Melbourne are very high. In Sydney
they are much higher. The small house in which I boarded in
Macquarie Street was rented at L5 10s. a week, and the landlord
refused to make any repairs whatever, because, as he said, and truly
enough, he could any day get L6 a week. In a London suburb the rent
would be about L60 a year. Of course it was in the best situation in
Sydney. In the outskirts of the town there was much land
speculation. Land is sold at so much a foot, _i.e._ a strip of a
foot in breadth, and about 360 feet in length. There is in Sydney a
complete system of steam tramways, which run to the distance of six
or seven miles out of the town. Accidents to pedestrians are not
uncommon. Vehicles are hardly seen in the streets where the trams
run. One line goes out as far as Botany. I walked from there along
the famous bay which was so nearly having Sydney built upon its
shore. It lies about seven miles North of Sydney, and is almost as
quiet as when Captain Phillip landed a hundred years ago.

In New South Wales there are two Houses of Parliament and a
Governor, as usual. The Lower House is elected by universal
suffrage, but the Legislative Council is nominated by the Governor.
The late Governor was certainly not popular, in spite of what the
guide books say. Whether rightly or wrongly, there was a widespread
impression that, being a comparatively poor man he had been sent
out, like a Roman proconsul, to increase his private means. It is
certain that a Governor of New South Wales cannot adequately
discharge his numerous functions on less than his official salary of
L7000 per annum, and any appearance of parsimony is naturally
resented. It is not exactly the most suitable post for an elderly
diplomatist accustomed to the pomps and inanities of European
courts. The Attorney General of New South Wales, Mr. (now, I think,
Sir William) Dalley, is by many people considered the foremost
statesman in Australia. It was he, who, during the illness of the
then Premier, despatched the contingent to the Soudan. He is,
undoubtedly, a remarkable speaker, and has recently been created a
Privy Councillor--the only colonial statesman hitherto raised to
that dignity.

The Church of England flourishes in Sydney. There is the Cathedral
of St. Andrew, and many other churches. The Bishop (who is the
Metropolitan of Australia), Dr. Barry, the late well-known principal
of King's College, has done much by his broadness of view and
liberal