e country. It was very quickly
arranged that the popular House should consist of not less than
fifty-four members, to be elected by men who paid a small rental, or
possessed property of a certain annual value. But with regard to the
nature of the Upper House, it was much more difficult to come to a
decision. Wentworth proposed that the Queen should establish a colonial
peerage to form a small House of Lords, holding their seats by
hereditary right; but this idea raised so great an outcry that he made
haste to abandon it. Several of the committee were in favour of the
scheme, afterwards adopted in Victoria, of making the Upper House
elective, while limiting the choice of members to those who possessed at
least L5,000 worth of real property. After much discussion, however, it
was decided to give to the Governor the power of nominating the members
of this chamber, which was to consist of not less than twenty-one
persons.

The Legislative Council adopted this scheme, and sent it to England for
the assent of the Queen; they also requested that their Constitution
might be still further assimilated to that of Great Britain by the
introduction of responsible government, so that the Ministers who
controlled the affairs of the colony should be no longer officials
appointed or dismissed by the Governor and Secretary of State, but
should, in future, be chosen by the Parliament to advise the Governor on
all matters of public interest, and should be liable to dismissal from
office so soon as the Parliament lost confidence in their ability or
prudence. The British Government at once gave its assent to this
Constitution, which was accordingly inaugurated in 1856; and from that
date the political management of New South Wales has been an imitation
of that of the British Empire. In 1858 two small modifications were
introduced: the Lower House was increased in numbers to sixty-eight
members, and the privilege of voting for it was extended to every male
person over twenty-one years of age who had dwelt not less than six
months in the colony.

#4. Floods and Droughts.#--From the very commencement of its existence,
New South Wales has been subject to the two extremes of heavy floods and
dreary periods of drought. The mountains are so near to the coast that
the rivers have but short courses, and the descent is so steep that,
during rainy seasons, the rush of waters deluges the plains near the
sea, causing floods of fatal suddenness. At th