (12 vols., teschen, 1881-1885); a. supan, "osterreich-ungarn" (vienna, 1889, in kirchhoff's _landerkunde von europa_, vol. ii.); auerbach, _les races et les nationalities en autriche-hongrie_ (paris, 1897); mayerhofer, _osterreich-ungarisches ortslexikon_ (vienna, 1896). for geology see c. diener, &c., _ban und bild osterreichs_ (vienna and leipzig, 1903); f. von hauer, _die geologie_ (vienna). the official statistical publications of the central statistical department, of the ministry of agriculture, and of the ministry of commerce, appearing annually. (o. br.) footnote: [1] the census returns of 1857, and of 1869, which were the first systematic censuses taken, gave the population of austria as 18,224,500 and 20,394,980 respectively. it must be noticed that between these two dates austria lost its lombardo-venetian territories, with a population of about 5,000,000 inhabitants.