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Chjthaml* 4u.ylfnJ I , "'U-.'uj^t ^. ^_,^ r»lkJand !• •[ merald I Sir d HMgaUH 60* eA^t COLONY X'Hnrn •^^6«orgi» G 1^ THE BRITISH I Land t THROldHOlT -^ th:e -w© >p and the GREAT LINES OF INTERNAT ON MCRCATORS PRC I40 130 - i UX) BO 40 20 Mtf . harti- ".jme"^ i ' POST MLRIDItM III IV \ \l Ml Mil [ < UN >. , IX INDIA ORCENLANO (4^ UiMaah Kr.trl^ I. li-.Irn I' ■•'imfl* ft*.' J /* 7i. .le i.i FLti.1. fnsunJa Cuntia I^'n D I A N '^0 C E A N Ct J^ ■ ■■■■■X . \>* iTv«rfii// / J/dn*) TitmtniixJ (>«»« '• • Falkland I* •^*Georg;a Pout ft I teo ^ THE BRITISH EMPIRE THKOrtlHOI T and the iT LINtS OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE ON MERCATORS PROJECTION tniicrbrl Amarctie Circle 40 20 Herid of O Onm>^ 20 40 60 lOO 120 Jcim BartLclomew i r^XtJ-JT^^ TlIK -;?? ROUND THE EMPIRE. *•• < ,'i s* ^^ j Foii Till': rsi-: or scuuoi. 'v^ •■ > ->' V-,..- ^''f ^' IJV GEOKGE 1{. PAlMvIX. MA. «ITil A I'UKlAi t; liv TliK HifiitT H(iN. Tin; KAHI, ()| ROSEISKIO', KT I CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited: LOXDOX, rjiiis d- MKUifjunxT:, 1 •">'.'•_'. [all richts hkseuvkd.J * "Cfiou b)f)0 of rf)i) frrr gmrr HilJst tuillr up tf)is Crctiiinnrk iPmpirr to a glortoue aiitr rnbtablr firtgfitf). tottf) all fin: Dan gfitrr llantrB about fjrr. Bta» U8 in tfiis ffliritif. " JOHN MILTON'. 1 PREFACE. I HAVE been asked to write ii line oF introduction to this book, and j^-ladly comply, as its primary jmrpose is tc , remind our children that they inhabit not an island but an ■.Empire. There are few jiolitical facts, jierhaps none, that should exercise so great an influence on their future lives. For a collection of States s])read over every reo-ion of the earth, but owninf^ one head and one fla*,'*, is even more imj)ortant as an influence than as an Empire. From I either point of view it is a world-wide fact of supreme sio;niticance ; but in the one capacity it affects only its own subjects, and in the other all mankind. With the Empire statesmen are mainly concerned; in the influence every individual can and must have a ])art. ' Influence is l)ased on character, and it is on the character of each child that i^rows into maidiood within British limits that the future of our Empire rests. If we and they are narrow and selllsh, averse to labour, impatient of necessary burdens, factious and self- j indulgent: if we see in public affairs not our Empire ^but our country, not our country but our parish, and |in our parish our house, the Empire is doomed. For its I maintenance requires work and sacrifice and intelligence. T If, on the other hand, we aim at the diffusion of the blessings of industry undisturbed by war, if we aim at peace secured, not by humiliation but prei^nderance, we ,iieed :j preserve our Empire not for ourselves only but for VI rnKFACE. iDiitikind. Aiul tills is siiid not pharisaically, not to the «*xcliisi(»n (tf other countries, hut hecause ours Is the most widely spread and the nmst penetratinn* of nationalities. The time, indeed, cannot })e far remote when the British l]ni]»ire must, if it remain united, hy the j^-rowth of its population and its uhicpiitous dominion, exercise a control- lino- authority in the world. To that trust our sons are horn. I hope, then, that the youth of our race will learn from this hook how o-ivat is their inheritance and their re- sponsihilit V. Those outside these islands may learn the splendour of tln'ir source and their *^ home/^ as well as communion with the other rci^ions under the Crown of (iireat liritain ; and within, Kno^lish, Scottish, and Irish children may harn not to be shut in their shires, but that they are the heirs of great responsibilities and a vast inheritance. History has marked those that made this Empire, and will mark, with equal certainty but in a dilTerent spirit, those who unmake it or allow it to dissolve. !Mr. l^ukin, the author of this b')ok, whose earnest elo(pience is inspired by a sin^jfle zeal, ])ursues the pie- ture?(]ue and instructive method of a tour round the British Empire. He himself is l)cst known as the untirino- advocate of a cause which represents the hii»'h resolve to maintain imperial unity. But in this book there is put forward no theory, no constitution, and no plan. He ])i(>bably believes, as most of us do, that the security for national union lies not so much in Parliamentary projects as in the just a])preciation of Im})erial responsibility. Such a cause can only be furthered and fostered by this little book. ROSEBERV. lA>„iln„, }•>/>., 1892. lot to the the most ioTialities. le British rth of its a control- i are horn, vill learn i their re- learn the s well as !I^ro\vn of nid Irish hut that d a vast naile this but in a dissolve. e earnest the pie- )und the untiriny esolve to re is put An. He •urity for projeets iisibility. L by this lERY. I CONTEXTS. ('HAPTKK I. i.i:AViN(i iiii; oi.i) rnrvTijv. i.i:AViN(i iiii; OI.I) rnrvTijv. Thr Bn-ti>h Eniiuvf.-'ri.,. (.,,.,,„ Knq.iro-f )n,n,s ,1,, not DiviM.'- Shortcnin-- Tim-, is < ,i„;,I u> Shui-t.niii- I »ist,ni(v— r.Ht,.h (•iti.tnship-Thr VMm'ty..fth.. I-:,ni.i.v_K„„n,ltlM. Enipiiv -( iHssino' tlu^ ( krnu. ( f..o.l-bv<.-'rh.. M..utli ..f thr :\I,.,srv — Tho Fli.gs of the Natioiis-Outwar.l licim-l-Thr .M.iils-- l-Mlow Pa«srn-.Ts-Kn.i-r;,ti..ii-Whv Vruuh- Kini..T;it.>_ Lan.l Ahra.l! Xrwfoun.llaml-Th- Short Cut arross tho Atia..tK--The St. Lawivnn.-Th. Suulhorn IJoiit.— X.u- iTi.n.ls un.hr Old Xamos From ihran tu ( Uvaii hy Kail tf * I r 4 1 \rwy til. w m rifAPTKR [I. THK (;i{KAT DOAtiNiox. i THK (;i{KAT DOAtiNiox. ThoSizoof Cina.la-irou-Caivula bo.anir a Part of thn Empiro- I Iow( 'anaila ha> hcon kept for th.' Eiiii.iro— Tho '• Loyalists"— Solf-( o) wnuuunt for tho ( "olonios -4 ' niH.liau Coiifodoration. . . ClIAPTKR III. TIfi: l'IfVS](AL l-KATriJKS OF CANWDA. Tho Waterways of tho l)oiuini.m-^A Woii.hrful IMcturo-Xaf I)ivision.s -Tho Cli.nato <,f Canada -Th.. Cana.liau Wint. CHAPTER IV. THK PKOVINf-KS OF CANADA AM. THKIK PK()|nCT< roliti.al Divisions-Tho Maritin.o i'rovin.vs -Xovu Soutiu- Xovv X'af iiial 1' ... n iMv.sKms-l-ho :\raritin.o]'rovin,vs_Xova Soutiu-Xovv || l.n.n,sw,..k--Tho P,ay of Eun.ly-A Ship J^ail^vav- Princo "? E,hvar.l Island -Tho Aoadians-(^u.h..c and tho Eron-h ( -•'"ad.a..s-(Jntario -<'Lumhorinir"_Cuttini, up tho Ti.nbor -Mapl,. Suoar -Manitoba -Th... Xorth-Wo.st Torritorios- ^reo Lands -P.ritish Columhia-A Pictur.. of tho Paoifio toa.st-'lho Pro.luot.sof Pritish Culmnhia-Tho iiveid Eur Land I' mi; ■JS 1.5 « • • Vlll CONTEXTS. fllAlTP^K V. THK ATLANTIC COAST, vx<.i. X. wt'oiindlaiid and Laliradur — Tlio "Fn-iuh Shore" — The Xcw- i'oundland FishcriLS Laljiador— Ijciimida — The West Indies — Climate of tho West Indies— Slavery— Coolit- Laltuur — '• lilack and Wiiile " in tlie West Indies— The Groups of Ishmds — What we get from tht; West Indies — The IJahanias — .laniaita — The Leeward Islands— The Windward Islands — Trinidad — Confederation of the West India I>land> — British Honduras — British Guiana — Kl Dorado — The Falkland Islands ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 71 CHAPTER VI. THK PACIFIC COAST, Vancouver — The Canadian I'aeitic Railway — Tlu? Shortest Route to the Far F^ast — Across the Pacific — A liOst Day — An Fjujiin- upon which the Sun never sets — The Pacific Cable— The Fiji Islands — Tlie Odds and Ends of the Empire ... ... ... 1)4 CHAPTER VII, AUSTRALASIA — NKW ZEALAND. The South Teiupmaniti— Tasmauiau Fruit in England — ( )ther Tasmaniun Products 11"^ CHAPTER IX. THK AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT— XKW SOUTH WALKS. .\u>tialia — F'irst Settlement of Australia — Canada and Australia comi)ared — The Southern Cross —Divisions of Australia — New South NN'alos— Sydney — Australian Wool — Sheep Runs and Squatters — The Sipiatter's Enemies .. ... ... I'iJ CHAPTER X. THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINKNT — VICTORIA. Victoria— Gold -The Rush to the " Diggings "— Gold Mining at 4 the Present Dav —Australian Naval Def ence i; cox TENTS. IX I'Alif. 71 U4 10.-) odiicts 11>^ V>. CIIAriKlJ XI. THE AISTHALIAX CONTIN KNT— SOITH ATSTnALIA. tSoiith Australia— I'rodiiots of South Australia— " IWuki'ii JliU"— j^ South Australian Kxi.lorrrs — How Melbourne talks to i.uii,l,,u I CIIAPTKK Xir. I THi: AIKTRAIJAX CONTINENT— WKSTKHX AfSTRALIA AND (^ti;i;.NSI.ANI). Wtstciii Australia— (Queensland— Vroducts of (iue.nsland- Mount ^ :\roriran—Suy:ar— tattle Kuns— The Barrier Keef— Water Supjily and Irri^'ation in Australia -Homo\vai-d Koutes tn.in „ Australia ... I t'lIAl'TKR XI I r. AFHIC.A. Africa— The Kaco for Africa-Climate and ( "oloni.sition in Africa — L"ai»f Colony— Dutchnu'n, Knii-li.shinen, and Natives— ( 'IJnKite and Products of South Africa— The Great Karroo— ( ).>trie]i Farming; ... I CHAPTER XIV. AX AFKICAX IXDCSTRV. A Visit to an Cstrich Farm CHAPTER XV. RRITISH I>(>SSi;s.'>;i()XS IX AFUIfA. Mohair— Diamonds— Natal— Protectorates and Crown Coloni. s — South African Kepuldics— The Transvaal and the Free Stat*; — Tradinj? Companies in Africa— I'ortu^uese Territ(jry— Tlio Duty of the liritish Government— West Africa— Sierra Leone —St. Helena — Ascension CHA1>TEU XVr. BRITISH STROXGHOLDS IN THK MKniTKHRAXEAX. , The ^lediterranean Sea— Gibraltar— Malta— Cyi)rus-The Suez (anal— The Passage tlirough the Canal— The Value of the Canal— Aden— Perim and Socotra CHAPTER XVII. INDIA. I The Road to India— India— The English in India— The Population I of ludia— The History of Divided Indiu-The East India 1 AOK 142 147 lo: 1G4 1G9 186 COXTKXTS. •J IK •)'>S Coinpriny— Enirllsh and Fr.-nch in India — India as Wr found rA.,r it— Stpoys— India und.r {ho Ciiiipiny -India mulcr tin? (.'lown— Tlu' Sopoy Mutiny— Thr Empress of India ... 201 (HAITI: R XVIII. PFIYSICAL FKATIKKS OF INDIA. (xcognphy of India— Thf Mountain K.',i,Won— The Kivcr Plains- he Dt-ican—nuiuiah --Ceyloi;... ... 211 CHAPTER Xrx. BRITISH RULi: IN" INDIA. The Defence of India— Indian Tntd.'— India's Tribute to Britain- What Ens^land does for India— Famine— Our (iood Work in India CHAPTER XX. THE XATIVK STATKS OK INDIA. British and Native States CHAPTER XXI. BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN EASTERN' SE.\S. Asiatic Colonies — Singapore — P.-nani? and ^lalaeca _ Borne(. Labuan, ire.- -Sarawak and Raja Brooke— Hon Routes— Coal and Coalini,' Stations— Coal on the Trade Routes— Coal on the Atlantic— Coal on the North Pacific- Coal on the South Pacitic— H.M.S. ('(dnope—Co-.d in India and South Africa— Tele<'2S 23(1 241 Ropro- . ( )ffice ted in :oo INTRODUCTION. to» This book has ]>oen written with the o])ject of g-ivin*,-" to boys and o-jrls in our elementary seliools a simple aiul ('(.nneeted aceount of tho.se i)arts of our o-reat Kmpiro M hieh are outside of the Britisli Islands, and in wiiieh so many of them are likely to find homes. Within the limits of a small volume only the broadest outlines of a subjeet so va.st can he drawn. (ieneral Ftatisties, and such as seem likely to leave a distinct im])ression on the memory, have alone been "-iven Special attention lias been directed to grouping facts in such a way that their bearing uj)on the life of the nation may be easily grasped by young minds, and the closeness of the ci)nnectit)n which exists between the industries and interests of our peoi)le abroad and of those who remain at home has })een indicated as often as possible by familiar illustrations. ^ For the i)erformance of the ordinary duties of citizen- fshi]) it IS every day becoming more essential that all ^British peoi)le should understand clearly the relation to J xii INTJiODUCTIOX. eacli other of the various portions of their vast national domain. Our children cannot bei^-in the study of the subject ion soon ; our statesmen and thinkers can scarcely pursue it too far. It is hoped that this little volume may find its wav into many schools, and prove heli.ful to teachers who art interested in building up British patriotism on that basis of wider knowledge which is necessitated by the wonderful facts of our national ii'rowth. R The T jpart ol #f win jpart ol ftnv na "' Th, area th the otli It one-tw( the s'u Scotlan til at w] fift'ereii t It i the gre; MB a par ttnall p; B t nut ion a 1 abject too •>"^"«'' Round the Empire. 1 its wav s who arc that basis wonderful -♦<.*- (MiAPTi:ii r. LEAV1X(; THE OLD COINTKV The British Empire. Thk Britisli UUunU, in whicli we live, eover a very small part (.!' the surfaee of the earth. But the British I'nipire, of which these i.shuuls are the eentre, eovers ii very lar«;e part of that surfaee— uiueh Iar<,-er than was ever lieM by >nv nation exeept our own. The (lia<,n'ain on the following." pag-e shows how small in area the Uniteil Kino-Jom is when eompared with some of the other o-reat divisions of the Empire. It is only about one-thirtieth of the size of Canada, one-twenty-lifth of the size of Australia, one-eleventh of the size of India. All the land in En-hmd, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland is only about an ei-htieth i)art of that whieh British people have occupied, or rule over, in dift'erent parts of the world. I It IS dilhenlt even to form in the mind a clear idea of the oToat size of the Empire of whieh the United Kincrdom & a part. It embraces nearly one-half of North xVmeHca, a i^all part of South America, the whole of Australia, New B liOuND mi: EMriRK. Zcalainl, and Tasmania, a vast extent of territory in (lifl'rn'nl ]»arts ol' Africa, and in Asia — a coiintry which .sn])jiorts a popuhition of 'ZHi) millions of |)e<»[)le. \r I 'ZuSTRALlA~3lfl!b78Sgu~nEMiLrs"'"""'"" INDIA 1,370.044 Square Miles England 51,000 SgMLS South Africa IUNiTfD Kingdom I ■il I! t I ■ I .I2I,M5 SguAHE Miles ! 25o!ooo^qua're:"m'iles' ji ii ii ■ I I _^ « I one-fi -■j no. 1. — DIACiUAM S1I()\VIN(; ( OMl'AUATIVK AUKAS ol THr. IXITEI) KINGDOM AM) I'HINCU'AL ( OINTKIES WIllllX THE KMl'IKE. i In the 1- fihunid h in, pel most 1 States, tlian 1 llieans flroporl ik the peojth,' piist til but als( otiieren safe till as in jri dtiily i^'i Mo a ^i;r('at the o'lv; If we add to these the islands we possess in the East and b^l< »!)<'• h West Indies, and others scattered throni'hout the Atlantic, tie sea ; Pacific, and Indian Oceans, we find that the British vtv have Empire actually comprises only a little less than oue-lifth ^^npip^. . of the laud surface of the glole. k^ei) in 1 hKAVJXG Tin: OLD COVSTUY. 3 •itory in V which o ( ■---■-7! ' KI) KIN Tills iiiiiiirnsr ;nva is inliahittMl hy ratlu'i* more than iR'-til'th of the whole estimated poimlation of tlie world. The Ocean Empire. Ill addition to its remarkable size and vast population till' l''iiii»in' has another special characteristic which we should (ihservc with attention. It is sometimes called ./// Octiiiiic Einp'iriy and there If, perhaps, no single )>hrase which expresses so well the most marked point of difference between it and other lar«:^e States. All thei^reat oceans wash its shores. Water, more than land, forms its boundaries, and the sea is the chief means of ooiiiieetion between its different parts. A lar^'er I jlroportion of its ])(^ople finds employment on the sea than ' is the ease in other countries. The ocean trade of its I peoj)lc is ^^Mvatcr than that of any nation of ))resent or ! past times. Brit ish ships not only carry British commerce, j but also a lar<^e })art i^\ the m*'rchandise exchanj»'ed between ! othercountries. We are almost as much interested in keepinj^ j safe the a!\ mon ID inhabit L'tl as ouv> )« do 1K)1 1 is mueli ric'tl iiUK-'li L) more t" ^ York tn briu*^ tlh h c'ouutio ill' of wool () IiuiuUh*: from Now lieavy irui ivorjiool :i- •la. So ii i)ds abroail that til 'usie&t ail [en, cot 1 01: iron, and otln r mannf'aetures in tins ('(unilrv, which givo work to so iiiuuy millions of oiir |K'o|»|e, could not l»e so oxtensive as tiny are were it not for the rlicupiu'ss with which food for the workers, and the eotton, w rem life his the or clim Indi islai poss and chie may or ri the 1 I eittl enga; Emp fores tin, coast besid C new ( O])j)or }] const; with iame LEAVING THE OLD COUNTRY. iistrnlia ami nke to iliiiik 1 land (Iocs. 'ar from tlu lit I'or them- 1(1 Europcai, r Denmark, 1" (Mnit»Tanl- 3m our uwii i^'reat terri- re, when a s from lii^ ) his liomc eiti/en of ; iroverned l>y of life ii may <;'o 1' and still 1" i'overncd 1 ■ life in wav- stonied. dies to lea\« iect is vei> r(Mnarkablo. If he desire to retain many of the customfl of life with which he is familiar, and to live amono' people of his own race, he ean do so in those lempernte rei^cions i»f the earth which we have settled in Canada, New Zealand, or Australia. If he prefer to seek an entire chan«]^<' of climate and to live among a strang-e race, he ean do so in India, in parts of Africa, and in some of the tr(^j)ical islands which belonj*' to the Kmpire. Among- our other possessions he may find almost every variety of climate and the most varied conditions of life. He may go to regions wdiere the people are employed chiefly in agricultural or pastoral pursuits. In these ho may choose between places adapted for cultivating wheat or rice, tea or coffee, grapes or sugar-cane or toliacco — the fruits of the temperate zones or those of the tropics. lie can find large districts peculiarly litted for rearing cattle and horses, or others wliere almost everyone is engaged in rearing sheep. He may choose parts of the Empire where people gain their living chiefly from the forests, or from fisheries, or from mines of gold, silver, tin, copper, or coal. He may find a home by the sea- coast or on wide prairies, in tiiountaiuous districts or beside great inland lakes and rivers. Or, again, the emigrant may select some centre where new cities are rapidly growing up and where there is an Oj)portunity for industry and skill of almost every kind. ]^at wherever he goes and whatever he does he will constantly be reminded that he has not lost his connection »'ith this country. Not only will he still be under the Bame flag and governed for the most part liy the same 8 HOUND THE EMriliE. laws, but lio will also find llial in his Itiisiiiess or in- (lusiry lio will still he closely bcuiul ii]) with the business and industry of the ])('o|)l(^ oi' the 1 nitcd Kiii which we at home re(|uire. Round the Empire. It is to see our British ])e(ti)le in the homes whicl they have made .abroad — to learn somet" (j; about tlu countries which they have occupied, the work they de their habits of life, the connection of their industry wit! ours, the many ways in which we are all bound tocrethci by common interests and duties, that we are now about to visit the distant parts of the Empire. To do this we must make a tour all around the world First, crossing' the Atlantic to America, we shall ther. be able to study Canada and Newfoundland iu the nortli and further south Bermuda, tln^ West India Islands, on two possessions of British Guiana and British Honduras <'i the adjoiniui*' nuiiuland, and the islands which we hav occupied oil' Cape II<»rn. If from the western coast of Canada we cross tli Pacific Ocean, we may observe the various o^-oups of smnl islaiuls which we ]iossess over its vast surface, and thci visit in the S( ml hern Ilenu'sjthen^ the i»'reat colouies •> New Zealand. Australia and Tasmania. ^\e s font J lost; /loast the 1 1 have ever a p( Euro C man) Indij re ma portn cases 6i'a-r Aust Suez the C I may roun( ^])ort A traliii past LEAVING THE OLD COUXTIiY. 9 mess or in- :lio busines^ lIoiii. it lie wears, come from return tlit siijL^ar, beef, ther artick> >ines whitl about tilt k they do (lustry will irI t<\^eth('i uow abou; tlie world shall tliei'i the iiortli [slands, ou londiiras <>! •h we hav e eross tli ips of smal e, and thei colonies u Crossinfr the Indian Oeean from Australia to Africa, we shall sc' how our countiTnicu have alr(\i(l\- oceupicd the southern ]»art (.1" ihaf eontiucnt, have established imjiortant })<)sts and hold territory alonn' the western and enstern /.•oasts, and at many ix.ints are o-ra(I,;;,IIv extendino- inland the raiioe of their iullneuee. Passino- on to the continent of Asia, we shall there have to study India, by far the o-ieatest Dependency ever ruled over by any Kurojiean Power, and with a poj)ulation almost equal to that o|' the whole of Europe. Ceylon, pai-ts of Borneo and New Guinea, and the many islands and ports whieh are under our ilao- in the Jndian and China seas, must next be noted. It will then -Remain for us to complete ( ur tour by vi.^itino- those im- portiint positi,)ns which we linve acipiired. and in many cases str.-noly I'ortilicd, in ortler to n-uard the two o-roat sea-routes by which the commerce of the llast and of Australasia chiefly comes to Kuroj)c — the one throuo-h the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, the other around the Cape of Good Hope. Crossing the Ocean.- Good bye. Let us try to ])icturc to ourselves a sc<'ne such as we jnay observe almost any day in the week all the year round if we ,<.-o down to the docks of a o-rcat shij)i)in<,'' sport like London, Liverj.ool, or (ilaso-ow. A oToat ocenn steamboat is starlinjr lor Canada, Aus- .tralia, JSoulh Africa, or the Cniled Slates. F,,i- davs jpast o-anirs of men have been busy stowin- awav into i 10 ROUND THE EMPIRE. It aiv t( h fltri'tc Vt'sscl easily shipj)i eiiter her vast hold merchandise of many kinds, chiefly gfoo(l> the r manufactured in the factories and workshops of Britain, gmall and selected to suit the wants of the country to which tin vessel is goin*?. Other gang's of men have been fillini: her bunkers with hundreds of tons of coal, which will 1 required as fuel for the engines that drive lier acro^ the wide seas over which she must pass. The heavy bao-- Ynun g-aj^'e of passenf^ers, containing things they do not want f^ j^f)) to use during the voyage, but which they will require in ^hc the lands to which they go, is being stowed away in tlu baggage-rooms below deck. Hundreds of post-bags, full of letters and papers, have been brought on board and sent to the mail-room. Passengers are coming on board, and mingled witli them on the decks and wharves are the crowds of friends [j^j,! who have come to say farewell, or the spectators who arc harhoi always drawn together by the departure of an ocean entraii steamship. dan<'-e Porters are busy carrying luggage, steam is up, and A the officers are at their posts. across All is ready at last — a bell rings — visitors hasten to shii's leave the ship j the gangways are drawn in; the cables olian*)' which fasten the vessel are loosed ; the captain touches a have bell ; down in the engine-room the huge pistons begin to then i move ; and then amid shouts of good-bye, the tears of those Tl^o ] sad at parting, the cheers of the light-hearted, and much popnh waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the great vessel glides The C( smoothly away on her long voyage. .yards Sometimes this scene is varied a little, when the the ra steamship has to be anchored, as at Liverpool, far out in chines LEAVING THE OLD COUXTRY. 11 liofly g'oodv of Britain, which tilt been {\\\mo ii'h will 1)1 her aeros> heavy bao-. not want 1 require in v\'ay in tlu t-bao^s, full board and tigled with 1 of friends )rs wlio arc an ocean is up, and hasten to the cables L touches a s beo-in to irs of those and much ssel glides when the far out in the river ^Icrsey, and ]ias;?;enoTrs an* brono-ht to her on a giiialler sU'ani-vcs.scl or '' lender'' from the hui(lin<'--stao'e. The Mouth of the Mersey. It is on a steamship thus leavinL»- the ^Fersey that we are to cross the Atlantic and be^-in our tour of the British Empire. As we stand on the deck, let us beo-in at once to look around us. On our right is Liverpool, on our left the large tow!i of Birkenhead. For miles on either side stretches the long liuc of docks and (juays, crowded with vessels of every description. From what we see we can easily understand that Liverpool is one of the laroest shipj)ing ports in the world. No less than :2:3,O0O vessels enter and leave the port in a siiigl(> year. What is it that brings so many ships to Liverpool? If is not that the harbour itself is a very good one. On Ihe contrarv the entrance to the Mersey is very dillicult, and sometimes dangerous. A bar of sand f(n'mcd by the current and the tide lies across the entrance, and in foggy weather or at low tide shij's cannot cross it. The bar itself is perpetually changing its i^sition and its shape, and the Mersey pi>ots have to study its changes with the greatest care. Why then is Liverpool one of the greatest jiorts in the world? The reason is that beliind it is the richest and most populous district in England with the exception of London. The cotton-mills of Lancashire alone make many millions of .yards of cotton materials in the year, and t^ycry pound of the raw cotton required to supply the looms of Lancashire Oomes to the Mersev. 12 BOUND THE EMPJUE. But where there are iiianv mills there will be man workers, and the workers must ))e fed. Enn'Hsh field and ]»astures n<^> loufri^* furnish suflicieut ertru or cattle t supply their wants. Sometimes in a sintrleyear J2(),0(l(),(Mii quarters of wheat, and hundreds of thousands of cattle, ;ii imported into (ireat Britain, and a large part of 1)01 come to Liverpool. Besides the live cattle, millions < pounds of meat are broui;-ht to the port. This does ni nearly exhaust the list of commodities which are bron^l! into tlie Mersey in enormous quantities for the use ( the <>reat manufacturin*^ })opulation of Lancashire, Vctrk shire, and other parts of the North of Eng^land. The ships wliich come to the Liverpool wharves witl full earijoes leave them a":ain as full. Cotton and woollf: goods made in our mills, ma(;hinery from our iron-work> and lumdreds ot other articles manufactured in thi country, are exported from Liverpool to all parts of tli world. We should remember all these facts, for they teac' us a lesson which we shall observe to be true in man; other places as well as Liverpool. We shall find that great harbour only becomes a great commercial per when it has at the back of it a wealthy and populoi; country, re(juiring the productions of other lands an seeking in them a market for what it has to sell. Great ships pass us coming up the stream as we \x dowMi. Here are two steamers arriving at their i\r> tination at the same hour. One has come nearlv KKO" miles from the far East, bringing tea from Hong Kon£ in China. The other has made a voyage of about SjOd miles from the West Coast of South America, and ha f^ LEAVIX(r THl: old CdUNTUY. 13 ore will be mnu 1. Eiiy-lish ficli; corn or cat tie I loyo.'ir 20,()()(),(Hh aiuls of cattle, jti ri^e part of 1)01 tattle, millions u t. This does iii. i^hieli are brou^li ^s for the use o Lancashire, York inland. )ool wharves witl 'otton and woollci 11 our in)n-work> ifacturcd in tlii ) all parts of tli. L'ts, for they teac! be true in mair shall find that commercial poi :hy and popnlou other lands an to sell. stream as we ^ iig" at their do me nearly 10, On from Hon^ Koni j-e of about 8,r)li ^.merica, and lia teoufrht from Chili a caruco of nitrate to ])e used as manure Upon our EuLi'lish Odds. We see niiiny other ships coming" frciii different enrners of the world, with car;L;'oes of various kinds. Others are setting out for distant ports. The Flags of the Nations. Notice the dilfereiice iu the ilai^'s which they carry. Bv an an-rcement between the Governments of all countries every ship nuist carry some flag' showing to what country she l)elongs. That large steamer coming up the river carries the red, white, and black ilag of Germany. The blue, white, and red yoniler is the famous French tricolour, on b(jard a steamer froni Havre or Bordeaux; the red and yellow is a Spaniard from Barcelona. Inside the docks are many sailing-sliips carrying large bright flags made u}» of several crosses with a great deal of red, yellow, and blue in them ; these are timber-ships from Sweden or Norway. On the foremast of one great steamer ily the " stars and stripes" of the United States, showing us that the vessel has just arrived from New York. ]5ut there is aiU' Ihig which we see more often than all the others put together : a bright red ilag with the Union Jack in the corner. It is the " red ensign," which I hoj)e every Englishman knows is the flag borne by all the merchant- snips of the British Em})ire. It is not wonderful, you will porha|'S say, that in a British port the British Hag should be the most con- 8l>ieuous. But sail the wide world round, follow every i u liOUXD THE EMrJl^E. pathway of the ocean, and enter every port wliere ships art Irelan to he found, and you will tind our own red ensign on mori Mbvil than half the sh'ps you see. Outward Bound. Now we have erossed the ^Mersey ]);ir, and as nig-lit falls, the coast of England sinks out of sight l)ehind us, I Tl to our ■-:r . - «».. • •' '■•^iC?^''- ^ • ' *'>.i£.. ■'-•'•• •.._,iiHJl*''-"-'^-..'-*>r— ; FKi. 2. — WHITE ST.VU STEAMER *' MA.TESTIC." (hum (( I'ltotoi/raph bij MidriiKjton, id, IMd Strut, Liverpool.) But we have not yet quite said gcod-bye to the United Kingdom. As we steer Nortli-West we see on our lelt the coast of Ireland, on our right the coast of Scotland. The mouth of Belfast Lough opens to the West. A littli further North and the lights on the Mull of Cantire in Scotland and Fair Head in Ireland show us that we ini in that crowded tdiannel by which ships pass into tin Clyde and up to (ilasi»-ow. In the mornini»' our vessel turns sharply from her direct course around the North ot people , letters Qinad i Se dttrini^ tbeuce to Kin All thi latest of fric the m( tO'' our wifIi, ! part that yc As and, w out of No oar fe otlrselv country LEAVING THE OLD COUNTRY. 15 re ships an Iieland, enters Lough Foyle, and comes to anelior at rn on moil Moville, some miles below the famous town of Derry. 1 The Mails. There is, of course, a special reason for this interruption d as ni<^lit , Tj p. 1 1-1 T • 1 i. 1 , , . , to our voyacre. Hours aiter we lett Liverpool yesterday behind us, , • t , in i * •.• ' people in London and other large towns were writinjij .letters or postiny^ newspapers which our ship is to carry to Canada. Sent ofp in the eyening, the mails have been carried dttrinj]^ the nii^ht by fast trains to Holyhead in Wales, tlfence by a swift packet-boat across St. (icorg'e^s Channel tofKinj^stown^and a<^ain hurried on by rail to catch us here. JOl.) \ All this trouble is taken that we may carry with us the very latest news and the very latest messages of business men or friends. A tender is waiting- to receive the mail-bags the moment they arrive at Moville and to briiiij^ them off td'our ship. With the returnin<^ tender you can, if you wish, send a sixpenny telegram, which will go to any pai't of the United Kingdom, to let your friends know that you are thus far on your voyage safe and well, the United As soon as the mails are on board the anchor is weighed, m our leltand, with full steam ahead, in'a few hours we find ourselves f Scotland. out of sight of land upon the broad Atlantic. . A littli Can tire ii Fellow Passengers. hat we jiR Now that we are out at sea let us look around at ■;s into tluOttr fellow passengers. Most of them are British like our vessel Ottrselves — either Canadians, who have come to this North otcmmtry for business or pleasure, and are now, after a short 1<) uouNP rnE KM I'll: I-:. stay, rt'turninjj;' to ('iiiuidii, or else cmii^rants who iin It loiivini^ the old country for tlic lirst tiiiu' to try th( ir In thi fortmit's on liic l^aiiks of the iSt. Lawrence or in the jjrea' milliui Canadian Xorth-W'est. find h A lew otliers tliore are who cannot >|>e.dv I'^nylish^ ^ still y( wh(^ speak it hut [)oorly. These an* Swedes, or Danes, < over 'X (lernians, hardy, h'»nest, industrious men who are leaving Thus \ their own land to lind a home under the Britisli ilag. Ji poj'iihi Canada thev will he welcome, and there tlicv will sooi | learn the J'^u^-lish tongue and become ex<'ellent Britis: , subje(.'ts. It That short, dark man is a Japanese, returnin^• io Toki p§tij)le to teach his (juick-witted countrymen what he has learn miiiiy ^ during' a couple of years' stay in Euroj)e. His home is i:g|[jod m the i'ar J:]ast, and yet he is now startinj^ with usAVestwarc r, For AVe shall see later on that he has chosen the shortest an \«fnicb j easiest route by which to return. tl^t w But i'ar the greater number of those with us ai number hard-workiui^ men and women of our own British ract fa^ed, JOn«;lish, Irish, and Sc(jtch. Some have families of bo\in^rease and g'irls with them, some not. Alt80,(tU() ; in IS.SiJ it was •251,()0U, in IS'JO ;>18,000. ire IcaviiiL 'I'^^^^ ^^^*-' i»i»i»»bers for ji sln«>le year are equal to the I thiir. li popiilation of a great town like Leeds or Bradford. n will son: 'lit Briti>: Why People Emigrate. It is worth while thinking why all this stream of i**- to Toki p^>))le has kept pouring away from this eountry for so ! has learn many years, and still keeps on going. It is easy to tell u , home is i g(K)d many of the eliief reasons for it. jWestwan . For a longtime lists have been kejjt of the numbers hortest an wtich go every year. From studying these lists we find tl^it when times are prosperous and labour plentiful the ith us in number of emigrants decreases, but when the crops have itish ractfftiled, or when times are bad and labour scarce, it L's of bo \ increases rapidly. This shows you that a great many there ailwkve because they cannot find work in this crowded country, and so make up their minds to go to [)laces where they think labourers are needed. Some go in the hope of making a fortune quickly, that ves?c •^%^''*^ ^^^' often energetic men, who are doing very well most evci^'*!'^^'^ country, and are not at all compelled to leave it. f the w(-)rl'^ut they have heard of gold, or silver, or diamond es of <»-uod^^^'^> where men have made themselves rich by a few women aii*^#^s or months of work, and they hope to do the same. Sc^ietimes they succeed, but more commonly they are c ii 18 ROUND THE EMPIRE. disappointed. Still, though they do not get all tht i want, they at least often 11 nd that they can make T it . themselves comfortable and pleasant homes in the lands t;_ . which thev ijro. .. " "^ Oil Some <;•() from a love of adventure. They have ^i^'UfKit of the nnij^h life in the Australian bush, in ^''*"^J'''3n*<>,.,„. forests, or out on the prairies, of huiitin*:^, fishing, exi)loi;tjgg ^j • tiou in strange countries or amoni,'' strange races, antjjj^j discontented with a (pilet life at home, they go abroad tjjj^, see new lands and have new exi)eriences. All through oi)ygj,j^g^ history we may see how this spirit of roving and adventuiji^ ^|j^j seems to have been in our British blcod. It brought t^thQj.^.jj^ Saxon ancestors away from Germany across the North Siq^j.,,^^, to explore and fight and find new homes, and later it sei 1^}^.* men like Drake, Raleigh, Cook, and Anson on stranL'hgfijj^j enterprises all around the world. Every year it seniQ i|,,ti^., numbers of young Englishmen to chmb the most difRcu^ci^.^gjj mountain-peaks or hunt in lonely jungles, merely from ^oj^ p^^ desire to attempt something never accomplished befor^n A^ar: If a brave leader wishes to find a way to the North Polnii,,)(>^^p or a bold explorer wants to penetrate into the heart tf i^ork Africa^ he always finds plenty of volunteers ready hea,\> fo( follow him, though in the one case they are likely : . jiorish by cold, aniHiaui;i2j)4^,j.j,i.i^^,s^ Kirn men often find that it pays best to ig, explora^gg ^],j^ jjj jj^,^^. ,,j. iijj;(.i,,t countries. So they send out races, antjj,gj,j^.j^,,.j. .j^i ^yorkmen to build railroads and construct ro abroad t^jj^^vs, or open mines, and agents or clerks to direct their throug-n ^^jusiness for them. Hundreds of millions of British money id adventuijj.^ ^\^y^^ employed in distant parts of the world, and brought t>i:,li0i,s;.in(ly yf Englishmen are employed abroad in its e North SiQanagement. later it sei. ^These are some of the chief causes which help to swell on stran;jy^0i^i(]t3 (,f oniigration from our shores. But we must not fail ;ar it seniiQ Notice that, while so many go away, population goes on nost difhcu^cfeasing rajndly at home. There are about four million rely from ^of^ people in the United Kingdom now than there were shed befor^3Q years ago. We shall see after a while that the more ^jorth Polur -people go abroad the more likely is there to be plenty he heart ^p ifrork for those who stay at home, with abundant and rs ready heap food to support the workers. n-e likely ' J heat. Tl: Land ahead !— Newfoundland. to try vei When we have been about five days at sea, the weather, do with tl tlterto Nright and warm, chai.;^-os : the sky is overcast, and heevy fog lies on the water. A thermometer would show though he tliat the actual temperature of the sea-water has gone the Coloni'.wii several degrees. The men on the look-out redouble •hildren wieit watchfulness, for the fog may hide many dangers, c 2 •i I 20 ROUND THE EMPIRE. \ .Hi .■KV What is the meaning of this sudden change? It mean's alu that we are approaching the land, and are nearing tl John, coast of Newfoundland. At this point a cold current me. is dan us, coming from the Polar Sea, bringing with it gri A? icebergs broken off from the masses of ice which everi^ote o where surround the North Pole. East of the coast of Nuv foundland this cold water meets a warm current which fidv across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico to the shoi of Great Britain, and which is known as the Gulf Streai The warm southern current has filled the atmosphere wi moisture, which is condensed into vapour by the cole water of the north, and thus are created the dense fogs whi so frequently hang around the island of Newfoundland. Not only have the sailors to fear that in the fog t ship may come in collision with some other vessel, 1 there is the danger that at any moment the look-out iii see, towering above, the white form of some gigantic icebe The speed of the ship is reduced for greater safety, a a careful look-out enables us to avoid all perils. Soon \ve begin to see numbers of sailing-boats rock; upon the waves. These are the boats of the cod-fishers, whom we shall learn more when we come to speak Newfoundland. At present our steamship is bound furt thut oc west. 2,680 The Short Cut across the Atlantic. Bel lei In the summer months a steamship going from (li *l|rk ii Britain to Canada has the choice of two routes — one *n)m 3, the north of Newfoundland through the Straits ^<'f P< Belleisle, which gives the shortest passage to Q^f*? ^ ^^ or Montreal ; the other south of Newfoundland, wl'*^ '^^^^ s, LEAVTXa THE OLD COUNTRY. 21 ? It meaiis always used for roacliing' the ports of Halifax or St. nearino- tl. John, and for onterin*;' the St. Lawrence also when tliere airrent mt< is dangler of delay from meeting ice by the northern route. ' As we are now nearlv across the Atlantic, it is well to n#e one or two points with regard to the routes by which dth it gri kvhich ever !oast of Nev t which Hov to the shoi Gulf Streai losphere wi )y the colli ise fogs whi foundland. n the fog t 3r vessel, 1 look-out m ^antic icebe ;er safety, li s. -boats rocki cod-fishers, ; to speak bound f urt ,ntic. ig from (fi Dutes — one 16 Straits ge to Que Qdland, nvI ATLANTIC •BERMUDA • "it5. Trofiic tf fdnrer MADEIRA CANARY I";. ill^QutiA WfST INDIA '>^.£~^'''^^.'^:y''°0 C E A N JAMAICA ' •_, ...„_ ,,,__• CAPE VERO"- ISLANDS •('• rf Tlie further north the shorter the distance around t: whicli globe. Halifax is many miles north of New York, ai globe. Quebec still further. A ship, therefore, sailing f lo g^^,^ Liverpool to Quebec or Halifax moves along a small gfowin circle than when sailing to New York. As both of t: Th( Canadian ports are also east of New York, you can m portant understand why Halifax has an advantage of 315 mil. Ja^en v and Quebec of 3'52 miles, over New York in the length or car" the passage between them and Liverpool. This is almost pggs cc far as a good steamship can go in a day. Canadian poi' Europe therefore, give a route between Europe and America cn: grows siderably shorter than harbours further south. comes i the tirsi The St. Lawrence. which • Our vessel is to go by the shorter voyage to Halifax, we wish to cross Canada from East to West. The travel L however, who in summer goes by the more northe: jj^^ passage finds it tlie grandest and most impressive of geaveelv the approaches to the American continent. As he entig^^tia the Straits of BcUeisle he can reflect that from this poifjom tli to the head of Lake Superior, at the heart of the continoih^i^Qm. 2,384 miles distant, is an unbroken system of navigati^v^ij^,!^ ^ by gulf, river, lake, or canal. by, the Passing through the narrow passage which separatjy]|j(.]j ^, the rock-bound coasts of Labrador from those of Nc'rwts th( LEAVING THE OLD COUNTRY. p we cann fomKllaiul, he finds himself in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, vemustlni ,|.jjg land-locked sea which is the chief centre of Canada's which ciit yj^^ fishing industries. Sailing westward past the largo grow loui^. igland of Anticosti, he enters the mouth of the St. Lawrence, )r Equator qbc of the greatest rivers of the world — the outlet for lakes '. around t: which contain nearly one-half of all the fresh water on (lie r York, ill g[obe. As the river narrows so that its banks may he lailing fi" seen, he finds them settled by a population gradually g a small giowing denser as he ascends the stream, both of t: The river itself is seen to be already one of the im- ^ou can m portant routes of the world's commerce. Sailing-vessels if 315 mill laden with timber or wheat; steamships carrying live cattle, ;he length ors cargoes of meat, cheese, flour, fruit, or other provisions, ; is almost, paes constantly on their way to Britain, while others from nadian poi;E|rope are ascending the stream. Further up, the scenery America co gibws more striking and beautiful, till at last the traveller coines in sight of that which so stirred the enthusiasm of the first explorers of the country — the noble promontory on which are situated the historic city and citadel of Quebec. 10 Halifax, he travel I The Southern Route. )re northc: j^^t ^ve must go back to the less magnificent, though ossive of scarcely less interesting, approach to the coast of Nova As he enlig^tia, the most eastern Province of Canada. Escaping m this poifri^ tlie fogs of Newfoundland, we steam towards the 10 contineihatbour of Halifax. AYe see that the channel through f navigati^hich we enter is narrow enough to be well defended by the fortifications armed with powerful batteries by ch separntwj|ieh we pass. To the left, along the sides of the harbour, 3se of ^^Viij|s the city, crowned by the citadel, high over which 24 HOUND THE EMPIRE. floats the fla^^ of En^^land. Alioad of us, stretching inliui for some miles, is Bedford Basin, a splendid sheet > water in which the whole navy of Britain could easil be anchored. A part of it is there as we enter, f Halifax is the chief station for the British Nov' IIO. I. -HIIITISH MEN-Ol-WAU IN HAI.Il'AX IIAUHOVK. American squadron. As our steamship comes up to li pier, we see that it is crowded with people — some waitii to meet friends, others drawn together by mere curiosii British soldiers and British sailors, in their familiar ui forms, are mingled among the crowd. New Friends under Old Names. The emigrants on board who are watching everyt'liii closely may see that the new laud to which they ha come they the' laiiGri the Si tliiiii» street the si Robii Bale} McG] Irish peate( H Churc terian Roma ihi]) we sh of oui Proi Til on ]) mails Iniidod rnilwn •t'^^cial KBceivc () LEAVTNG THE OLD COVNTRY 25 liing inliin id sheet < 20ul(l easil enter, f tish Nov oru. s up to ll ome waitii ere ciiriosii familiar ui s. everytliii h tliev li:i come is very like tlie old land they have left. The looks of the people, their dress, their lang-uag-e, their mai.ners, are the same. We learn the same thin required t How Canada became a Part of the Empire. Hut before we say more about this ♦ii'reat country, it is well that we should learn how it became a part of the British UVEHEC, FUOM THE ST. LAWUENCE. Empire. That It should ever do so seemed very unlikely lor more than two centuries after its discovery. The This fai early settlers were French, and the Government of France ry is. ^xerted itself greatly to build up here a powerful French 30 HOUND THE EMPIIiE. community. This it succeeded in doinji;', and yet thu people are now British citizens and tlie country a part of the Empire. That we may understand how i\m came about let us visit the famous city of Quebec. Why do we say S( pjith, eiitra Goini Men had Ulis t( the el i below we mi makes gfate, J monui FIG. 9. — MONa'MENT TO GENERAL WOLFE, the /'(I mo Hi! city of Quebec? The reason is found in its history. If we approach Quebec by the river the frowning citadel towers high above us. Disembarking, we walk through streets which remind the traveller at every step of the old French towns of Normandy or Brittany. Climbing a steep The b; hiftory France French sabjoct settled, French Alp eric pefple very fa i H We Let me I THE GREAT DOMIXIOX. 31 1 yet the a part of ame about do we sav path, we pass through an arcliway which was the ancient entrance to tlie fortress, and furnished with massive jj^ates. Qoiii^' up still higher, we reach the terrace of the citadel. Men have said, after travellino^all round the world, that they bftd seen no nobler view than that which meets the eye from this terrace as one looks down upon the broad St. Lawrence, the cliffs of Point Levis opposite, the fertile island of Orleans tfelow, and the blue Laurentian hills in the distance. But ife must look further than this noble view to find that which makes Quebec most famous. We leave the city by another gate, and at some distance on the open plain see a lofty monument of stone. Upon it is the simple inscription : HEUE DIED WOLFE VRTOKIDIS, KEl'. XII. MDCCLIX. Imd in its [ng citadel through \)i the old jga steep e battle on the Plains of Abraham, in which General 'Vl^lfe fell, was one of the turning-points in the world's b^tory. Canada, hitherto colonised and governed by nee, now became a part of the British Empire. The nch people of the Province of Quebec became British 8(l|)jects, and what had before been doubtful was now tied, namely, that people of British stock, rather than nch, should control the greater part of the North erican Continent. AVe can now understand what pie are thinking of when they s|)eak of Quebec as a V(^y famous city. How Canada has been Kept for the Empire. We have seen how Canada was taken from France, me now say something about how it has been kept for « in J UN D Tiri'] EMVIUE. Enjrland. Not many years afiur Wolfe's great victory ;i (luebec, the war of the Amerieaii Revohition broke i ^i the country. When the war of the American Revolutin; ,1 was over, there were still in the United States a cousidci^ ^- ^ , able number of people who had throughc ontinued loy;, to the British Government. Unwilling to remain ; citizens of the new Republic, and in some cases sufferiii. ji l l^rsecution there, great numbers of them removed i m Canada. They have always been known and honoured ;;^ . the United Empire Loyalists. These Loyalists, to t!:^!^-^. /r number of about 40,000, found homes in the Provinces 'g^j.g Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, districts tluk--^^ covered almost entirely with forest, but which soon becaiijgA filled by their labours with pleasant farms and pi'osperoijjggii j villages and towns. It was not long, however, before tlu^gA^ . 1 ^ were called upon to defend the homes they had tlii^ji created and the flag which they had sacrificed and s«ffd|rned I D rut: hreat dumixion. ^ ' . In lSl:i war a«ifain broke out between Britain and the United States, and the people of the latter eoiintry a^ain undertook the concpiest of Canada. Althoufr-h the whole ^^ o peculation of Canada was then but 300,000, against ^^ ' 8,000,000 of their hostile neijjfhbours, the country boldly ' J" . . prB|)ared to meet the coming dan<^er. Loyalists and ^^ „ ' Fflneh Canadians fought with equal bravery beside the . ^ . . Te^ regulars of the British army then stationed in Canada. ^ Their efforts were crowned with success; the troops )f the United States were driven back at almost evi ry loitt of attack, and when the war closed in LSI 5, though napy valuable lives had been lost, no inch of soil was Tc body 'im|endered, and Canada has since been left free to •e history ' i^^iop herself as a part of the British Empire. In this [ RevoUuK r^^ ^1^^ Canadian people have ] .oved their right to be a cousiac!,^jl|jjgj.gj among the most patriotic of British citizens. Inued lovii ^ remain n | Self-Qovemment for the Colonies. ses sunerin. ^^^ Canadians had to learn to govern their country as removed j^ ^g Jefend it. When the different provinces were honoureti w^ settled or taken possession of, governors, judges, and sts, to t.^|||j. officers were sent out from England to manage their Provinces '£g|Jrs^ and make and administer their laws. Now it is a istricts I'l'^^hfiacteristic of our British people when they go abroad, soon becaiijgj| ^g -^ jg ^^ home, that they desire, so far as it is d pi'osperoijjgjli^lg ^^^ wise, to govern themselves. This does not , beiore ^''^^eA that every man wishes to do as he pleases, for good T bad tlu:^^j.j^j^gj^^ -g ^^^ possible in that way. It means that he and sutteii ji^gg ^^ \^2i.\q a voice in making the laws by which he is 5f>rned. » 't 34 BOUND THE EMPIRE. As the new provinces increased in population, tin df ea soon began to feel that they could make their own lor; #ay. laws better than anyone else, and that they ought to 1 clianc allowed to tax themselves and spend as they please T] the money raised by taxation. After a great deal |i|d p discussion. Parliament agreed to this claim that t: tlhitec people of Canada had as much right to control tin ti ma taxation and like matters as the people of Great Brita nfiile and Ireland have in the United Kingdom, and so ea to^ wh; province was allowed to form a Legislature or siii Th Parliament of its own, while it had a governor, not Tie I make laws, but to represent the Queen, and to occu the ni in these Provincial Parliaments the same position as t arfecte Queen occupies in the Imperial Parliament. initead In this way the Canadian provinces secured the rii: GKInorji of self-government under the Crown. This was a v^ Qooon important step, since it has done more than anything t ' At to keep Canadians as contented and happy as are subjt th^ B( of the Empire in Britain itself. You will find that th« be all the great colonies where the inhabitants are chietlyhil^e b British or European descent this same plan of leavini,^ c^the people to govern themselves is followed. Where IfJ^ays people of a colony are chiefly of other races this caultt'tihe be done, but even in that case our object is to give'J% ^' ar large a measure of self-government as possible to those v?*l!|here are under our rule. ^^^\ rid a Canadian Confederation. For many years after they were allowed to gov^ themselves the provinces of Canada remained indepeml '"*! THR GJiEAT BOMIXTOX. 35 El- ation, th( T own lot [)U«^llt to 1 ley pleas eat deal [n that t: lontrol tlu jreat Brita and so cai are or sm jrnor, not Ilif each other, each managing its own affairs in its own iray. But twenty-five years ago (in 1867) a great CJbange was made. * The leading public men of the country met together, ||ld planned a system by which all the provinces should be ijiited under one Government, with one great Parliament f| manage affairs in which the whole country was interested, |||iile each province kept its smaller Legislature to attend tS what only concerned itself. f This Union was called The Canadian Confederation. TE^e Provinces united in this way then received in 1867 kI to occu tHe name of " The Dominion of Canada," and Ottawa was )sition as t «<|ected as the seat of Government. Since that time, iidltead of a governor for each province, only one Governor- red the rii: G^fneral goes out from Great Britain to represent the a Y Q&cen, as the head of the Government in the Dominion, anythini? o '| At the head of this chapter we see a representation of are subjt <^ Beaver at work surrounded by a border composed of 1 find that tl^ beautiful Maple Leaf. The Beaver and the Maple Leaf h are chieilvWj^e been chosen by the Canadians as national emblems of leaving' '^t he industry and wealth of their land. The beaver Where *J%^ys working busily among the timber by the water-side les this caiil^^l^e great rivers is a fit emblem of the great " lumber- is to giveij^^' ^>^d river industries of Canada, while the maple leaf, to those v?*lthGred from the sugar maple, recalls the great agricul- 1 riches of a country of corn and of apples. wed to gov \ indepeuti LS PC D 'J 36 ROUND THE EMPIRE. CHAPTER III. THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF CANADA. We have now learned how Canada ])eeame a part of lli British Empire, and why it has remained so. Let us n^v consider some of the more striking- features of the count r\ Observe that on the East there is a o^reat extent < sea-coast, with many bays, j^ulfs nnd inlets, chief amoi;. which are the Gulf of St. La>\ ance, the Bay of Fund: and Bay Chaleur, while further North is Hudson Ba; an inland sea 1,000 miles \on^ and 000 miles broad. On the Western side of the continent, again, we find long stretch of sea-coast, much broken up by bays, sound and inlets, which offer remarkable opportunities 1 navigation and commerce. Thus Canada has a most striking maritime position > two great oceans, the Atlantic, which lies between it ai Europe, and the Pacific, which separates it from Asia. The fisheries on the Eastern and Western coasts a probably the most valuable and extensive in the woi! and give employment to a large seafaring population. Excellent timber is obtained with the greatest ca close to the sea-coast, and consequently great encouragenii has been given to ship-building. The people build and own great numbers of slii ■q^-i which are engaged in the fisheries, the coasting trade, a that of the inland lakes, or in carrying on commerce w distant parts of the world. As a result of all tli . circumstances the Dominion stands third in the num count r FJIYSICAL FEATURES OF CANADA. 37 Tims the maritime situation and industries of the part of til Let us nov uhe count rv it extent > •hief amor., y of Fundi ludson Ba; )road. in, we find uays, sound •tunities f e position ^ tween it ai m Asia, rn coasts a n the worl ulation. greatest ca 1 courage mo ers of shi ng trade, a )mmeree nv of all til m the numi -A STllKET SCENE IN- CANADA — AVINTEU. country have given Canada, just as they have given Britain, many interests upon the ocean. |: The Waterways of the Dominion. )^ The feature of tlie Dominion which next deserves notice 111 its wonderful system of inhuid water communication. '^ 1 38 BOUND THE EMPIRE. We have before spoken of the immense extent of th country. Wide as it is, however, it is curiously open i[ almost every part to the traveller, the trader, or the settler The most characteristic feature of Canada is the remarkalA number and size of its rivers. In connection with tlv g-reat lakes which have been mentioned, and other smalle: ones, these rivers stretch across the whole breadth of th. continent, and furnish it with an almost unbroken serie of water highways such as no other country in the worlf possesses. When the Marquis of Dufferin was Governor-General o Canada he described this wonderful system of waterway in a witty speech which he made at the city of Winnipei in Manitoba. We shall quote a part of his graphic description. Aftt mentioning that the small size of the maps on which tli figure of the world is depicted had prevented even educate, people from forming an adequate idea of the extent of tli British possessions in North America, he said : — A Wonderful Picture. " Perhaps the best way of correcting such a misappreher sion would be a summary of the rivers which How throng them, for we know that, as a poor man cannot live in a bi house, so a small country cannot support a big river. " Now to an Englishman or a Frenchman the Severn > the Thames, the Seine or the Rhone, would appear coi siderable streams ; but in the Ottawa, a mere aftluent of t!' St. Lawrence, an affluent, moreover, which reaches t;| parent stream six hundred miles from its mouth, we ha ent of tht sly open ir. the settler remarkablt »n with tlii ther smalle. adth of tilt roken serie; n the woili r-General o I waterway ►f Winnipei )tioii. Aftt a which tli ^en educate sxtent of til nisappreliet dow throng live in a h ' river. the Severn . appear coi llluent of t! reaches t: uth, we ha ^| r/3 C O c PS < 40 liOUXD THE EMPIRE. a river nearly five hundred and fifty miles long, and thiv or four times as big as any of them. " But even after having ascended the St. Lawrence itse to Lake Ontario, and pursued it across Lake Erie, St. Clai; Lake Huron, and Lake Superior to Thunder Bay— distance of fifteen hundred miles, where are we? In tl estimation of a person who has made the journey, at tl end of all things ; hut to us, who know better, scarcely ;, the beginning of the great fluvial systems of the Dominiui for from that spot, that is to say, from Thunder Bay, v are able at once to ship our astonished traveller on to tl Kaministiquia, a river of some hundred miles long. Thcii< almost in a straight line, we launch him on to Lai Shebandowan, and Rainy Lake and River — a magnifies stream three hundred yards broad and a couple of hundn miles long, down whose tranquil bosom he floats to the Lai of the Woods, where he finds himself on a sheet of w:it which, though diminutive as compared with the inlai seas he has left behind him, will probably be foui sufficiently extensive to render him fearfully sea-sick durii his passage across it. " For the last eighty miles of his voyage, however^ : will be consoled by sailing through a succession of h\\ locked channels, the beauty of whose scenery, while resembles, certainly excels the far-famed Thousand Islaii of the St. Lawrence. " From this lacustrine paradise of sylvan beauty we a able at once to transfer our friend to the Winnipeg, river whose existence in the very heart and centre the continent is in itself one of Nature's most delightt Biirac its tl Volun Innsic the t( tinent llad s( tihe b 'f babl the gr take 1] ascend ilrean: hlindn Iftthin pfelim oft to up\var( many land, a he wa& ''A upon t North- of nav betwee ik (( J. our Ai eat it lee PHYSICAL FEATURE H OF C AX ABA. 41 ', and tliiv jniracles — so beautiful and varied are its rocky banks, its tufted islauds; so broad, so deep, so fervid is the rrence itse. "liolunie of its waters, the extent of their lake-like ex- ie, St. Clai: ^nsions, and the tremendous power of their rapids. ,er Bay— i '* At last let us suppose we have landed our traveller at /e? In tl llie town of AVinnipei^, the half-way house of the cou- rney, at tl ttnent, the capital of the Prairie Province. . . . Having ■ scarcely i liad so much of water, having now reached the home of i Dominiui, lliio buffalo, like the extenuated Falstaff he naturally der Bay, v 'f babbles of green fields'' and careers in imagination over ier on to tl tbe green grasses of the prairie. Not at all. . . . We no*. TheiK take hiin down to your quay and ask him which he will on to Lai ascend first — the Red River or the Assiniboine — two magnifico. llreams, the one five hundred miles long, the other four ; of hundi'i Iftindred and eighty, which so happily mingle their waters s to thf Lai Hithin your city limits. After having given him a leet of Wilt pleliminary canter up these respective rivers we take him the inlai fit to Lake Winnipeg, an inland sea 300 miles long and a be foul tl|)wards of GO broad, during the navigation of which, for -sick durii BBany a weary hour, he will find himself out of sight of laiid, and probably a good deal more indisposed than ever however, : h* ^^■as on the Lake of the Woods, or even the Atlantic, ion of hni '^A.t the north-west angle of Lake Winnipeg he hits ry, while U|>on the mouth of the Saskatchewan, the gateway to the isand Islaii llorth-West, and the starting point to another 1,500 miles cit navigable water flowing nearly due East and West )eauty we a between its alluvial banks. "Winnipeg, ^" " Having now reached the foot of the Rocky Mountains, id centre <^^ Ancient Mariner — for by this time he will be quite ost delightt eiititlcd to such an appellation— knowing that water cannot ROUND THE EMPIRE. kad Otiita of tin run up-hill, feels certain his aquatic experiences aiv g^nt concluded. *'He was never more mistaken. We immediately lauiic! him upon the Athabasca and Mackenzie Rivers, and star him on a longer trip than he has yet undertaken — th navi<^ation of the Mackenzie River alone exceeding jJ,5()i miles. If he survives this last experience we wind up lii« to soi peregrinations by a concluding voyage of 1,400 miles dowi j ;]. the Fraser River, or, if he prefers it, the Thompson River tjje R to Victoria, in Vancouver, whence, having previous! j j.^ provided him with a first-class return ticket for tlia the di purpose, he will probably prefer getting home via tli Qgean Canadian Pacific. .^ " Now, in this enumeration, those who are acquainto \y with the country are aware that, for the sake of brevity, tieatv have omitted thousands of miles of other lakes and riwi BiJitisl which water various regions of the North- West: — tl it is o Qu'Appelle River, the Belly River, Lake Manitoba, Laiimak Winnipegosis, Shoal Lake, and others, along whose inti than minable banks and shores I might have dragged, ;ii was o finally exterminated, our way-worn guest." ^ tl^lt t the Natural Divisions. Jiy^. The vast breadth of Canada, which is watered by ll the c remarkable system of lakes and rivers, may be rou«;liEi||rupt divided into four sections, each with a special character of |t he its own. } As 1. The great Woodland Region, extending over tin^Ital * A larger map than can bo given in this hook may he nsed \^^^ advantage in tracing out the course of Earl Duli'erin's imaginary joiirii4M|orei y:^ m "m PHYSICAL FEATURES OF CAXADA. 43 •iences an flputh and East, and stretching from the Atlantic to the h^ad of the great lakes at the western extremity of ,tely launeli Ontario. B, and start „ 2. The great Prairie Country, beginning with the taken — tin Province of Manitoba, and extending westward to the foot eding Ji,5tli of the Rocky Mountains, with a varying breadth from north wind up ln> ta south of some hundreds of miles, miles dowi j :5. The Mountain Region, which includes all between ipson River tlte Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. ; previous! -^ 4. The Arctic Slope of the continent, extending from et for tliii tllB divisions already mentioned northward to the Frozen )me V'id lli 0(|ean. iA The Climate of Canada. •e acquaintc When Louis the Fifteenth of France was signing the of brevity, tifaty by which he gave up Canada to be a part of the IS and rivt'i British Empire, he is said to have exclaimed, " After all, -West : — tl it^Js only a few acres of snow.'' No doubt he said this to mitoba, Lai make the loss of France and the gain of England seem less whose into than they were. But he also expressed an opinion which ragged, ai was once very common about Canada. It was believed t^t the cold was so severe and the snow lay so long upon tlj^ ground that the country was scarcely fit for men to live in. We now know that this was a mistake, and that itered by tl the climate of large i)arts of Canada is well suited for y be rou«j,li Europeans, and particularly adapted for making the peoi)le I character of tlic country healthy and hardy. I As Canada stretches from about the latitude of Naples ing over tin Italy to the ocean which surrounds the North Pole, and 1, o .1 w^^^^ ^^'"^^ l^f^y mountain ranges as well as level plains, the ay be usua ^ j. ^ » i ) vaginary jouind>ll<-'i'^'iioes ot climate are great. Speaking generally of 44 ROVXD THE EMPIRE. the provinces which have been settled, it may be said tlia: the winters are cold and the summers hot. All travelk*r- agree, however, that the exceeding" dryness of the atnn sphere makes both cold and heat less felt than in countrit where the air is moist. In the Eastern or Maritime Provinces the winti: climate is made less severe and the summer climate petii liarly deliylitful from the nearness of the sea. In Souther: Ontario, peaches, grapes, and like fruits ripen freely in tl open air, and are largely cultivated. On the far westti prairies, in the territories near the Rocky Mountains, calt! are found to be sleek and fat after <;razinn the hin'li banks of tlie Ottawa River. J AVe may now make a very brief study of each of %]\Q provinces into wliicli Canada is divided. The Maritime Provinces. Tender the rule of the French the jiresent provinces of ova Scotia and New Brunswick were known by the iiame of Acadia. Tocretlier with Prince Edward Island, hey are now usually spoken of as the Maritime Provinces 0f Canada, from their position on the seaboard of the pominion. The waters which surround thcni are the Oentre of the most important fisheries of Canada, which |urnish employment to a considerable part of the popu- Iption settled along the coasts. The harbours of the llavitime Provinces are of great importance to the Of)innierce of Canada, since they are the only ones open flirouo'hout the vear — those of the river St. Lawrence leing closed by ice during the winter. The Dominion has good winter ports at Halifax, St. [ohn, and St. Andrews. AVhile the three Maritime Provinces are alike in having freat fishing interests, their resources in other ways are fferent, and it will therefore be well to say something bout them separately. Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia and the neighbouring island of Cape Ireton, which forms part of the Province, have large posits of excellent coal, of which we shall have occasion 48 BOUXD THE EMPIRE. to speak more particularly in another chapter. Iron-ori rfvers is found in ^reat abundance and of excellent quality-, ffeuth and, as in England, the beds of iron-ore are near those ft'^vij of coal. Gold occurs over a considerable area of countiv, the S chiefly in veins of quartz, from which it is obtained hv tipat o crushing. 1'' Some districts of Nova Scotia are rocky and barren, the ])( but in others the soil is very fertile, suited for all tflftdc i kinds of agriculture, and peculiarly adapted for growing' hive 1 fruit. The orchards of Nova Scotia have long beti! pfe'«'> famous, and there is a large export of apples to tli> ^^^ i" markets of Britain and the United States. pri)spoi The mines, farms, forests, and fisheries of Nova Scotia ^v$''^^ give its inhabitants a great variety of profitable occu-^®i'^'^'"i pation. m»"y i The chief city, Halifax, has one of the finest harbour- tht<'uy] in the Empire. It is strongly fortified, and is the onl\3^o<^"^^ib place in Canada where regiments of the Imperial armvno6ftiis r are still regularly stationed. ' '^'Jin Halifax is also the summer station for our men-of-warKn«)wn of the North American squadron, and is the port to whiclfwi^i im Canadian mail-steamers come in the winter when the Sf- W'^v w Lawrence is closed with ice. ^t* l^il^^ Louisburg' in Cape Breton and Annapolis on the Baiiutibei^; of Fundy are noted as having been old French stroni^-s*'*]*'' f holds. )arts of New Brunswick. ^^'^ t New Brunswick was at one time the most dense! °^^'^"*^ wooded province of Canada, and it still has exti3nsiv'*''i^d j forests in the centre and north of the country. Nobi'^^l*'^^^< J THE nWVTNCES OF CANADA. 40 Iron-OTd livers flow eastward into the Ciulf of St Lawrence and it quality-, •^nthward into the Buy of Fundy, and in every pnrt tlie lear tliosc ftf^vinee is well watered. The scenery of the largest river, if countrv, t§e St. John, is often (•oni])ared in i)oint of beauty with btained hv tjat of the Hudson or the llliine. \ For many years in its earlier history the industry of nd barren, tli<' jx'ople of New Brunswick was lar^^-ely turned to the ed for all tifide in timber and to ship-l)uil(lini>'. As the vast forests )r oTOwin" N|v'e been cleai-ed away fertile farms have tjiken their lono* been rfl^''*'? '^"•^ '^''^v alono* the valleys of the i^Tcat rivers Dies to tilt ^^ i" many other sections the country is tilled with a prosperous atj^ricultural population. There are still lar^-e *^ova Scotia **l''^^ *'t' fertile forest-lands unoecu[)ied and awaiting- tablo occu-M^l^''ii*^i^^ cspeeially in the northern counties. The n||ny railways which have been ])uilt in every direction st harboui^t^*'^'^'^' ^^^^ province now make these lands easily tbe onlv*<5i^^=^i'*^^' to the settler, and also furnish him with a ready rial armv^wl''^^ of sending^ his produce to market. ;| Some of the rivers of New Brunswick are widely men-of-w.i!^5|>^^'" as salmon-fishing' streams, and sportsmen come I't to whicl^'Wi many distant parts of the world every year to r-pond len the St> %^^' ^veeks upon their banks. The coasts of the Gulf of 5ti| Lawrence and the Hay of Fundy attract in summer ■on tbe Ba^^^'jL'''^ '>t' visitors who seek in the cool sea-breezes an ich stroni!-'8«|i>e from the severe heat of the inland and southern )ari|s of America. ^iC)ii the sea-coast of New Brunswick the ]>eople often est denseh^'^i^^"*^ ^^'^ occupations of farmer and fisherman, in the s ext^nsiv^^^'fr^^ parts of farmer and lumlxuman. Of the latter j>fQ|jl(C«|pation we shall learn more fiu'ther on. IS ber )!' 50 ROUND THE KM Pill E. St. John, tlic lari^est city, lias a fine harbour, whidij is one of the winter }>orts of Canada. The eapital of tlit| province is Fredericton, beautifullv situated on the bankj; l-IC;. i;t. — I'RKDKHKTON ( ATHEDUAL. c Fred li;id 1 truth ill X( Xt'w been i lei hiol 'They [caused |iny' of I the N( Ian tie coast, mcculi hvhicli like a ht> 'onij)rc 'I)aee, «• th r eve I cdime liese t of the St. John River, here more than half a mile wii'M.f o-.-n. For weeks durino^the spring- and early summer the surfiiB,^,^,jj of this jjroad yiver is covered with timber floating fit for tillage, and much of it is exceedingly fertile The great wealth of the country is in its farms, which THi': rnoviNCEs of canava. 57 3vinee of tlS of till' iig-lit tlic I'dV sciuU e formi-T 11 rutaiiis . impreg- 1 aiu I llio t Britain, he season ves along 1(1 sailing hieh tluv iden with inojle year [5,(100,00(1 000 bead pies, and 'se figures liiive been fornied by gradually clearing away the forest. Wheat, cattle, cheese, butter, and fruit are exported in yicat quantities, ebiefly to tbe United Kingdom. Barley and some other forms of farm produce lind a large market ill the United States. Wide areas of unoccupied forest- land still exist, whicb I'mnish timber for tbe British markets and offer bonus to itliL' emigrant. North of Lake Superior there is a wide extenl ol' [((lUiilry so rough and rocky that little of it is adai>ted to laurirulture. But this district is wonderfullv rich in Iniinerals — especially silver, copper, iron, and nickel, the la^st a metal wbich is beconiing of great importance in the iirls, and is here found in greater abundance than in any ithcr part of tbe world. In the district bordering u])on [i.ikc Huron ricb petroleum wells and valuable salt springs lilt' found. Important manufacturing industries are rapidly growing up in many of the cities and towns. Bordered by tbe four great lakes, Ontario, Erie, Huron, iiid Superior, and with tbe St. Lawrence furnishing an Jut let to the sea, Ontario is admirably situated for irn ing on trade with Britain, tbe United States, and the filler provinces of Canada. The famous Falls of Niagara are upon a river (»r the )1' piinc name wbicb sei)arates Ontario from tbe State of II w^rw York and connects Lake Erie witb Lake Ontario. irovmce ui iiOO,0(lii be United lb re the waters of tbe Great Lakes pour in a mighty Lbe soil is ■"I'l'cnt over a precipice 158 feet bigb, presenting one of V fertilt' 111'' most magnificent siu'bts to be met witb in the whole Ills, wbich rui Id. 'O' y. t(»\Vll> 1: ;irn-e (portal) K'Hl"- inadj 111(1 (i U' l;ii rri )t' the [0 ()til( tlj rent In mini 111 man THE i'Rovi\rr:s of Canada. r>9 Toronto, tlic piiuci});!! city <>i" Ontario, situated upon liiikc Ontario, lias a population nunibrrin^' about :20(>,'jn(). Il is a university town, and an important rcntre of trade land inanul'aetui'e. Kingston also lias a lar^-c university, and a military cnlico'e. ISIanv of tlie vouny' men educated at this colleire lliavc heeome oifieers in the fh'itisli Army. London, ,1 Hamilton, Guelph, and Belleville are other eonsiderahle i towns. < y. fc. "Lumbering." The whole of Eastern Canada was orij4:inallv .1 vast ["rest. For more than a hundred vears the euttinii* of Jtimher, or "lumber/' as it is ealled in Canada, from these forests, for shipment to Britain and other jdaees, hi>s hci'U one of the principal oeeuj)ations of the people in ];irj^-e sections of the country, and it is still a very im- ]»nrtant industry, the export of wood in various forms hcing- i^reater than that of any other sini»'le product of aiKxla. Most of this timber is shijiped from ports on the River 111(1 (jrulf of St. Lawrence, and on the \hv of Fundv. The larj^er portion comes to Liveri:)ool, which is the centre lie Canadian timber trade in Enmland, but some is sent tlior British ports. ^A'ery summer hundreds of shi[n? Id O <1 th (1 lousands or sailors are em 1( 1 ployed m carrvm; tl lis limber from Canadian forests across the Atlantic. Li "ivat Britain it is used for house and ship buildin*^, n mines, for manuEacturing furniture and machinery, and 111 manv other wavs. 60 HOUND TIFR EMVIRE. The work ol' ^L'ttinj^" llit' tiin})er out ol' the forests is culled " Iiirnbei'ini4'/' and t'liniishes one ol' the most pic- turescjuc and eharaeteristic aspects of life in Eastern Canada. The climate of the country is curiously adapted to tlio necessities of this threat industry. At the end of November, or early in Deccndjcr, the severe frosts bej^in to be felt, These, which in some countries are looked upon as a rp n. hardship, here come as the jj^reatest blessing". ihe i^rouiii Ix'nins to freeze, and the rivers are covereil with ice. Tin wiiole surface of the soil, even in the swamps and boij;'^, becomes as llrm as a pavement. Soon the whole countiv is covered with snow — slij^htly at first, but f rou(i|;li- uive been a bund red ;i 1 the saw- ' to these loneliues comes fori months a seeno of strenuous activity. Ou all sides the ;i\t' (if the Chojijicr is lieard, as he cuts down tall trees, \Jiirl. fall with cchoino- crash, trun • nfl* the branches, and divides the trunks into ])ro))(r leno-ths. Thru the lar<^c ])ieces of timber are put on sleds and liault'd to the nearest stream, seldom more than two or tliive miles away, on the banks of which they are piled up ill what arc called " brows/' A brow often contains miiiiy thousand )»icces of tind)cr. JUit the tindjcr is still sometimes hundreds of miles from the mills where it is to be sawn or the ports from which it is to be shipped. How does it get there? Frost and snow i)repared the In'^hway over which it was drawn from its place in the forest to tlie river bank. Another chancre in the seasons prepares a more splendid li^hway to serve the lumberman's next purpose. Sprinjij Irnws near — the sun grows more powerful — the snows licit and fill every brook and river-bed to the brim with a iishing flood of water. The lumbermen cut away the t;iys and supports of the brows of logs, and the whole iiass tumbles into the stream and is swept down by the •nri-ent. Gangs of " stream-drivers,'^ as the workmen re now called, follow along the banks to push off the oii's which get caught in the rocks or entangled in tin? •ushes wdiich border the streams. Far down the river, ivlu-re the current has grown broad and deep, " booms " IV arranged to catch the floating timber. It is a common ig'lit to see on the great rivers booms containing many uiiulred thousands of logs, and covering many acres of he water. Here the logs are sorted, some distinguishing 62 noUXD THE EMPIRE m ark' havi'.i*^' ])oen put upon ejicli })y its owner before it left tlie forest. Tliey are now formed into lari^'e rait: Ca I iictivit and floated down to the ports or to the saw-mills^ where | So they iire cut into boards or '^ deals ^^ before shipment. | i,ften oree |K)\ver. FIG. 18. — HTUEAM-DUlVINii. tl le \\i Timber not thus sawn is rout^'hly hewn before it leaves the forest; and shipped as ^' square timber/' Cutting" up the Timber. Most of the loss's, however, are pre])arcd for export- a,tion in the saw-mills. All throug'h the summer mouths to air sei A forest! fuel i in pie b'Uct TJfE F1K)VINCES OF CAXAVA. m efore it ^e rafts , where ipmeiit. >#/<'i eaves the Y export- r moutlis ii Canadian fraw-niill presents a scene of wonderful activity. Sometimes tlie machinery is driven by steam. ^Forc (iftcn tlie mill is hnilt beside a water-fall, where the Idice of tlie running" stream furnishes llie necessary |)(i\ver. (}'.ie bv <»ne the huiie loii's fresh from the forest are drawn up in rapid succession from the water, and ]>ass into one end of the mill to reappear in a few minutes at the other end readv for the English market. First a carefully arranged set of saws cuts the log' into jdanks or boards of the required thickness ; each of these then goes into the hands of the trimmers, one set of whom with circular saws cuts off the rough edges, and })asses it on to others who measure it to proj)er lengths, cut off tlie ends, :uid mark upon each piece its dimensions, after which it is carried at once to the ^' lumber yard,'^ where it is ])laced in immense piles awaiting sliipment. The better portions of the refuse wood is cut into laths and palings — the re- mainder is used for fuid. Thus a few minutes is sulliciout to change a large, i-ough }>ine-tree into shapely plaidvs, ready for the tools of the carpenter. Lumbermen and backwoodsmen acijuire great skill in the use of the axe, and no accomi)lishment is more useful to anyone living in the newer parts of Eastern Canada. A settler who has this skill can not only clear up the forest, prepare timber for market, and sup))ly himself with fuel with his axe, but almost without th ludp of other implements he can build his log house and barns, ])ut up f cuces, construct a bridiie over a bro(dv, make a raft •e? or 64 nOVXD THE EMPTRE. boat to 'TOSS larg-er streams, and do many other equally useful and necessary things. Maple Sugar. Anotlier industry ])et'uliar to ]']astern Canada and it^ forests deserves mention. Most of Uie sugar which peojjK use in this country comes from tlie sugar-cane, whicli grows only in hot climates; or from the l)eet-root, which is much cultivated for this purpose in countries like France ami (iermany. Now in Canada much sugar is obtained from an entirely diiferent source. The maple is one of the most common of Canadian trees. Its foliage, after being touched by the first autumn frosts, assumes the most brilliant tints dt crimson, ytdlow, and ])urple, giving a wonderful richness oi colouring to (Canadian scenery. It is |)robably f f i t ; s reason that the maple leaf has been adopted as one oi v'.w national emblems of Canada, just as the rose, thistle, ami shamrock are taken as the emblems of England, Scotland. and Ireland respectively. But the maple is useful as w(dl as beautiful. In the spring, when the increasing heat of the sun begins to conquer the winter frosts, a sap with ;i sweet flavour commences to flow in the trunk of the ma|d(' tree. Then the farmer or backwoodsman makes a slight incision in the wood, and by inserting a small tube collects the flowing sap in pails or troughs. A single tree will yield from six to twelve quarts on a favourable day, a good flow of sap depending on a warm sunny day followini: upon a frosty night. The liquid is boiled in large kettles or pans till, by evaporation, it is reduced to the consistency of syrup. If the process is continued the syrup finally crystal both I Mild eo |iru(lue Til. tlie ]]]( maple ;i(),(MM) (»t* syri su^'ar ' lii greai llie ni; a suii' [anito THE PROVIXCES OF CAXADA. 65 and \t> \\ peo))lf eh «>'ro\vs is much met' ami i('(l from the most ' touched it tints of clmess of f i th's lie 01 the istk^, ami Scotland. il as well CT- heat of ip with :i ;he nia|)lo ; a sli<2,dit )e collect !s tree will i,y, a g-ood foUowin^r fi^-e kettles insistency up finally ervstallises, when it is moulded into cakes of siio-ar. Hitlli syrup and ui^ar have a pe;ir and nearly 1 ,()()(),()()() o-allons of syrup. To the settlers in early days, when imported siin'ar was diilieult to o'et, the products of the mai)le were a o-reat comfort, and they are still esteemed luxuries. The maple is so valuahle as fuel that there is dang'er lest the sug'ar industry should he gradually destroyed, unless attention he o'iveu to re-plantini;- the maple g-roves. A striking picture of hackwoods life in Canada is that which a "sugary'^ in the depths of the forest j)resents at night, with its rude log ''cauij)^' used as a dwelling, the great iiri's glowing under the steaming kettles of sap lighting i|) th(! whit(? show around, while over all rests that intense illness peculiar to forests in winter, only hroken, perhaps, ihy the shout of the solitary sugar-maker as he answers the vhoop of the e([ually solitary owl. 15ut the sugar-maker is lot always left ahjne, for a visit to a sugary is a common rin of Canadian winter picnic. Manitoba. i\s we })ass westward from the Province of Ontario, we leave the eastern woodland region, and come out upon the niirie country of Canada. The first portion of this is lanitoba, a new province formed in 1870 hy the F ee ROUND THE EMPIRE. Dominion Parliament out of the wide territories of tlip North-West. Manitoba has an area of over OO^OOO square mileSj and is tlierefore rather hu'g-er than Enj^land and Wales. Tlie soil of Manitoba, as of mueh of tlie prairie land (if Canada, is amoui^ the richest in the world ; so deep and rich, indeed, that it produces crop after crop for mai)\ years without the addition of manure. It is peeuliaily adapted for the growth of wheat, which is the most im- portant product of the province. The rapid advance of Manitoba in population and production is shown by tlie fact that wdiile in 1882 no wheat had been exported, in 18JiO, eight years later, it produced 15,000,000 bush more than was required within the province itself. Most of this is sent down the great lakes and across the Atlantir to England. Tiie soil has been found to be e([ually well suited for producing- other cereal crops and vegetables, :i> well as for dairy farming*. Manitoba is covered with a network of rivers and lak's, The largest sheet of water is Lake Winnipeg, 278 mik^ long, and in some ])]aces 57 miles broad. The largis- rivers are the Assiniboine and Red River, both navigaMi streams. The province is rai)idly becoming covered with a netwoin of railways as well, more than 1,200 miles having been con- structed within a few years. The chief town, Winuipci; which twt ty years ago had scarcely 200 inhabitants, Im- now about 20,000. This shows us how an important oitv may grow up rapidly because it is the centre of a rm farminu: district. THE PROVIXCES OF CAXADA. 67 r/.j,000 sq iiaru miles. 100,()()0 )> ») 111. 000 n )» 122.000 •> M The North-West Territories. The prairie country and wheat Ijt'lt of Canathi stretches !\V('st\vard from ^Manitoba towards the Rocky Mountains. Ill lliis vast reji'ion four larsx*' districts liave already been llaid off. Their names and area are as follows : — Assinibdia . Sa.skiitchewan Alljortii Athabasca . In these territories are many millions of acres of fertile lands awaitini^' cultivation. Great naviif-able rivers, such IS the Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, and Peace River^ flow tliroiit^h them, and lakes everywhere abound. This prairie country is believed to com])rise the largest unoccupied area )f wheat land in the world. Alberta is particularly suited for stock raisin^^', and lart'-e districts are leased from Government for <»Taziiitr mrposLS, or '^ ranchin1" wild buffalo. The latter have entirely disappeared with [he settlement of the country. Alberta has coal deposits which are known to cover [erne thousands of square miles^ and mines already opened apply the country east and west with fuel for railway Jiul domestic purposes. Athabasca forms a part of the o-reat jVIackenzie basin. Kuch of the country immediately north of the prairie belt as yet unsettled and little known, but recent explora- li'iis show that it includes lari^e territories of value for ^rieultural purposes, as well as for their timber, while f2 68 ROUXD THE EMVIliE. otlicr parts arc rldi in minerals of many kinds deposits ol' oreat extent liave also been i'ound. fXlent t'lat it Free Lands. ■ I loll an (lilTers ' Im'cii d( ir Kc I;noceu}tied land is so abniidant in Canada that tin* | (lovernnients oi' the diiVcrtnt provinces and that oi* tlii Dominion cithci' o-ivc to the eniiij'rants who come to settlt in the country enoug-h to make a farm or sell it to theiu \ at a very low })rice. Emio-rants who wish to settle on these unoccii])itMl lands can (dioose between two dilTcrent ways of ])e<;'inniiii; life as farmers in Canada. They may ^i) into the parts ut the country 'vhieh are covered with forest, which has to be cleared away before crops can l)e g-rown. Here there i> much severe labour in preparitig' the <4'round for cultivation but there is also the o-reat advantapi-e of having- abundance <>: fuel close at hand, timber for constructing houses, barns, and fences, and emjdoyment during the winter months when the tillage of the ground is stopped by frost. Or they may prefer 1o go upon the western ])rairies, where tlit lanted to the lar^'cst liiie-of- attleship and the frailest canoe, frini^es the entire sca- jhoard i)f the province, and coni'^Minicatcs at points, s(»nie- which lit'; bout thia J fillies more than a hundred miles from th e CO list, with ti multitude of vallevs strelchiim- eastward into the 70 RCniXD THE EMPIRE. interior, while, at the same time, it is furnislied with innumerable harbours on either hand, one is lost in admiration at the facilities for intercommunication which are tlius providecl for tlie inhabitants of this wonderful res^ion/' The Products of British Columbia. The coast waters which are thus described have im- portant and valuable fisheries. Equally remarkable an those of the rivers. The picture on the opposite pa«i"e will hclj) us to understand why so many of the cases of tinned salmon which we see in o-rocers' windows are marked ib comin<^ from British (.'oluiubia. The forest trees Q-row to an extrao.dinarv size. The Douglas fir, especially, is often found 300 feet in height, and with a diameter of eight or nine feet. Lar;Lic (juantities of timber are ship})ed to Australia, Asia, South America, and Africa, as well as to England. In the heart of the mountains and up the valleys of the great rivers minerals of many kinds are found, and there seems no doubt that British Columbia will prove an exceedingly rich mining province. Gold to the amount of about 110,000^000 was taken from the beds of the rivers in a few years, and in exploring the country new discoveries of the precious and useful metals are being constantly made. The coal mines of Vancouver Island and of the Rockv Mountains are most imjjortant, and will be spoken of in another chapter, when we speak of the coal supplies of tliu Em]>ire. Owing to warm currents from the Pacific Ocean, the cliniatG than tl })t'rati liijrlie -i 77//; riioviscEs of caxada. 71 h1 with lost in 1 which oiulerl'ul cliniate of the western parts of British Columbia is milder than that of other parts of Canada, and the average tem- lave im- ible nil' )ai>'e will if tinned iirked ib ; ze. Tlio 1 height, LarLi'i.' ia, South valleys of and, and prove an ; mount of \ ' rivers in \ iscoveries onstantly lie lloclsv I ken of in | ies of the FIG. 19.— UlUTItJH COLUMlil.VN SALMON UIVEK. I porainre of places on the coast of tin. Pacific is ten degrees )cean, the J higlier than in places with the same latitude on the 72 ROUXD THE EMPIRE. Atl;iiilic3 const. In ;i niounlalnous counlry the Viiriatioiis nf l«'injit'ralurL' are very ♦Ji'ivat, and it is in Hritisli ('olmn})iii II curious L'Xpcrit'Uct' to travel ])y railway in a sinyle day from the snow-covered summits of tlie Rocky ^Mountains to tlie sunny valleys of the coast, wliere the fields aiv iircen and the trees covered with the flowers and tender foliaf^e of spring. Victoria, the capital of the province, is a city beauti- fully situated on \ ancouver Island. The town of Vancouver, on the mainland, lias risen ra})idly into importance within the last few years. A\ v shall have more to say about it when we come to speak of our voya«»-c across the Pacific. Esquimalt, a fine harbom- three miles from A ictoria, has a larg-e g-ravini^-dock lor the repair of ships, and is the station for our war-ships in the North Pacilic. The Great Fur Land. If we look ao'ain at the maj) of Canada we see that parts of it stretch far up into the frozen regions of the North. Here the summers are too short and the climate too cold f N'oTl nfthl! W i';irt l]i;it liytlic J cltir, 1) furs in till' llrii thuir oil bciui ti- ls •s, risen ^^\ to s})t';ik luirljoiir lock i'(»r •ships in see that s of tilt.' climate eason Ijc .'S, great ion^ and can and Nature he finest r, and it )eautiful THE rnOVIXCES OF CANADA 73 fills eome wliiidi ladies wear, and which we see exposed lor sale in tlie shop-windows ot* our larye towns. Tlie niana«»'enient (d' this fur trade has lonn- heen eliiefiv in the hands of a company of En«»dish mercliants called the [| Hudson Bay Company. Ail over the country, from the jiudson Hav to the Arctic Ocean on the North and the l';iciiie on the West, this company has posts or forts where iiiivnts jire stationed to huv the furs from the white or Indian traj)pers by whom the animals are caui»'ht. A solitary and adventurous life the trapper leads, often >)!endin<;' months of tlie Ion*** winter al<»ne in the remotest |iarts of the forest. AVhen the trapi)iiii;' season is over he I hriiii^'s the furs he has obtained to the Conipany^s nearest I p'lst, to be exchanged for clothin<^, blanket.-., i^uns, jMiwder, and other necessaries of his simjde existence. In the summer, when the rivers and lakes are free from ice, the furs are })acked in bales and sent in canoes, managetl hy a (lass of hardy and skilful boatmen, called voiiaijcHrs^ \ many hundreds of miles to the ports from which they are \ slii])i)ed to Eng'land. In London they are sold by auction, iind soon they are made u[) into <;'armcnts of various kinds !<• make comfortable those who can afford to buy them. \()Ti;. — Xortlu'ru Canadu has bcoii calltxl "the l;tf;l j^ie;it I'lir icstive lit' the world." The imporlancc of lh(j fur Iraduinay lir judi;(d frdiii Uic lilt tliat ill IKS'; 1,200, 000 skins wcrt; offered for sale in Jifiidon, ehiedy liy llie iludsuii liay Coiiipaiiy. Aiiioiii^' tlunii \ver(.' included those (if the I'lti r, beaver, hear, grey and silver fox, the marten, mink, ermine, and ^■|llle, soim; of wliich are considered ainony the most ricli and valiiahle furs in the world. Xor are furs all wliich this cold Northern region ]»rt)(luces. The lakes and rivers teem with fish of many kinds, while till' ni'iii'hhouring soas contain whales, walruses, and seals, valuable for tlicir oil or skins. ^, IMAGE EVALUATION THST TARGET (MT-S) // /% J.^4.. // S'*^ I/. i^o 1.0 I.I 11.25 "... Ki ^ 1.4 "^ ^. 7 Hiotographic _,Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 873-4503 ? ,. rions disputes, which English and French statesmen are imu tryin<^ to put an end to. Newfoundland is larger than Ireland^ having an area cf more than 12,000 square miles. The j)(>pulation, including that of the neighbouring (lependeuey of Labrador, numbers about :iO(),0(IO, and is M'ttled chieHy in the south-eastern part of tlie island. Tlie inland parts are as yet without iidiabitants. The capital town, St. John, has about oO,000 inha))it- aiits. It depends for its prosperity almost entirely upon the lisheries. The Newfoundland Fisheries. For more than three centuries Newfoundland has been tamed for its cod-fisheries, which arc the most productive ill the world. The cod is found ah^ng the whole coast, but is caujjht in the ""reatest numbers on what are known as the " Banks, '^ a large area of the neighbouring ocean where the sea is unusually shallow, varying from 50 to ^350 feet in depth. To these banks in the summer hundreds of fishing vessels come from all parts, and immense numbers of lish an caught. When salted and dried, the cod are exported, r i(.'t' wliicli then ('over llie sea, and on wliieli (lie bcals rejir their youn^'. Here tliey are sometimes killed in MK'h numljeis that a sin«;le steam sailing' vessel has brou0,OI)0 worth oF hlubl)er and oil skins. At other times the eateh is small. The coast waters abound with otlie.r kinds of fish, t]i< most inijMtrtant (jf which ure herring and salmon. The lobster lishery alonij^ the Freiieh Shore is important enoui^h to form one of the chief points of dispute with Trance. The people of Newfoundland, then, rely chielly for their subsistence uj)on " the harvest of the sea/' The island has other resources. No «^reat ii tent ion h;is yet been jjaid to af»'riculture, but on the disputeil western shore is much (»-ood farmini;' land, now mostly covered with forests of line tind)er. Parts of the island are known tu be rich in minerals of difierent kinds, and there has lonu' been a considerable export of copper-ore. It is hoped that Newfounilland will one day become a province of the Dominion of Canada. Labrador. The eastern portion of Labratlor is [governed as a de- pendency of Newfoundland. Its wild uni*nltivated coast has a scattered j)opulation consisting' of a few thousands ol J']s(piimaux, Indians, and whites, who are occupied almost entirely in li>hino' and huntini;'. Bermuda. Wc now pass further south into a warmer climate. Out in the Atlantic, (lUO miles from the coast of North , 1 ( i I I I Aiiiei the Berm put (MCllj h.ive 1 e\tre visit eliin;i lU'.^' t'nrlil keep tiud 1 was I t.> w I'eet nf til 'J that Ironi fl-nst el-op; iiilia iia^H Stat \vlii( Hot lion r T liich (lif killed ill i broil I western •red with viiown 1(1 has loiiLi' beeonie a TIFE ATLAXTfC COAST. 77 Aineriea, and al)<»iit. lialf-way Ix'lween Kasteni Canada and tlir West Indies, lies tlie ^loun t>\' ishiiids known ;is Bermuda, <>r The Bermudas. Tliesc isl.mds liavf rornied a |i;irt (>r tlie l']ni|»ire since hi((!>, wlien tiiey were lirst urciipicd by some sliipwreeked l']n;4lisli swilors. Tliey hive now become <»f oreat value to us as a naval statit>p Diirinii;' the cold ol' the Canadian winter and the r\trenie heat ol" the West Jiidian summer our ships ol* war visit Bermuda lor the sake of the temperate and healthl'ul rlimate. A «;'rcat deal of money has b«'en spent in pioteet- III''' the channel which leads into the main harbour by iMitilications and batteries of heavy L;uns, and we usually ki'cp here aixait l,r)()(l soldiers. An enemy would now liiid it a very diilicult task to capture Hermuda. For the rej)air of lRri»'e ships an immense lloatinjj^ dock was const rueteil some years a^'o in this country an] i'ct deep — larn'e enough to hold one of the large ir<»nclads nl' the Koyal Navy. The climate of lU'rnnuhi is so mild and aor..(.al,l,. that the islands liavy Cliristophi'r ('ohimhns jihout lOO years a , the (j [ is not there that 1 jieinii- ^ l^eiier 1 peopl THE ATLAXTIC COAST. 79 ?o^otal)lt's ■e fit for I calh'd, 0(1 years 1 EiirojK' lia. Ilr were olT of til.- he Kin^' limed all IV. Hut ixioiis to ilth from were tlw picK were molasses, nods and and tilt' ire in tlic 'ly tlirec ession oi' [ retaken k a laroe went to of tlie smaller islands. Thus several in^")ortant colonies were farmed, which we hold hy riy-ht of settlement. liater, when Kn<»land at different times was al war in ilm(»|)e with Sj)ain, France, or Holland, she usually cMnijuered and took possession of islands in the West Indies hehdij^-in*;' to these Powers. Tlu' result has heenthat ;iiilioU|^h S|>ain, France, Holland, Sw<'den, and Henmark ;dl share with ns in the ])ossession of the West Indian island:., we hold by far the lav<:^er number of them. The una of the British islands, however, is surpassed by that uf the two great Spanish islands, Cu]>a and Forto Kieo. I Climate of the West Indies. When we lo(dv at a ma]) or itaiil> were enslaved by the Spaniards and sent to toil in tlic mines, where they perished from over-work and otlii r Inirdships. Others were destroyed in war, and l)ei"o;v many years had ])assed the native po[)idation of tin islands was almost exterminated. At 51 later period, when a <»;reat demand had arisen in Kuro})e for su<^ar, coiTee, eott(»n, and other troj)ieal \)Yn. duct ions, it became necessary to find a new supply of coloured people to work on the i)lantations. It was this which leiil across the Atlantic, sold in the slave-markets, and sent to work upon the plantations. Dreadful cruelties were often committed in procuring" these slaves in Africa, in carrying' them across the ocean, and in their treatment afterwards. It was a lonji' time, however, before the i)eo|)le (»t" i \ it in M ■ i i as'>!st } I iiiila\ :; uliic J five, ? 1. ■{ \ i W.st I (it si fnr t riU'ht S if tlu 1 maii> Li Tea t lint k iiiaiiN after J-CfllK caiTu |'niV{ If tl • lUi^ll they TBI': ATLANTIC COAST. di ! ninniiiil ' «*(>Iour<'(l 'iit. 'st Tiulit- ol' wllnlii cnduriiiLr ii]):i))itinit> oil in tilt and (tiller lul Ik'I'o;'! n of til' arisen in »j)i(*al J)!'"- I supply <'t I ■; was tlii>^ [ spread of ' se, Froncli 1 slaves. Lpj)ed,ea]i- a, brouii'lil id sent 1<» were often n carryinu' if ter wards. [)eople <'t |]iii,''lan(l Were aroused to understand all the sin and shame cniineeted with the slave-trade, liut «;reat and irood men -iirh as Wilberforee, Fowell lUixton, and others, denouneed it in Parliament, and societies were ever\ where formed to ;i>sist in puttino- it down. At last, in I'^O", the slave-trade was deelared to hci unlawful, and in 1 s.'J 1 a liill was jtasscd in Parliament hy wliicli all slaves in eountries under Jiritisli rule wi-re set livt'. while tiiO, 01)0,000 was o-iven out of the j)ul>lie funds \<> rejiay the slave-owners for what the law had hefore Kcci^Miised as their property. Wi} see, then, that the j>osses>ion of colonies in the West Indies first led British jjcoplc into the {.•real wronff nf slave-holding, and afterwards rendered it necessary Imi them to make o-ivat saeriliees to set this wronj^' rii^-lit. Slavery was alxdished, hut work still had to be done if the islands were to be prosperous. It is easy to understand that the ney-roes who for so many years had been degraded by slavery, and often with ureat cruelty compelled by their masters to work, did lint know how to make the best use of their new lihertv; many were so idle and imj>rovident that for a lono; time alltT the abolition of slavery and its cheaj) forced labour it Mt'iiied as if the old industries could not be successfully lanicd on. In some islands there has now been j^reat im- l>nivement, and the negroes have become more industrious. If this has not always been the case, still Kn<»lish people • iiii^ht to be very patient with the failimcs of a ract' which they deji^raded by slavery for so lon<»' a time, a 82 liouxn THE iJMriiih:. Coolie Labour. Tn soino of llirWcsl Iii. IJerori' lcavin«4' India tlicy make an ai»'rccincnt to work i't>\- Ji certain number ol' years in the colony to which they ijn and after the expiration ol" this le>;ni they have a rii»ht tn ho sent ])ack to their own country, (ireat numhers, how- ever, prefer to remain, so that in some parts of the West Indies there is a laroe and increasino- population of j)eopli' of Kast Indian hirth. We shall lind that the same thinu is true of some other liritish colonies. (ireat precautions are taken that the evils (»f slavery may not be remjwed in connection with coolie labour, lii India, the country from which they are broui»'ht, tln' (jovernment is careful to see that the coolies emij^ratc only at tlieir own desire, that they understand clearly the nature of the barjiain thev make and the service they have to ])erform, and that they arc well cared for on their loui!; ocean vovacje. The Government of the colony to which they conic takes charge of them on their arrival, distributes tluin anionic the employers who rcijuire their services*, and sees that provision is made on every estate for the sick, that the bari»ain is fairly carried out (»n both sides, and that wdien his ])eriod of service is expired the coolie is sent back to his native land, if he so desire. All these precautions are necessary, for long* experience has r 1 not lit' })C'('n i Hi- nd *() 111' i\v \v a <;•('>, work fur 1 ilu'V li", ti riji-Jit to m'fi, how- the Wot of j)eoj)lc line tlnn'j, )f slavery hour. In Lio-ht, 111.' eniij^rati' learlv the they liavt' their lonii hev (•(»nif ites thcin nees, ami the siek, sides, and ,' coolie i;* sire. All ['ience ha? THE ATI. ANTIC COAST. sn >li('\vn that white mm are t(H> often willinjjj to ch-al unjustly with the weaker eohmred ra( i s. We ably do not number more than a tenth of the whole. The luoportion of white people to black has been deereasin*^' diirino- the last few vears. From what has now been said we can understand how vciv different thiuirs are in troijieal (olonies like the ^^ est Indies from what thev are in Canada, Australia, or other parts of the Empire where the peo])]e are ehielly of British "f European descent. The Groups of Islands. The British West Indian Islands are divided for purposes of j^'overnment into six eohniies or sets of colonies, lese are — 1 . The Bahamas. t. Jamaica, with its little dependencies of the Turk's and Caicos Islands and the Caymans. Tl g2 84 KOUND rilK FMVIHE. .*i. The Leeward Islands. I. Barbadoes. i). Thu Windward Islands. II. Trinidad and Tobago. Tilt' lunp shows that those (•oloiiies are not i^rouped to;^'ethei* in any one part of the West Indian archi- \\V,. I'd.- TIIK \Vi:sT INDUS, )I((NI)t KAs. AM* HIUTI-II MIANA. pela^o, hut are seattered along tlie whole ranj^e of islantls from Florida to tlie inoutli of tlie Orinoco and in the Caribbean Sea. Some of tiie islands have heen huilt up from the bed of the ocean by the slow labour of the coral insect; others luive been thrown up by volcan«»es, and, a^ thev are usually covered bv luxuriant vcLretati(»n, thev i)re- sent ;i ('•reat vaiiety cd* beautiful scenery. As a rule, the soil is very fertile. The hilly districts are healthy ; where the lands are low and wet, as is often the case along the TlfK A 'I LA STIC COAST. 85 grouped 1 arclii- I'<"MU SLIHOS IP 4INIOA3 lANA. )f islaiul> I il in tlic l)uilt uj) I he corn I • ;, and, i\> thev })iv- rulo, tilt' r ; wliero ilonu^ tlu (OiistH, yellow i'evcr prevails, ajul is very dan^'crous for Kiiiopt'ans. Like most tropical islands, tlic M'cst Indies >iilTt'r sovJMvlv at times from hurricanes. \\'(! who live in a icinperate elimate like that of the British Islands can form little idea of the terrible force of the wind in a West Indian hurricane, wIhmi it not only destroys the ('n»ps, hut sweeps ;i\\ay houses, and uproots or breaks down whole forests, Iravint;' behind it a scene of utter ruin. Fortunately some islands are fairly free from liurricanes, a!ul in others they only occur at intervals of several years. Once j)ast, tin? j»t'oj)le set themselves to work to repair the harm that has lieen done. What we get from the Wesb Indies. The produetious ')f the islands mv so numerous that it would be dinieult to mentioii them all. Amoninally settled l)y the Spaniards, under whose rule the larjjio Carib ])opulation was almost entirely (lestroy. It is about the size of the Isle of Wi^^ht, and on this small area has ISO, 000 people, so that it is one of the most densely inluibited districts in the world. The island is chietly given up to tlie growth of the sugar-cane, and almo>t every acre is carefully cultivated. It has suffered much at times from hurricanes, but the healthy and etpiablc climate has been favourable to European settlement, au'l it has always had a larger jiroportion of white inhal)itants than the other islands. Bridgetown, the capital, has ;i large trade. The Windward Islands.* The Windward Islands include St. Lucia, St. Vincent. Grenada, and the Grenadines. St. Lucia has been selected as the second British coaling station for the West Indies ; a large sum of money has been * The terms "WindwaiJ" and "Leeward" have Iteen variously applied in the West Indies at different times. Oriijfinally they \veiv meant to distinguish between the islands (windward) more expo.sed to tli" prevailing- north-cast traile winds, and those (Irewaid) less exposed to tliciii The division used in this l»>itk is more limited, and is that now ofl[i(iall\ employed to designati' islands grouped together for purposes of governmeul lKl> ^ THE ATLANTIC COA.ST. 89 ire moun- r spent upon tho wharves and otlier works required to make its i^est town : clii.'l' harbour, Port Castries, suitable f(tr this jmrpose, and t'ditiiieations are also beins>' eonstrueted lor tlie defenee 111 tht» ])ort. ]n Grenada niueh attention is ]>aid to tlie (iihivation of cocoa and spices. Several of tin' islands art» (.1 v'in, and St. Vincent contains an aetive volcano. tiji^ua. le cultiva est in tlh >h colony the most 1 Island>. this small st denselv is ehielly id almo>t red much 1 equable iient, au'l habitant < al, lias ;i , Vincent. h coaliiiu has been I vai-ioiisly thoy well' >OSf'tl t(» til'' scd In tliciii, w ortici.'illy ovcrnnifiit. Trinidad. Trinidad, situated near tho coast of South America, is st'cuiid only to Jamaica amon<^- the British West Indian Inlands in size and importance. It is about 4S miles lon<;' ami 3.") broad, its area is 1,75 !• s([uare miles, and its popu- lation about 1*.U),00(>. Settled by the Spaniards, it was ( iiKjUered in 17U7 by Sir Ralph A1)ercrombie, and has ever since remained under British rule. Since the abolition of -lavery laro-e numbers of Indian coolies have been brouoht into the country, and they now form a considerable i)art of the j)opulation. Besides producino- suo-.u-, cocoa, coffee, anil the fruits of ihe Tro})ics in laroe (piantities, the island lias resources in timber and minerals. One of its most remarkable features is a large lake of asphalt or bitumen. More than .50,000 tons of this as}»halt are sometimes ex- jiorted in a sin<»'le year toKurope and America, where it is used t"i' making sidewalks to the streets and for other purposes. Tobago, a neighbouring island, with very similar produc- tions, and with a population numbering about 20,000, is for jiurposesof governmentconnected with thecolonyof Trinidad. Confederation of the West India Islands. In speaking of Canada, it was pointed out that niore than twenty years ago all the provinces, formerly 90 BOUND Tin: KMPIIIN. separate colonies, united tliemsdves into one Dominion, wii' a sini^Ie Parliament to man;iL»"<' their more inijiortant afi'iiii- Many believe that :i similar union would l)e of ori;i' advantage to the West Indian Islands. In earlier tiniis, when eommunieation between them was slow and difruMili, a eommon i»'overnment would have been impossihir, N:)W, however, all the principal islands are eonneeted In the teleo'raph, as well as by lines of steamships, and tli. similarity of their productions '••ives them many ('omnmi commercial interests which it is thouL»'ht could be In-- managed by a central Government acting' for all llh colonies. British Honduras. Besides our island possessions in the West Indies, \\v have two im])ortant colonies on the neif^hbonrin<»' mainlaii!, British Honduras is westward of Jamaica, on the comn of Central America. It has an area of 7,502 scpiare mil«v and a poi)ulation numberinu,* about 31, LOO. For more than :2()0 vears this C(»ast has been famous for its mahogany and logwood, the one so nuich used in makiiii: furniture, the other as a dye, and it was for the sake p: the trade in these and other woods that we occupied aiii have retained Honduras. For many years the early settlers carried on a stubbi^i. contest with the Spaniards f(U' the ])ossession of the count n and the riuht of cuttin<»' timber in the forests. In 170"^ ; stroui;- Si)anish force was sent to drive the En<»'lish out ' ; the country, but this force was defeated, and since tli;i: time it has remained Ji British colony, and its limits haw been "laduallv extended. THE ATLANTIC. COAST. 91 union, witi tant nfl'air* )(' f)f fj;vv\[\\ irlior tinicv, i«l (liniciilt inipossililf. nnuctcd Ivi [)«!, and tli,| ly ci^niniii lid \)c lit'sil or all tluJ Indies, wt »' niainlaii'i.l u the ('(•;!- [uaiv mile- fa mens fm [ in makiiii: the sake <: eupied ;iim a stubbi i! the eoiiMt r\ In 171)^; 4'lish out ' : sinee lli;i' limits h;iV' The fact that in lss7 more tlian 2(l,(l(MI tons of lot,'-- KvikmI and l,0(H).t)0O cuhic feet (»!' mahogany were cxjortcd, chicllv to the Inited Kinndoiii, shows how valuable the Itnidt' in wood still is. AVhih* niahoi»'any and l(ii»-wood are llikcly to continue to be the staple ])rodnctions of Honduras, [tlio soil is said to be one of the most fertile in the world, jand litted to produce in perfection all the fruits of the |Tro]ii('s. There is already a small export of sugar, coffee, bananas, and cocoanuts, but the a^-ricultural development |uf the country has only lately be<*'un. British Guiana. Forminp^ a part of our West Indian system of colonics, jbnt situated upon the mainland of South America, and :•](><(' to the Kcpiator, is British Guiana, for the ])ossession '(if which Britain had many contests with France and Holland. These countries still possess larf»'e adjoinins;' districts, known as Dutch and French Guiana. The ijii'ition under liritish rule is nearly as laro-c ns the United 'Kiiiii'dom, and was tinallv secured to us bv the Treaty of Talis in Jsl |.. (iuiana is the only territory which we possess on the S luth American continent. It is a rich colony, and its Avciilth has come almost entirely from one jr-reat industry, lli(' jiroduction of sugar, (ireat suo-ar estates stretch for iiiiK's aloni»* the sea-coast and th<» banks of the y-reat 'rivers. These estates are chiclly owned ])y people in London, H\u' w.(M'k upon them is done by Indian coolies and other '< "loured Ld)ourers, and few landowners are settled in the ^'iiintry. This is probably due to the climate, whichj on 92 BOUND Tin: E\lI*ITiP] the eoust, is more trying" to Europeans tlian that of tl.J islands, where the heat is tempered hy the sea-breezes Initi; all sides. A recent writer says of Guiana : — "The flat alluvial eou'itrv alonq; the coast is so wd adapted to th(» o-rowth of the suc^ar-cani* that sui>ar li;i. become the one absorbing' industry of the colony. .M ir^l eaj)ital and 'rowin■ connected i ir, one of a id rift bv li e found li that he Im ^li(>eii taken by Indians to a great inland lake with golden 5^aIl(l>, on which stood a vast city roofed with gold. JAciti'd by the discoveries of gold which they had actually liiuidi' in Peru, many of the Spaniai'ds were ready to believe this fable, and eager adventurers kept exploring South Aiutrieu all through the sixteenth century in search of tlu' City of Gold. It is needless to sav that thev never Ifniuul what they sought. 15ut we read in history how (Vt'ii a great Englishman, Sir Walter Raleigh, who had Idoiif much in founding colonies for Britain, had his imaj^-ination so filled with these stories of undiscovered Jwcaltli that he himself conducted two expeditions, and fsMit out others, to explore the rivers and coast of Guiana for the gold-mines supposed to be there. The Falkland Islands. Sailinjr far away to the south we come to the Falkland Islands, which lie about ISO miles north-west (if Cape Horn, and are the most southern inhabited British jdei)oiKlency. The total area of the islands is about 0,500 'square miles, and the population numbers about 1,890. It was finally established as a British colony about fifty or -ixty years ago, after several unsuccessful attempts by the I leiich and Spaniards to form settlements. The station is 'wtdid at times to ships trading around Cape Horn, or • iiLiaged in the whale fisheries, and in time of war its p'lssession might become of considerable importance from a naval point of view. At present the chief employment of the people is sheep laising, and the exports consist almost entirely of wool, ot ROUND THE EMl'IliE. live sheep, frozen mutton, hides, and tallow. The ]•;!>. tuni«i^(3 is cxeellcnt, hut the <.'k)iuly skies and rrequcnt rain^ make it iinpossiljle for t»'rain to ripen. South Georgia^ ahout SOO miles to the south-east of lli.. Faiklands, was taken ]iossession of ]»y Captain (\)ok ii.l 1 775. It was onee the resort of sealinjj: vessels, hut is n(i\v uuinhahited. This t^-rou]) of islands is supposed to have ;iii area of 1,000 s([uarc miles, and though it is sometini(>| spoken of as a dependency of the Faiklands, it cannot \k\ eonsidered as haviny any value to the Empire. ♦♦♦ CHAP T E R V 1. THE I'AClliC COAST. Wk have now e()mj)leted our short survey of those pai'.> of the Empire whieh are on or near the American continent, and we return to the Pacific coast of Canada to resume our ■journey 'around the world. Our point of departure i^ Vancouver in British Columhia. Vancouver. We must say something more about this town ni Vancouver, for two re.isons : first, l)ecause we are makiiiL: it a fresh startino-place in our tour around the Empire, juil second, l^ecause its historv makes us understand what "-rcat chaufres are rapidly takiuij^ place in the newer and moiv distant ])arts of the Empire. In 188G the j^-round where Vancouver now stands was covered with a dense forest, composed chietly of trees of nil: pAciFrr coast. 95 1 xtr.'Kirdinnrv si/.<'. A siiiLrle Inuisc was flic (tiilv sii'ii (•!' huiiiim liji]»itati(>n. Now, in iihout five yrnrs, it lias a |M|iiilatioti of ni(»r»' than tid.COU jM'oplc, and wluiv llu* Idlest stood aiv to he swn inaiiv niiirs ol" fine siiM'ts, with rliiiri-ht's, liotcls, sliojis, and conirortahK' li(»in(s. Stcaiii- ships are unloading their cariboos at tin- wharves, and tniiiis art' arrivino" at tlic Imsy railway siation or Icavini^' il with passengers and nierehandise. The Canadian Pacific Railway. ^^ hat has eaused this snddeii and woiiderl'iil ehanm' ? Till' reason is tluit on aceount (»[' tlie excellent harhoiir cluse at hand A'aneouver was selc.'ted as the terminus of llie i»reat railway which cro.^ses Canada, and also as the >t;ii1in«4'-[)lace for the steamshij) lines which carry on trade Mtross the Pacific. People soon saw that it was to l)e an important centre of commerce^ and so tliey Hocked thither K in if-reat numbers. Ijet US i^o down beside the har))onr in Vancouver and watch the larp^e steamshij) which is discliar<:;'in<»' its caii^o into a train of cars waitini*' upon the wharf. AVe lin«l that the vessel has just arrived from Yokohama in Japan, and that she is( jiiellv laden with tea. The tea will be at once sent jicross tilt' continent to J*]astern Canada or to the I'nited States. \\ hen the steamship has been unloaded she will ]u-ej'aie ti'T her return voyai»'e to Japan and China. X(»tice tiiat U'siiles freight and j>assengers she will carry the mails which have just arrived from Ijiu'land. These mails will ituch Japan more speedily than they could by any other wav. 96 norm) tuk EMrrnE. The Shortest Route to the Far East. AVe luive seen iK'l'ort' that the slioitest route across th. Atliuitif is that from Great Britain to Halifax or Quebec; that tlie shortest railway line across the continent of America is that from Quebec to Vancouver; and now w. can a(Ul that the shortest steamship route across tin Pa(,'ilic is that from Vancouver to Yokohama. From London to Yokohama the distance, Ijy cr(jssiny Canadii, is ahont lO,(Miil miles, or nearly 1,000 miles less than by way of New York and San Francisco, and it is tar shorter than over the eastern route l)y way of the Suiz Canal and Singapore. So Eni^'land's new way across Canada to the I'^ast is the shortest that they belon*^ to the Royal Naval Reserve, and may in time of war be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy, tor the duties of which they have been trained and examined. THE r.M'IFlC CiKlsr. 97 iieross tile r Quebec; itiiiont of d now \V( leross \\\v I. Fl'niu ;• Caiiathi, less tliaii it isi far the Sik'Z )i?s Canada it now is it nii«;lit Canal Ix' steam si lip le belongs ; a special carry the il vovaiic lie rate nf lys. le oflicer.s lis means id may in Navy, tor :amined. An'aiii, the ship has het'ii so Imilt thai in a very shnii tiiiit' she can have lcuiis placed in ])osition iijxtn her. and sii he chann'cd into an annecl cruiser or ship ot* war. (nins fur this purpose are kt'pt in store at \ ancouver, ami also FIG. -Jl. — OIN I'UACTIli: ll'O.N A MKIK ANTII.K I Ul ISK.U. at Houi^ Koni»', the Knf^Hsh ])ort 'e from ('anada to Australasia is a lojiu: one, mor«; than <),500 miles, I'or we have to cross the Pacilie, tlie larj^-est of the oceans. On a jr-ood steamship, however, the voyat^e can be made in less than tliree weeks. In these three weeks we find that we liave passed from one season of the year to another. All places in the Northern Hemisphere — that is, the half of the world between tiir North Pole and the ]*]quator — liave seasons opposite to those of corresponding places in the Southern Hemispher.'. When there is winter north of the Equator there is summer to the south of it, and when the northern summer bej^'ins then winter sets in at the south. So, ag-ain, if you leave Canada in the early s))rinf:[', Vdii fin' of the southern autunii!. In British Columbia the leaves are be'iinninj*' to bur-t forth ; in New Zealand the fruits of autumn are bein^: *»athered. One result of this chanj^'c of season we oui;'lit to note. As we visit various colonies we find that in their different climates almost every variety of food is produced. But this is not all. The difference of season in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres brinj^-s it about that grains and fruits are coming" to perfection in dififercnl THI-: I'AcrFlC COAST. \)9 parts of lilt' I'ljupirt.' in dittVront moiillis <»f llic yeiir. Tliis i- aiiotluT kiiif dii'p|iiii«r ji (lay from tlic calciular, (Hie is added to it. 3Ir. Froudf, in '•••(■(■ana," says : — "Time and its tenses are strange things, and at their ^triinnest wdien one is travelling round the glohe. The question is not only what season is it, Ijut what day is it, and what o'clock is it r 'J'hc ('iptiiin makes it twelve o'clock when he tells ns that it is noon; and it sr.iiied as if a sujjply of time was among the ship's stores, for when we reached ISO*^ East longitude, lie presented us with an extra day, and we had two Thursdays — two eighths of April — in one week. As our course was c;i>t\vard, wo met the sun each morning before it would rise at the point wh( re we had hoen on the morning hefore; and the day was, therefore, shorter than the complete period of the glo]ie"s revolution. Kach degree 'jf longitude represented a loss of four minutes, and the total loss in a "oMiplcte circuit woidd be an entire day of twenty-four hours. We had giiue through half of it, and the captain owed ns twelve hours. He paid us these, and advanced us twelve more. wlm*h "^i^'shoUld have spent oi paid back to him by the time that Nve ieavheil tjive*jpool.''i H 2 . '■■' ' 'T'l. .N 1 n ^r," •»-.^A^' >r^ 100 ROUND THE EMPIUE. Perhaps this will seem clearer if put in another way. An Empire upon which the Sun never sets. AVe sometimes hear it said that the sun never sets upon our Bdtish Em])ire. Here is a diufj^ram which Ounedin PcnhW,Auttrat!« Fin. 22. — THE TIME OF DA'^ THUOlTiHOlT THE EMPIHE. enables us to understand this better by pointino* out the hour of the day in various parts of the colonies when it is noon at Greenwich near London. A Pacific Cable. Fanning Island is the first British possession which we come to in crossing the Pacific. It is one of several groups THE I'ACIFIC COAST. 101 another 3ts. ever sets 11 wliicli nb.v out till' hen it is /hicli we 1 gioupts of small islands, lying in the Paeilie, on the route lj«.'t\veen (';inacla and Austrahisia, which have heeii annexed to the Km pile during the last few years. The object ot" this was t(t secure thein for use as telegraph stations. Surveys are luMUg made to test the depth of the water and the suit- ahility of the sea bottom for laying a cable across tiie Pacific, and it is probable that Canada and Australia will sreatlv increased since their annexation to the Km pi re. The capital of the islands is Suva, in the island of Viti Levu. ri(i. Jl.— A II.IIAN. 104 ROUND THE EMPIIiE. The Odds and Ends of the Empire. A few small and isolated possessions of the Empire in the Pacilic still remain to be mentioned. Pitcairn Island, about two miles lon^ and three- quarters of a mile wide, lies in the racitic about midway between Australia and Ameriea. Its inhabitants are the descendants of mutineers from the English man-of-war Bouufi/, who settled here more than a hundred years ago, and married native wives from other islands. The little patch of g-round on which they liv^ed was found insufficient for the g'rowing- population, and a few years ago the g'reater number of the people were transferred to Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island was once used as a convict station to which the worst criminals were sent from New South AVales. When the penal settlement was broken up, in 1858, the Pitcairn Islanders were allowed to settle there, and they have maintained the simple and primitive life to which they were accustomed. A missionary school is also supported in the island, to which native children from the Melancsian islands are brought for instruction bv English clergymen. The area of the whole group of islands, of which Norfolk Island is the chief, is only twelve square miles. The Cook Islands were taken under British protection in 18SS, at the request of the people themselves. A considerable trade is carried on with New Zealand, to which the islands send cotton, coffee, copra, and tobacco. The largest island, Raro-tonga, is an inij)ortant mission centre of the AVesleyan Church, which here maintains an institution for the education of native missionaries. S '.VdUll sui'lil will c'linia Euro ]iai'ti( thig iiiirtli them do no hunu'; As w( passir niiee Tempi L:'ll)e which is south of the E(|uator than in the half whioli is north of it. The continents becduic iitirrower and the oceans wider as they extend southward. Notice also that of the lands which are in the South Temperntc Zone, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Africa ait' either entirely or chiefly under the British flag. AVi' may therefore say that, with the exception of South 106 HOUND THE EMPTRE. America, all the best re^rjons of the South Temperatt Zone are possessed and inhabited mainly by British people, New Zealand. New Zealand, the first threat colony to which we comr is ol'ten called ''The Britain of the South/' It li;i^ many points of re- semblance to our (tWl: islands which make it deserve this name. First anion<^ thest is its maritime posi- tion. It stands ou; in the sea at somi distance from tlii neighbouring- conti- nent, and has a coast indented with mam good harbours. Like this country,! ag-ain, it consists! mainlv of two lamv islands, and thest islands are only about one-sixth ]e>j in size than thosol which make up the li^nited Kingdom. Northern New Zealand is warmer than any ])art ofl this countrv, but on the whole the climate is more like uiir «. I own than is that of any other large colony in which Britislij ])eople have settled. 'Diiiiprtin rgjll /aSTEWART .V./rCl/^ISLANO!,.., MAP (IF NEW ZEALAND^ i:ii-ii-,ii Mii,-s. o 41J Ho 120 160 200 T;i)i'.Et:-hi,ir, Cn Sc ri(i M W ZEALAND. NEW ZEALAND. 107 Tlie chief jirodnctidns of ])otli oouiitrics are very similar. Oil aeeount of tlie temperate climate and the moist atiii(»s})here g-iveii hy the surroundinjj;' sea, most of the |il;mts and animals of the British Islands flourish when carried over to New Zealand. Jt is a sin<>ular tact that when the country was discovered it contained no animal, wild or tame, which iiiii»ht serve as human food. Pii^s were introduced by Cajttain Cook, and soon hecame scattered in large numbers over the country in a wild state, (ircat care has been taken by the colonists to intrnduce not merelv such do- iiit'stic animals as the horse, cow, and sheep, but also many which serve as oame, such as the deer, hare, and rabbit, tuLicther with many European birds and lishcs. British ]»laiits, fruits, and llowers have in the same way been lir(»ui''ht over. The result is that now the Enu'lish traveller or cniiiiTant sees around him most of the common objects to which he is accustomed at home. A Second England. Even in the scenery, with many differences, there are also strikint^ resemblances. About this a well-known writer has said : — " in New Zealand evervthino; is Eno-Hsh. The scenerv, the colour and general a]»pcarance of the water, and the sliaite of the hills are verv nuicli like that with wliich we arc I'iimiliar in the ^^'cst of livland and the Ilighlands of Scotland. The mountains are l)rown and sharj) and serrated, the rivers are bright and rapid, ami the lakes are deep and blue and bosomed among the mountains. If a 108 HOUND THE EMrinE. lon^-slcepin<^ Briton could be set ainon<^ tlie Otn<^o lulls and told on \vakin<^ that he was travellin*;' in (ialway admixture ol' foreig-u races than is the case in any otlki of the i»"reat c()l()nies. AVe can now understand why New Zealand is sonic- times sj)oken of as "The Britain of the South/' Tluiv is no part ot" the world to which an Englishman could i^n where thinjjs around would so often remind him dt home. The History of New Zealand. We may now speak very brietly of the history of New- Zealand. It was discovered in 1(512 by the Dutch, wliu gave it the name it now bears, but made no settlement. After this nothing- more is heard of it for more than a century, but l)etween 17(10 and 177S it was visited by tlio famous English navigator Captain Cook, who explored tlio coasts and described the countrv very accurately, as well as the native inhabitants, who were a fierce race of can- nil)als. Whalers, traders, and others after this visited tlic islands from time to time, but tlie iirst actual settlement was made by I'jiglish missionaries in the North Island in 1814. Twenty-five years later, in 1S31), colonisation began in good earnest, and under the direction of different companies large numbers of emigrants were sent out. In NEW ZEALAXD. 109 l^lil New Zealand was made a se])arate eolony, and in the >anH' year a treaty was made with tlic native rliicrs l)v wliifli the soverei«»'nty of the Nortli Ishmd was ceded to the Queen, but tlie rii»lit oFsellin<;' tlieir lands was res(»rye(l {() tlie natiyes. A few years later war hroke out with the Maories, as the natives wer«' called, and this contest was not concluded till 1S(I() since which time the colony has ciiiovcd lu'ace. In a little more than fifty years u country which was inhabited only by sayag-e tribes whose j^-reatest (lelin'ht was in warfare, and whose constant practice was to eat those whom they had killed or ca])tured in battle, has become the home of more than 00(1,0(10 British |)eoj)le, enjoying' the comforts and advantages of civilised life just as jieople do in England. The Maories.' There are still more than 40,000 Maories in New Zealand. They are now a peaceable people, who have g-iven up many of their savage customs, and who either cultivate their own lands or work as farmers, shejdierds, or sailors for lOng'lish employers. Some of the tribes have a large income from the lands they sell or lease to English settlers. (Jreat numbers have been conyerted to Christianity, and they have schools, churches, and clergymen of their own. They also elect men of their own race to be members of the Legislature of the colony and so assist in making the laws. Facts about New Zealand. Of the two large islands which make up the greater part of New Zealand one is called the North Island and 110 JiOf'Xn THE KMriUE. tlu* other the Middle Island. Stewart Islaiul is soiiietinn'v called tlie Soiilh islaiul, hut it is small ami e()iii|)arati\( Iv iiniinjiortant . The strait which sepai'ates the two lai'uir islands is only ii lew miles wide at its narrowt'st part. From north to south New Zealand e\ten'es in the North Island are from 1,500 to 4,000 feet hi<^h, with a few volcanic jieaks of still oreatci heig-ht. Alono" the whole of the West Coast of the Middle Island runs a range called the Southern Alps, the higlui NEW ZEALAXD. Ill summits of whicli are covti-pJ with jicrpctuMl snow. Tlit' hcinht of Mount Cook, tlie loftiest peak, is H.ols ffct. rpon Mount Cook, as well as at other jioints aloiii;' the Sniitheni Alps, «4laeiers of iiiuiiense size are foiiiul. Many of the mountain-peaks in the North Island aie txtinet voleanoes, and there ean still he seen at their s»im- iiiits the hollow craters from whieh issued lire and lava. Tun or three of the volcanic mountains still show si^ns of activity, and slio-ht eartlnjuake shocks are sometimes felt throutrhout the whole island. In 1880 a violent eruption took place in what is known us the Hot Lake District of the North Island. The famous ])ink and white terraces formed by these h.ot lakes, which had lono' been considered amony the most wonderlul and beautiful .si*^"hts in nature, were destroyed hv this eruption. While mountains are a strikinscrv«' "Xt-w ZcaliiiKl mill ton '^ advert is(»tl or cxposod tor salo in l»iit<'h<'rs' shnjis. li' we iiK(iiii'o wo sliall prolialdv^ lind tliat this mutton «'i,>t- less than Knjjflish mutton. Wliv is it that this miittMi cjin lie sold more elu'a[>Iy than our own, and in what vv;iv does it j^et to tliis country ? In the «»'reater part of New Zealand the elimate is sn mild that sheep feed in the ))astures all the vear round, aii'l re(juire no barns to shelter them in winter. Tiiey are alsn kept in vast numbers, a sin^-le owner often havini^ from 20,000 to 100,000 sheep, the whole taken care of by a few men. These circumstances o-i-eatly diminish the cost di' rearinjr them. So from its fertile and well-watered pas- tures New Zealand can always send away excellent mutton at a very cheap rate. But for a long time it seemed impossible to send it tu England, where it was most needed. A few years ago, however, it was found that mutton could be sent from New Zealand to Great Britain in a frozen state. This was less than ten years ago, but the trade has grown so rapidly th:it now every year about a million and a half of frozen carcases of sheep reacli this country from New Zealand."^ Great care is used by the New Zealand farmers in securing good breeds of sheep for the nuitton which is to be sent to the English market. AVhen the animals are in perfect condition they are taken from the paddocks where they have been reared and fattened to the freezing estab- * In 1890 tlie imniLer of frozen sheep exporte-J was 1,562.647. cost of carriage to England was 1 ^d. per pound. Tl. iv7vir /h'ALAXn. 113 X Zcaliiinl M's' sllii|is, tton i'<<^u is million what w.iy mato is s.i oiind, ami y are alsd riu<»- from ' by II ft'W e cost of ered pas- it mutton send it tu ears ap^o, ent from This was so rapidly of frozen aland ."^ irmers in h is to bo lis are in ^ks where ng estab- 2.647. The Ijsliment, which is usually built bcsiilc the sea-coast, sd ;t> to be n»ar the plaee of shipment. A visit to one of tlirse establishini'iits shows us the whole process of j>iv|)a ration. The sheep are first skilfully slauo^htored, skinned, and (ht'>sed ready i'i>r market, o-rcat attention bein«^ paid to por- I'cct eleanliness. After beiui'' hun^ up IV. r some lioius to ronl, the carcases are transferred to the IVceziuLii'-chamber. This is a larjre room, provided with thick walls and heavy doitrs comi)letelv exeludiiur li[>here of a freezino'-chamber, and so in a few minutes the visitor is ;;l.id to o-(jt back into the o])en air."^ *" The oxtrciiio cold of lliu frn'zinu^ rlianilirr is proiliicfd liy .'i pvoco.ss which hiis bfi;u d<'SC'i'ib(,'d us follows : — "Air, lit the ordinai'V n;itnr;il li'ni|i('riitmv_ is ((iiiiiirisvid to ay 'e steamships which carrv the nuitton to Enij^land. A siny^le vessel often carries 30,000 or 40,000 carcases, landing them in London in the same state in which they left the works in Nfw Zealand. At the London Docks they are stored once more in freezing chambers, and thence distributed day by day to different parts of the country. The sheep thus sent to us are a very small part of those reared in the country, which number already sixteen or seventeen r^illions. The wool of these is sent to the United Kingdom year after year, and forms an export even more valuable than that of mutton. Other New Zealand Products. Besides mutton New Zealand supplies us with other articles of food, such as beef, both frozen and i)reserved in tins, wheat, dairy butter, and fruit. It also sends a great many farm and dairy products to Australia. New Zealand never suffers from drought, as Australia sometimes does. So when the crops of grain and vegetables have failed in New South Wales or Queensland, New Zealanders are able to send them all they require. A peculiar protluct of the country is New Zealand flax. The plant is one which grows wild in cwamps or marsliy places, and has a leaf shaped like that of the common iris; constantly maintainod by sttam power, the temperatiive within the chamhtT is permanently kept down to a point corresponding to the coai- prcsaion of the air." NEW ZEALAND. 115 .'an white ber to u :eani ships ssel often n London 5 in Nf'w )nce more by (lay to 't of those lixteen or it to the an export ith other kjaerved in s a great V Zealand nies does, ve faik'd ludei's are dand Hax. r marshy imon iris, within tliL ,0 the com- liut from four to eight feet long. From this leaf a strong lihre is obtained, which is exj)orted to England and other ouuntries and used in rope-making. Kauri gum is another singular product of New Zealand wliich forms an important article of commerce. It comes fmm a pine tree, forests of which still extend over the northern parts of the North Island. 15ut the best (juality and far the largest quantity of gum is dug from hi'iuath the earth, where it has been hidden for centuries after dropping from forests which have long since dis- aj)peared. Kauri gum closely resembles amber, and it is much used in Great Britain and America for making the best and must expensive kinds of varnish. It is found over a large extent of country, and in digging for it a good many people get employment. The only implements which the gum-digger requires are a long steel rod and a shovel. The former he thrusts here and there into the ground until he touches a piece of gum, which practice enables him to distinguish from any other substance. This he then proceeds to dig out. Sometimes the gum is in small lumps, sometimes in pieces that weigh a hundredweight. Though finding it in the way I have described seems ?o much a matter of chance, large quantities are i)rocured, and more than £300,(100 worth is scjmetimes exported in a sini^le year. Gold in New Zealand. - Gold-mining is an importaiiL industry in New Zealand, as shown by the fact that about t50,(J00,0ll0 worth has heen obtained since it was first discovered about thirty I li 116 norXD THE EMPIRE. years ac^o. The li'old is found in manv parts of the islan^ls, and under very diiferent eireumstanees : S(jmetimes in tin beds of streams or amonn* tlie sands of the sea-shore, from wliicli it is o])tained bv \vasliin<»' ; or embedded in quartz and other rocks, from wliieli it has to be crushed liv powerful and expensive macliinery. Gold-mininir in New Zealand is not now an emplov- ment wliicli excites jjcople with the hope of making a fortune in a sliort time, but has become a reg'uhir industry, often re(juirin«>* a hirg-e amount of capital t(j carry it on, and in M'hich men earn rej^-ular wages as in other kinds of work. Gold is still sent to England every year to the value . Lyttleton (the port of Christchurch), Wellington, Auck- land, and Dunedin have all excellent harbours, which are already defended by batteries of artillery, and mi' on their imricaltnral and pastoral pursuits. The convict system was abolished in 18513. The population now numbers about loo, 000. The native race has become quite extinct, the last native having' died in 1870. One of the important industries of Tasmania is fruit culture. Tasmanian Fruit in England. At Coven t Garden, the great fruit and vegetable market of L{UKlon, during the months of April, ^Nlay, or June, we may often see large quantities of beautiful, fresh- looking apples being sold l)y auction, and we may be told that it is only five or six weeks since they were picked from the trees. It is plain that they could not have been f^rown in England, but must liave come from the other side of the world, where the seasons are the opj)osite of our own. These apples come from Tasmania, and reach us at a time when our own apple trees are only beginning to bud and flower, and when fresh fruit is, therefore, most accept- able. Tasmania, in soil and climate, is probably better suited than any other part of the Empire to produce our common English frnits. Not only apples, but pears, apricots, currants, gooseberries, rasj^berries, and straw- berries grow in profusion. Until a few years ago the chief difficulty of fruit-growerr. in Tasmania was to find a market for their abundant fruit. A jjreat deal was made 120 llOrXD THE EMriL'l']. into jam, aiid sent away in tliat state. But if fresh fniii was sent to En<^lan(.l, it was spoiled by the lieat of the ton id rej^ions tlnono-ii whicli it liad to }>ass. At last, however. just as New Zealanders discovered that mutton could In- sent safely when stored in freezing chambers on the steani- shi])s, so Tasmanians found that apples eould be landed in London in a sound condition if sent in chandjers kept constantly cool. 80 now the Tasmanians, from their orchards more than 1:2,000 miles away, sup])ly us with apples at a season when we have none of our own, and ca '^'ot get them from colonies like Canada, which only send fruit to us in the autumn of the Xorthern IL-misphere. In tae best Tasmanian orchards much skill is shown in the cultivation of fruit. The orchards are constantly tilled, and ke])t free from weeds throughout the year; water is often brought in channels from a considerabh' distance to irrigate the soil ; the trees, as they grow, aie carefully pruned in such a way as to admit the light and air to all parts, and thus bring all the fruit to perfection. There are few i)leasanter sights than that which a Tas- manian orchard of fifty or a hundred acres presents in the moivth of ]\Iarch or Ajiril, when every tree is laden with the rosy, russet, or golden fruit. From the orchard the fruit is taken to an apple store-house, where many thousands of bush^els may sometimes be seen together, sorted into separate bins according to their variety and quality. At the store-houses they are carefully packed in cases holding a bushel each, and are then shipped away to Australia or England. TASMANIA . 121 Other Tasmanian Products. The fruit of Tasmania has first been mentioned, not liccjiuse it is the most important product of the eolonv, liiit heeause it is one that is likely to increase «jjreatly under this new system of carriao^e, and because the trade in it ilhistrates in an interestinfj wav the closeness of our connection with the most remote jiarts of the Empire. Wool is the largest export of Tasmania, as it is of Australia and New Zealand. The climate has been found j)articularly favourable for carryln<>' on experiments in breeding superior kinds of sheep, with a view to im- proving the quality of the wool. It is doubtful whether better sheep can be found anywhere else in the world. Thev command hio-h ])rices in the Australian colonies, and several hundred guineas liave sometimes been paid for a single Tasmanian sheep. Gold is found in considerable quantities, and some newlv discovered silver mines at Mount Zeehan promise to l)e very ])roduetive. At Mount Bischoff is one of the most vahiable tin mines in the world. About t l()(),0(tO worth of this metal alone is shipped every year to England and America. There are also several coal mines. A traveller often finds out much about the productions and exports of a new country from what he observes as he passes over its railways. If you were travelling thus through the northern parts of Tasmania in the autumn you Would probably see tens of thousands of well-fdled sacks piled up at the stations. The sacks contain potatoes, for which the soil is peculiarly adapted, and which the island supplies in large quantities to Australia along with other 122 ROUND THE EMPIIiK. vogeta])los and fruit. At other stations you would ?:oe larj^i-e piles of the bark of the Wattle Tree. This ])i\vl \< very valuable for tannini^, and a j^reat deal of it is snit every year to En^^land. Tasmania has lar^j^e forests of Wuv timber, and some of its many beautiful woods are parti- eularly good for cabinet-work, for whieb purpose they ave exported to this country. A cable gives Tasmania telegraphic communication with Australia and the rest of the world. Hobart in the south and Launceston in the north aiv the two chief towns. From both of them steamships run to the principal Australian ports. A voyage of 'ZOO mik"> takes us across the Bass Straits to Australia. -♦♦♦ CHAPTER IX. THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT — NEW SOUTH WALES. Australia. We have now come in the Southern Hemisphere to a portion of the Empire which in size is only second to tl.e Dominion of Canada. You see on the map that Australia is an immense island, by far the largest in the world. It is, perhaps, more correctly spoken of as a continent. From east to west, at its widest point, it extends 2,400 miles, and from north to south 1,970 miles. The length of it> coast-line is about 8,000 miles. The area of its whole surface is more than three millions of square miles. Australia is, therefore, nearly as large as the whole of NEW SOUTH WALES. 12:3 nunieatidi Kiirope. It is about twenty-five times tlie size of tlio I III ted Kinf];'(lom. The wliole of tliis vast area is uiulcn* tlie Britisli fl;in*, and is gradually beiuj^ occupied by an l']nglish-speaking people. The French were l)ef()re us in Canada, the Dutch in South Africa, the Spaniards in the West Indies, while in India we had to compete with Portuguese, Dutch, and French. Our possessions in these different countries were therefore is^ained partly by conquest and partly by settle- ment. In Australasia alone no other Euro]>ean nation li;id tried to get a footing l)efore ourselves. Our people have thus been left free to occupy and settle their different colonies without interference. First Settlement of Australia. When men or women are convicted of crimes they are often sent to gaol, or, if the offence is a serious one, to convict prisons, where they are closely watched and made to labour, sometimes for many years, sometimes through the whole course of their lives. For this purpose almost every town has a gaol, and at places like Dartmoor and Chatham, large prisons are maintained where hundreds of criminals are guarded and employed. Manv years ag^o it was believed that one of the best ways to deal with people who had broken the laws was to send them away to some new and distant l-and. This was partly as a punishment, partly that their labour might be usefully employed, and partly in the hope that if they wished to amend, they might in a new country more 124 liOUXD THE jmriiiE. easily *x,^[. a Iri'sli slarl in life. Criminals had thup been sent out to the AVest Indies, and to Air^inia and the Ca linas in Ameriea, l)ut after the American Revolution; ni- IIV war it was found neeessary to lix \\\)i\\\ some new ])]a( c, and the far distant and then (juite unsettled Australia was chosen. No doubt those who carried out this plan thout^'ht it was for the best, and so long" as a colony had no otlu r population than the convicts there was nothini^ wrono- in it. But wlien free settlers beji^an to iiuck into the country they soon raised objections to the new colonies bein^ burdened with so many bad citizens, and Eng'lish peojile had to admit that their view was just. Transportation was therefore abolished, after it had Ijeen carried on fur nearly fifty years. It had served a useful purpose in makinii" known an entirelv unsettled land to which emiiriii- tion had not yet been turned, and in overcoming* the first ffreat difficulties of settlement. Canada and Australia Compared. We liave seen that Australia, tlie largest division of the Emi)ire in the Soutliern Hemisphere, is nearly equal in size to Canada, the greatest in the Northern. In other ways, however, the contrast between these two great countries is very remarkable. Let us compare them briefly, that we may understand the different circumstances in which our people fiml themselves when they settle in these widely separate parts of the Empire. Both comprise immense regions where millions of NEW SOUTH WALES. 125 til UP been I tlie CaiNi- •olutioi|;i|\ new ])l:i(t', stralia \s;iv hoiio'lit it no otlicr ; wroiii'' ill le count IV lies beiiio' ish peojjle sportation L'd on fur lurpose ill 1 emigra- the first i vision of y equal in In otluT wo g'reat nderstanJ ople find separate ill ions of British people are finding" eomt'ortable and prosperous homes, tliouf^'h in (.'aiiada they must be pre})ared to n.iiiire a i^renter degree of winter eold, in Australia a •nrater intensitv of summer beat, than in these islands. In CaiiJida we are struck with the extraordinary iil)iindanee of water, opening* u]) the country in every direction. Ih'oad lakes and splendid rivers stretch across tlie continent, with ponds and gurgling brooks and rivu- lets everywhere. One of the most marked features, on the other hand, of Australia is the absence of large rivers and lakes to o'ive the means of inland navigation^ or even to furnish sulllcient supplies of fresh water. The portions of Nortliern Canada which stretch up to the Arctic Circle are made uninhabitable by the excessive cold. Northern Australia, on the contrary, extends into the Torrid Zone, and the parts which are uninhabitable are made so by excessive heat. In parts of Canada the farmer sometimes has to dread an early frost ; in Australia he must guard against the chance of droughts which destroy alike his crops and cattle. These are only a few illustrations which will show us that people who go to Canada have to get ihU different ^vays of life from those who go to Australia. In both countries there are difliculties to contend with. But we must always remember that it is b}' overcoming difficulties that both men and nations become strong and self-reliant. 1-20 iinuM) nil': EyiPTUE. The Southern Cross. When \v«' an- sailing;- soiithwanls sliortly aftt'i* fn»ssiiin' the E(|uat()i', a new cMjiistclhition will appear in the soutlu rii yky, a constellation never seen l>y those who In the VUi. JS.— TIIL SUlTllEUN CHOXj, Northern Hemisphere. As we yet f'nrther sonth this constellation will appear hig-her in the heavens, always jjointinij^ to the South Pole, as our Oreat Bear in the Northern Hemisphere jxnnts to the North Pole. The arrang-ement of the stars in this constellation is shown in the picture which is given above. It is known as the Southern Cross, and the Australians have taken it as an emblem of their great island. The stars of the Southern NEW SOUTH WALKS. 1J7 Cross may 1)0 seen, to<»vtiier with tlit- Union Jack, upon the Hags of New South Wales {iiul \'iutoria. Divisions of Australia. Tlu' whole of Australia is divided into tive provinees, ii- eol»»nies : New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. Ip to the lircsent time there has been no common (iovernment for the whole Australian continent. I'^ach colony has acted iiiilependently of all the others, having- a Legislature of its own and a governor appointed by the Queen. Ste[)8 are now being taken to con fed i' rule all tlie (.olonies of Australia, together witli iasmania, and possibly Xew Zealand, into a single state, having ' cities with millions of inhabitants who had to in' supplied with I'ood and the materials used in manufacture. Now Sydney and other Australian cities have bcconic NEW SOUTH WALES. 129 uneat because they have behind them a vast country which pn duces this food and material for manufacture to be (.'X})orted to other countries, and most of all to England. We may illustrate this by describing" the greatest iiKhistry of Australia, that of rearing sheep. In this. New iSoutli Wales has always taken the lead. It is the great ]):istoral colony, and has now within its borders nearly 5(i,000,000 sheep. Australian Wool. The woollen mills in different parts of England, and especially in Yorkshire, give employment to many hundred thousands of workmen. The cloth which these mills produce is not only used to clothe our own people here, l)iit is sent to every part of the world, and has become one of the chief articles of our commerce. But the United Kingdom itself produces only a small ] roportion of all the wool which we thus manufacture into cloth. To buy enough to keep our mills and workmen busy we sometimes spend as much as £25,000,000 in a sino'le vear. It is brou^-ht from many lands, but bv far the greater portion of what we use comes from other parts • if our own Empire. The largest supplies of all we get liom Australia and the neighbouring colonies of New Zealand and Tasmania. Although Australia has been settled by Riilish people Httle more than a hundred years, it has already become the largest wool-exporting country of the world. Sheep were lirst broujjht from Eiijr-land ai)t)ut the vear ISOO, and now there are 96,000,0 i)U in Australia alone, and ill the whole of Australasia more than 115,000,000. 130 ROUXD THE EMPIRE. Nearly all the wool from these vast flocks comes to En<^land, and of all that comes a great deal is sent td supply the mills of Yorkshire. Thus the industry of those who are spinning", weaving, and dyeing wool in this country is very closely connected with the industry of those who are producing it at the other side of the world. The remarkably ra})id increase of the . jcks to which we have referred is due to the fact that Australia has great advantages as a pastoral country. The climate is so mild that it is unnecessary to provide barns or other shelter for sheep in winter. As there is no snow, the pastures supply them with food all the vear round. There are vast regions of countiy unfit for agriculture, and scantily covered with wild grasses and shrubs, on which sheep are found to thrive. Large flocks are kept even where the vegetation is so scanty that from five to ten acres of land are allowed for each sheep. Under such circumstances^ if the flock is large, the estate on which it feeds must be immense. Sheep Runs and Squatters. An estate of this kind is called a " Sheep Run,'' and the proprietor, who may either own the land or lease it from Government, is called a " Squatter.'' A singh' squatter often owns from 10,000 to 250,000 sheep. The size of the run dei»ends partly upon the number of sheep to be pastured, and partly upon the character of the vegetation. Where the latter is scanty and the flocks large, the run may cover hundreds of thousands of acres. Even for such estates as this there is plenty of room in NEW SOUTH WALES. 131 comes to sent 1(1 ' of tliose I in tliis lastly "f of " tlK" which \VL' las j^ivat s so mild helter for es siip})ly ;t regions ?red with found to eo^etatiou e allowed \e flock is se. un/^ and I* lease it A siniLi'lf ep. The of shec)) I' of tllc lie flocks of acres. room in Australia. In New Soutli Wales alone about 15M, 000,000 ;u\vs of land are held on lease from the Government, besides what has been sold. Fijrmerly the Hoeks roamed at large over the open I'lc •ji". — O.N A >iii:i;i' KIN. counti'V, tended l)y shepherds wh(» lived a rough lile in Hide huts. Now on the large rur.s the '^ station/^ as the li"use of the sipiatter is called, is usually a comfortable and sometimes a luxurious home, fitted with everything com- monly found in a well-t'urnished house in England. The .1 '2 132 HOUND THE EMPIRE. run itself is enclosed and divided into paddocks by wire fences. The shepherds are " Boundary Riders," mountid men who spend the whole day in the saddle, riding from place to place to visit the Hocks. The Squatter's Enemies. Great as are Australians advanta<^es for rearing shoe}), the squatter has often great difticulties and dangers with which to contend. That which he fears most of all is drought. Sometimes for months together there is lo rain, the grass dies, and the only food the sheep can get is that furnished by the desert shrubs which even severe drouglit cannot kill. Still worse, the springs and water-cours-es dry up, and then there have been times when thousands and even millions of sheejD have died in a single season from want of water. Occasionally, after a prolonged drought, the rains descend in torrents, the beds of the shallow rivers over- flow, and floods cover the low countrv for miles around. With one strange enemy the squatter often has a desperate fight. In this country we only know the rabbit as an inoffensive little animal, which is allowed to burrow- in parks and hedges, and when shot is used for food. In Australia rabbits have become a terrible i)est, swarminij over the country in millions, and ruining whole runs by eating up the grass on which the sheep feed. Great numbers of people are einployed and thousands of pounds iv spent in shooting, trapping, jmisoning, and in many other ways destrovini; them. Hundreds of miles of fino wire fence are sometimes constructed to cut them off from VICTORIA. 133 certain districts. But a considerable article of commerce is derived even from this nuisance. Many millions of ra])l)it-skins are every year sent to JMio-Jand, where they art^ used for making the felt used in the manufacture of hat?<, and for other purposes. New South Wales has many other industries besides that of producing" wool. Large herds of cattle are reared, orange groves cover many thousands of acres, and fruit- growing is constantly becoming a more imjiortant occu- pation. In some dis^^ricts the agricultural lands are excel- lent. The coal mines give emjdoyment to many thousands of miners, and coal is exported not only to the other colonies^ but to America, China, and South Africa. There are valuable mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, and antimony. ♦♦♦ CHAPTER X. THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINEXT — VICTORIA. Victoria. Victoria, as we see on the map, is in the southern part of Australia, and it therefore has a climate which is cooler and more agreeable for Europeans than that of any other portion of the continent. It has an area of nearly S8,000 square miles, and is about equal in size to England, Wales, and Scotland. Although the smallest of the Australian colonies, it is one of the most wealthy and important. The resources of Victoria are varied. As in New South Wales, a great many sheei) and cattle are reared, 134 HOUND THE EMPIRE. but the tendency in late years has l)een to devote the land to agriculture, for which the cooler climate and less exposure to drought make the colony well suited. Increasing attention is also bein^^ g-iven to vine-g-rowiiiLi, and the production of wine is now more than a million IIO. ;iO. — NKW LAW COUUTS, MELHOVUXE. (Fruiii (( I'liotoi/rcph hi/ Mr. Limit, Mellioiiritf.) and a half gallons each year. Manufactures of variou:^ kinds are largely carried on in ^lelbourne and the smaller towns of the colony. But it is neither for its wool nor its wheat, its wine nor its manufactures, that Victoria has been most cele- brated in the past. Sixty years ago Melbourne, now the capital of the colony, was a small village with a few hundreds of inhabit- VIC TO 1{ Li. 135 vote tilt' mate ami 11 suit(.'(l. •growiiiu', a milli'iii f variou> le smaller its wine lost CL'K'- il of the ■ inluibit- auts. Now it is a city containing' nearly 500,000 people, and so is one of the great cities of the Empire. This is a very wonderful change to take place in so short a time, and it is interesting to know how it came about. Gold, In the year 1851 Victoria was separated from New South Wales, and formed into an independent colony. I'p to this time its population had grown slowly and steadily, as settlers came to take up land in districts favourable for farming or for establishing sheep runs. But in that year an event occurred which suddenly drew 10 it people from all parts of the globe, and made the colony more thought of and talked about for a time throughout the civilised world than almost any other place. The discovery of gold was the event which caused this great change in the fortunes of the country. At many points within sixty or seventy miles of Melbourne the precious metal was found scattered through the soil and gravel in the beds of streams, along the valleys, or on the slopes of the hills. Deposits so rich had never been found before. Sometimes a lucky miner would light upon a ^^nugget,'' as the lumps of gold were called, worth several hundreds or even several thousands of pounds. The Rush to the " Diggings." The excitement caused by these discoveries was very great. Men hurried in thousands from every part of the neighbouring colonies to the gold-fields. In the cities lawyers and doctors gave up their professions, and mer- 136 ROUND THE EMPIliE. chants and clerks abandoned their ofiices to betake theni- selves to mining. The ships in the harbours were left without sailors, the streets without policemen, the gaols without warders. The news spread to Europe and America, and soon enterprising men of all nations beoan pourino into the country by thousands. Tlie arrivals durino^ tlic year 185:^ alone numbered 100,000, so that the population of the colony was doubled. In that year one hundred and seventy-four tons of gold, valued at £14,000,000, wen' taken from the ground. Within ten years £100,000,000 worth of gold had been sent away from Victoria. With such vast numbers of men joining in the seareli for gold, while a few got rich by mining many met with disappointment. Fortunately the gold ''rush^' caused a demand for almost every kind of labour. The hundreds of thousands of people crowding into the country had to be supplied with shelter, food, clothing, and other necessaries of life. Farmers and shepherds got good prices for their grain and vegetables, sheep and cattle ; the harbour was full of ships bringing manufactured goods from England; miles of streets were being built up with warehouses, shops, dwellings, and public buildings, and so everybody had plenty of employment. There is an old fable which tells us of a farmer who, when dying, told his sons that there was a treasure con- cealed in a certain field of their farm. After their father was dead and buried the sons set to work searching for this treasure, digging carefully over every foot of the ground. After long search, being unable to find the treasure, they again went back to the farming. Then it VICTORIA. 137 was that they found out the real nieaiiins' of what tlioir fiither had said, for the field liad beeu tilled so thorouiihlv that it produced eroi)s and 'ji'ave tlieni a return sueli as it lijul never done before. ISometliin^' like tliis hji])))ens in fount ries like A'ictoria when <»'()ld is discovered. I'eople rush there to search for treasure, but in doing this they iind out the lands which luv suited for farms or vineyards, orchards or ] astures, and when the treasure is exhausted they stay to work at those (|uiet but permanent employments which best build up a C'omitrv. On the very fields wliere thousands of miners once ciiniped may now be seen beautiful towns surrounded hv fertile farms. Melbourne, which ^^vow rich throu'i^- '*-/. if FIG. 31. — GOLD-CIUSHIXG " STAMl'S." considerable quantities are dug up in the other Australasian colonies. Altogether its value has amounted to more than £:300,0()0,00(). Of all this vast sum, by far the greatest part has come to England. If we look into the jewellers' and goldsmiths' shops as we walk along the streets of any large town we see at once how much gold is used in this country VTCrOliLl 139 in makirii^ plate, watches, and jewellery of many kinds. A great deal is used in various arts. The manufacture of fTold in many forms i^ives emi)loyment to a large iinniber of our people. Still more is required for money. !Many millions of sovereigns and half-sovereigns are constantly circulating from hand to hand in carrying on trade and industry, or are stored up in the banks ready for use. Sometimes the gold of Australia is sent to England in the form of bars or ingots, which are sold here to be coined into money at the Royal Mint, or used in manu- factures. But a great deal also comes in the form of money itself. A great many of the sovereigns used in this country are not merely made of Australian gold, but are actually coined in Australia. If you have an opportunity to look carefully over a number of sovereigns, you will probably discover among them some which have the letter M or the letter S stamped upon them just beneath the profile of the Queen. The j\I shows that the sovereign which bears it was coined at Melbourne ; S is the mark of the Sydney Mint in New South Wales. At these two branches of the Royal Mint more than four millions of sovereigns are often coined in a single year. A large pro- portion of these are sent to England, and in some years more than three millions have been received in the Bank of England, from which they pass again into general circulation in this country. Observe that these Australian sovereigns, though made HO HOUND THE EMVnti:. on tlio other side* of tlw,' world, Ijcar tlie stamp of iIk- Queen's liead, and so arc taken cvervwliere as 7*]nL;li-li Currenev, und indeed can onlv l)e dislinunislied from coins made in l']nyland l)v tin; marks referred to, so slij^ht that few (»l)serve tliem or understand what tliev mean. Australian Naval Defence. AVitli jiU these treasnres to (jjuard, it is not wonderful that the people of Sydney and ^lelhonrne slionkl take pains to keep safe what they Ir-ive got, and we need in 4 therefore be surprised to find that both eities are stroniilv fortified against attack. While she is strengthening lierself witliin. Australia has not forgotten to jiroteet herself from enemies without. Tinlnekily, perhaps, Australia has neighbours who are ii"l of British origin, for Germany, France, and Holland li:t\r now got possessions in the South Pacilic. In order, there- fore, to 1)0 safe aii-ainst anv attack, and also to be able to hel)) to defend the Empire in ease of war, the Australian."? have lately arranged with the British Government for the supply of a certain number of ships of war whicji mHI h. kej>t entirely in Australian waters. The ■ of keepinsr up these ships is paid for by the G .iments of the Australian colonies. The vessels have i n spc ially built for the purpose, and have been called by Australian name.*, such as the R'nifjaroo)iia, 2[ilihi)-(t, Boomerang^ KarakaH ii, and so on. Thev are fast and well-armed ships, and mav be depended upon to do honour to the flag which they carry, and which is the white ensign of the Royal Xavy. The picture shows us one of the largest of the Australian ip of ihr i Kiiii'li-li roni coiii- liirlit lliiit woiulcrl'iil jJikl take need v.t>\ 2 stroiiiily Austral ill s without. 10 are u^l Iaii«l have ler, tlieic- De able to uytraliaii^ it for tlio ^h ^vill I,. f keejtinn ts of thi' ially built an name?. .aj'al'affii, , and may iiich they 'al Xavy. iLustralian 2 -d 142 ROUND THE EMPIRE. squadron, the Ringarooma. She has a speed of sixteen knots an hour, and carries eight guns. CHAPTER XI. THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT — SOUTH AUSTRALIA. South Australia. TKe map shows that South Australia stretches quite across the centre of the continent from north to soutli. Its name, which was approi:>riate enough when the colony was first formed, and onlv included the southern half of its present territory, does not give a true idea of its actual position and boundaries. The great northern section, oiiec called "No Man's Land,'' was added in 1861. Most of the population is settled in the south. Should the population of the nortli ever increase largely, it is probable that the colony would be divided, as Adelaide, the capital, is too far off from the northern districts t" admit of satisfactory government from such a distant point. Since tiie area is now above 900,000 square miles, or mon than France, Germany, Austria, and Italy together, there is enough room for subdivision. Products of South Australia. South Australia was first settled in 183G by free emi- grants entirely, and on a plan which was expected to miik'' it chieHy an agricultural country. It has been distin- guished among the other colonies for its large production of wheat, of which it has long exported a great deal to SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 143 Britain, as well us to other parts of Australia. The Hour made from its wheat is reckoned among the best in the world. The climate of the southern or settled parts of the • ulony is very similar to that of Italy. Grapes, oranges, lemons, olives, and similar fruits flourish, and are much cultivated. Further north and inland the country is too hot and dry for farminj^, but great Hocks of sheep are fed on the half-desert pastures, as in other parts of Australia. Copper mines have been a source of much wealth in South Australia. The Burra Burra Mines, discovered in 1S45, yielded copper to the value of £700,000 within three years of the time they were opened. Large numbers of English miners went out to work in these mines, and many ships were em2)loyed in carrying the ore to England. The value of the copper obtained from the mines of South Australia up to 1890 was nearly £20,000,000. Adelaide, the Capital and the largest town, has about 133,000 inhabitants. It is the port at which steamships from England land the mails to be sent on by rail to ^lel- bourne, Sydney, and other parts of Australia. Adelaide is regularly laid out, with wide streets and beautiful pul)lic parks and gardens. Behind it is a fine range of mountains, which adds to the beauty of the city. "Broken Hill." About 350 miles from Adelaide is the famous silver mine of Broken Hill, the richest in the world. It is 144 ROUXD THE EMPinE. ap})r()acheJ from South Australia, but is just within the Ijorders of New South Wales. Less than ten years ai^n Broken Hill was only known as a lonely station, in iiii almost desert country, where a few sheep were pastured on the scanty veg-etation. But as soon as silver was dis- covered people crowded to the place, and now it is a town with about 25,000 inhal)itants, and i:)resents a wonderful scene of busy indnstrv. All along" the hill fur several miles are to be seen the hu«i*e eng'ines employed in lifliiin the ore from the mines, the macliinerv with which it is crushed, tlie furnaces in which it is smelted. Every week six or seven tons of silver, and many hundreds of tons ot! lead with which the silver is mingled, are taken from the different mines. The railroads are busy carrying" the lead and silver to the sea-coast, where it is shipped to England, or in bringing back the English goods which lill the sho}is, the Enorlish coke used in smelting, the English machinerv employed in the works, the food which the people require the mining timber which comes from British Columbia or New Zealand — and many other articles of commerce from various parts of the world. Thus, in the heart of a desert, otherwise incapable of supporting any considerable popula- tion, a large British community has been built up by the discovery of a silver mine. So abundant is the ore that there is no likelihood of its bein"- exhausted for manv a year to come. South Australian Explorers. It luis been mentioned before tiiat vast deserts cover much of the central and western portions of Australia. How terrible these desvrts are is best proved by the many SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Uo ithin tho 'ears iv^o on^ in an stured on was (lis- is a town ^voiulerriil )!• several in lifliiin liich it is /eiy week of tons of from the • the lead En then finally abolished. Till quite lately Western Austral ;;i was a Crown eolony. In 1890 it was g-iven a Legislature of its own, and under tiie new system it is hoped thai the eolony will develop rapidly. The capital is Perth. Next in importance are Tre- mantle and Albany. The latter is situated on King George's Sound, an important naval station which is now being strongly fortified at the joint expense of Great Britain and the Australian colonies. Mail steamshii)s on their way from England to ^L'l- bourue and Sydney stop at King George's Sound. From Albany a line of telegraph has been constructed across the south of the continent to Adelaide, and when the steam- ships arrive each week a great deal of English ne^vs is telegraphed forward to Melbourne, Sydney, and otlur Australian cities, which it thus reaches some days before the vessels which brought it from England. Queensland. Queensland has the large area of about 670,0iM> square miles, or five and a half times that of the United Kingdom. It occupies the north-eastern portion of the Australian continent, and stretches far up into the Torrid Zone. It has formed a separate colony since 1859, having' previously been a part of New South Wales. The vast extent of Queensland, and the difficulty of carrying on tho WESTEnX AUSTRALIA AXD QUEENSLAND. 149 liuvernment of the northorn districts from tlie present capital^ Brisbane^ which is on the sonthern border, makes it proljable that the colony will soon be subdivided. Products of Queensland. Lying partly in the Temperate and partly in the Torrid Zone, Queensland has the productions of both. On the Darling Downs and other high ground of the southern districts wheat, barley, oats, and other European grains tlourish. jNIaize is very largely cultivated, and extensive districts are suited for the growth of cotton, coffee, tobacco, oranges, and grapss. Further north the fertile lands along the coast are admirably atlaptcd for the culture of the banana, the pine- apple, and the sugar-cane. As in the other Australian L'olunies, sheep arc largely reared, and on the vast plains which stretch to the western boundary, millions of cattle arc pastured, forming one of the most important features of pastoral life in Queensland. The mineral wealth of the colony is also great. Gold is obtained in many districts, and one mine, Mount Morgan, is perhaps the most valuable and wonderful de])usit of that metal now known in the world. Mount Morgan. ]\Iount Morgan is very different from the other mines ill Australia hitherto mentioned, but, in its way, is quite as wonderful as any of them. It is a low mountain or hill ill the midst of a i)astoral country, and ai)i)arently not uiiferent from the other hills arounxl it. But all through 150 ROUND THE EMPIRE. the earth and rocks which compose it ^old exists so finely distributed that it can seldom be seen with the naked eye. The rocks and earth are ground up into the finest powder, which is then put through a number of chemical processes until the gold is finally extracted from it. This mine has sometimes given to its few fortunate proprietors more than a million pounds sterling a year beyond the cost of working it. Gold-mining here is something very different from that mentioned in con- nection with the early days of Victoria. There the miners dug up great nuggets, or washed small lumps of gold from the sand. At Mount jNIorgan the work is less exciting, and usually only the chemists who carry out the final processes of extraction see the gold at all. Cast into bars or ingots, much of it is sent to England direct. Another portion goes to the mints of Sydney or Mel- bourne, and, if it comes to us, does so in the shape ot" sovereigns. Copper, silver, tin, antimony, coal, and other minerals are also found. On the coast the fisheries for pearl and tortoiseshell form an industry of some importance, and b6che-de-mer, a kind of edible sea-slug, is collected in great quantities and exported to China, where it is esteemed ii delicacy. Sugar. Sugar is one of the important products of Queensland, and sugar plantations are found at intervals along more than 1,200 miles of the coast. In the southern districts much of the w^ork is done by white settlers. Each farmer has a small plantation of his own, and sends his cane, WESTERX AUSTRALIA AND QhlJEXSLAXD. lol exists so he naked he finest chemieal from it. Portunate ? a year here is in con- e miners of g-n](l : is less iirry out 11. "Cast d direct. or Mel- shape of minerals )earl and nee, and in great teemed a eenshmdj ing more distriets h farmer lis cane^ wlien ripe, to a mill which nianufacturos sii^-ar for a whole district, just as Eiitrlish farmers send their wheat to the miller to he ground. Further north the climate of the low-lying sugar distriets on the coast becomes very trying for white men to work in, and here the cultivation of the plantations has been chielly carried on by means of coloured labourers brought from the Pacific Islands. These Kanakas, as they are called, are hired, like coolies, for a certain number of years, and then sent back to their homes. The sugar estates are usually large, and as they are furnished with expensive machinery and often give emjdoy- ment to hundreds of Kanakas, they require much capital lo carrv them on. The direction of the coloured labourers and the management of those operations in sugar manu- facture which require special skill and knowledge furnish to the English settlers occupations in which they are less exposed to the heat. Cattle Runs. More than five and a half million cattle are fed upon the pasture-lands of Queensland, and in this particular it surpasses all the other Australian colonies. The cattle are reared npon " runs '' even larger than those used for sheep, and sometimes covering many liundreds of square miles. Here they are cared for by " stock-riders,^' or mounted men who spend the whole day in the saddle in managing and looking after the herds. From time to time the cattle are " rounded up '' and brought into the stock-yards which are attached to every cattle station. 152 liOUXD THE E MP IRE. The cattle, when fattened, are driven in '* mobs ^' from the remote stations, often over more than a thousand miles, to the markets of Sydne}^ Melbourne, or Adelaide All over the j)astoral districts of Australia roads are kit throujjch the country wide enouf^h for mobs of cattle or shcei) to find food upon these long journeys, which often occupy several months. IJesidcs the cattle sent to these distant markets, other herds are sent to the Queensland coast, where the meat is frozen in the same manner as New Zealand mutton, or preserved in tins, and, with the hides and tallow, shipped to England. From what has been said we may judge that Queensland has wonderful resources and presents many opportunities for industry and the acquisition of wealth. To many people the heat of the climate seems a serious drawback, and there are districts in the extreme north where it is not likely that white j^eople will be able to work vigorously and maintain their health. The summer heat of the inland plains, however, is said to be much more easily endui*ed, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere, and the climate of the south and of the more hillv regions is delightful during the greater part of the year. British emigrants are constantly arriving in the country, and the population is now increasing more rapidly than that of any other Australian colony. The Barrier Reef. For more than 1,200 miles along the coast of Queens- WESTEIiX AUSTRALIA AND QUEENSLAND. 153 land stretches the ^reiit Barrier Reef, ii rid^e of coral usually nearly level with the sea, but sometimes forming islands. Its distance from the shore varies from ten to fifty miles. On this reef the waves of the Pacific break and spend their force, leaving the waters within calm for navigation. The steamships which bring to England the wool, beef, hides, gold, and other products of Queensland sail northward between this Barrier Reef and the mainland, ;iiid then find their way out into the Indian Ocean through the Torres Straits. Thursday Island, at the northern extremity of Queens- land, commands the entrance to the Torres Straits, and for that reason is being strongly fortified as a coaling and naval station. It is also the chief port for vessels engaged in the pearl-fisheries of the neighbouring seas, as well as the centre of the trade carried on with New Guinea. Water Supply and Irrigation in Australia. Many parts of Australia are subject to i)rolonged droughts. These droughts are often followed by heavy rains, which fill up the shallow water-courses, and even eause extensive floods. ^Vhen the rains have ceased the water soon sinks again into the sandy soil. These circumstances have made people try many plans to save a sufficient supply of water to carry them through the dry season. Sometimes the farmer or squatter simply excavates, in 154 HOUND 'IJIE EM VI UK. some 1)(>II ()\V w Ikm'o \\v liiids ii clav Itottoni, ii ivsorv (iiii liiriil'e t'noiii4li to hold wati-r sullicient for his wants t'r Olio rainy season to another. Or tlie |)eo})le of a wlmlc (hstriet ti.iite together, and at i;reat expense constrnet ;i nnich lar<>'er reservoir, holdin<»' millions of i»'a]lons dl water, from whieh all receive what they require to waKi Iheii- flocks or irrii»"ate their fields. In many places, wheie neither of these plans can In carried out, it is found ])ossil)le to <;('t a constant supply fnun a <4'reat depth heneath the soil l»y boring- what aiv called Artesian wells. In a few localities where ('onsiderable streams fl V o'iilKon ! i '/ ( A F R I C A i ^''/, N A M A Q U A '■••■ ^— >'. ' ol'it'torial ^Y a- vlBetbany ° Ueersheba /'—'BRITISH / R E P U B L I Ci,„fi|KijS[a'i -^*- -A i o i i' '. rotoliofstli»nrno^--v '^ •' / I V L A N D 1 .'BECHUANALANC/ /^ ^"^V^^^*^ '> ■" yjO,. I ( K^^^*' ■ VJ 111,. .KinilM I Oijlirinpbukfuiitciii .ilrfonte Carno i- i'^ cT ^8ASl/Tokl.-(erti|rfritibur|| rftirr.ftKi =o= n S .^\?'^.-3?^^'^'^-S^-''' aledu ^l?^Ac 'm, SOUTH AFRICA. FIG. 34.-SOrTH AFRICA. fi'iiard the rights of our own settlers who are colonising parts of the country, and at the same time to consider what is just to other nations who are doing the same, and what is just to the native races. Great trouble has therefore been taken to make agree- ments with other European nations, settling in a peaceful way the limits within which each will be free to trade or colonise. Treaties have thus been made w^ith Germany, France, Portugal, and Italy. 158 ROUXD THE EM FIRE. On the other liniid, furtlier treaties must be made with the many native tribes, so that tliey may williiiL^h, iiUow our traders and colonists to come into the counlrv. So we may be sure tliat all the prudenee of a <>'reat niaiiv wise heads is required to manage our at'i'airs in Africa. Climate and Colonisation in Africa. As l^uropean people have only lately begun to explniv and settle many parts of tlie African continent, ;uid ;i> great changes are constantly going on, it is im})ossil)le in all cases to mark the boundaries of our territories as j)iv. eisely as on the other continents. One fact, however, we should notice particularly, for it has a great deal to : with the future growth of the Empire in Africa. A larij,v part of the country whicli we have formed into colonies, m' which we are only beginning to occupy, is either in the southern part of the continent or on highlands in the interior. In both ca'-es we have the great advantaij^e of a cool climate which is favourable for people of a northern race. It therefore seems probable that the regions undi r British control will become the homes of white peopli.' much more than the territories held by other nations. Cape Colony. Of the portions of the Empire in Africa, Cape Colony is at present the most important. Like Canada, it was not at iirst settled by British jieople. It was in 14-97, hvo years after Columbus discovered America, that Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, hrst found the way to India around the Cape of Good Hope. In later years, B<»r- AFIiTCA. ir)9 tuii'uopo, Dutch, and Enj^lisli sliips often slop])e(l at (lu' Capo ontht'irway to the East, hut no lixcd settleinent was nia(h> fill' more tlian loll years. In 1(15:2 tlie Dutch ih-st formed a (•oh>ny at Tahle Bay, whieh reinain('(l under tlic rule of ll'illand for nearly a eenturv and a liall'. All the settlers riG. 3.'). — t.Vl'E TOWN AM) TAHI.l. MOINTAIX. were Dutch, excei)t some hundreds of French Protestants, who found homes here in 1()^S after bein<^' expelled from their own country, and whose descendants soon atlopted the Dutch lani^Mia^'e instead of their own. In 170.5 Eno^hind, wliich was then at war with France and Holland, took forcible possession of the colony, hut restored it to HoUand at the Peace of iSO^i. Only three 160 BOUND THE EMPIRE. years later, in 180G, war having a^i^aiii broken out, an Enf^lish force once more captured the Cape. At the pcaie which followed, in 1814, En<^land agreed to pay betweiu two and three millions sterling to the King of the Netlitr- lands on condition that the colony should he finally cedid to her. Our first possessions in South Africa, then, wore secured partly by concjuest and partly by purchase. Dutchmen, Englishmen, and Natives. We can now understand why it is that a liu^t number of our fellow-subjects at the Cape of (Jood H(i]c are of Dutch descent and speak the Dutch languaLiv. Dutch and English may both be used in the Cape Parlia- ment, just as French and English may both be used in the Canadian Parliament. The Dutch Boer, as the dt- scendant of the old colonists is called, clings to his lan- guage and customs as closely as the French hah'it mt of Quebec does to his. But Dutch and English do not make up the whole, or even the chief part, of the popu- lation of the Cape Colony. In this the Cape differs fruin our other great colonies. In Canada the lied Indian, in New Zealand tlx Maori, in Australia and Tasmania the dark-skiniud natives, are all gradually disappearing as white nun settle in the countrv. This is not the case with the Hottentots, Ka5^ i, and other native races of Africa, who increase rather than diminish under English rule. It i> quite clear that in our African colonies we shall always have a large coloured population. In Cape Colony the natives at present far outnumber those of European AFRICA. 161 (l(' than -100,000 nre whites. Until a few years aijo the Dutch and J'>ni»]ish settlers at the Cape were eng'ao^ed in I'recjV.ont wars with the lilTerent native races. The latter now live peacefully uiuler British rule, and laro'i' numbers have even removed into British terrilorv to eninv the nrnteetion from their 1/ »J V I enemies which our flao' o'iv«'s them. Climate and Products of South Africa. In climate, soil, and ])rodu('ti«)iis, South Africa has many joints of resemblance to Australia. It has the sinie warm, dry climate, and wide stretches of pai'tly ili'sert country, subject to drou^'hts, but sujtportiiiii;' lar<»-e tloeks and herds, and, in rainy seasons, or when irrio-ated, very ferti''.'. It produces wool and gold, and is a grape- crowing country. But, uidike Australia, South Airiea is a mountainous (nuntrv. One i»'reat mountain ranye stretches for more liian 1,000 miles parallel to the coast, never more than lIMIorloO miles distant from it. Behind this are other raiiij;"s, the plains between tlicui formiji^' ;i series f)f teri'aees. The Great Karroo. Between the two upper ran^-es is an elevated tract known as the Great '' Karroo^^ — the wor nnlcs from west to east, and lias a breadth of 7'* miles. Tiie Karroo country embraces in all about 4s, 000. 000 iicres, and on it are jjastund live or six millions of sheep. 162 liOUXD THE EMPIliE. A stranj^e region it is, iis may be gathered from the fol- lowing description : — " This large, marvellous tract of country, which has bci'ii regarded as semi-desert, is as fertile as the banks of llio Nile, provided it receives sufficient moisture. But even the severest drought cannot destroy its vegetation. You look around for miles and miles and see nothing hul dusty ground and small stumps of bushes sparingly strewn over the surface ; not a green leaf, not a blade of grassj except, at long intervals, rows of mimosa trees along the dry beds of rivers. You think this is desolation, a life- destroying desert. But at last you notice a building at the distance] you see trees near the house; you get to a farm^ you are hospitably received, are treated with coffee and bokhe melk (goat^s milk) ; the old man shows you his fountain (spring) which he has newly opened up by aid of dynamite; he shows you his steam-engine to pump up water for the flocks, his dam that cost him hundreds of pounds, his garden with wonderful wheat and oats, splendid fruit-trees, enormous pumpkins. He tells you, Yes, it is * banj droog ^ (very dry) ; during three years there has been rain only twice or three times ; his lambs are lost, he had to cut their throats to save the ewes, and many of his big shee}) are dead also, but the remainder are all right; as long as his fountain r\nis he has no fear; while they have water, they kee]> alive on the stumps of tlif bushes. And when rain, ii.»(»d rain conies, then all these bushes revive ; there is a gtiieral ivsurrection, grass sprinii> up, and there is an abun^lance of foml for the flocks, which, after first suffering from the sudden change, AFRICA. 163 sodii prosper and increase as nowhere else in the \\-,)rl(l/' In these Karroo regions the I'nrniers have iinother (iccnpation besides sheep-raising, and one which is peenliar to tlie conntry. Ostrich Farming. Ostrich farming has become of mucl\ importance in South Africa during the last few years. It is a singuhu' industry, and interesting, because it furnishes a striking ex;ini})le of how a new and ])roHtable employment may be created by men who give i)atient thought and attention to ii subject. We ha .e all seen ostrich feathers, and perhaps know that for ages they have been prized as ornaments, and looked upon as among the most beautiful i)roductions of nature. AVe have probably read in history how, as far !i:u'k as the year lolC), our l^^nglish Black Prince, at the battle of Crecy, took the plume of ostrich feathers from the helmet of the slain King of Bohemia, and that ever since an ostrich plume has formed the crest of our Princes oi: Wales. During all these centuries, till a few years ago, the nnlv wav of o'ettin<>' these beautiful feathers was bv hunt- iiig and killing the birds in Africa, where alone Wwy were found. So eagerly were they pursued b\- Idack hunters and white that they seemetl likciy soon to be entirely dcst roved. But about twenty-five years ago attempts were made l)y farmers at Cape Colony t(> tame the ostrich, hitherto one of the wildest and least approachable of birds. h-2 l«l HOUND THE EMPIRE. Tlie plan of artiHciiilly liatcbiiij^* the etro-s in iiimOnhn-'i was widely a(loj)te(l, aiul by eUts^e study of the jieeuliai habits ot' the birds it was found i)ossible to rear the youiirr ones and *»'radually domesticate them. Much ditiicully and many failures were met with at Hrst, but within twentv years ostrich farming- had become such a settled industry that the number of domesticated birds in the colony was estimated at loOJJUO, and the exi)ort of feathers in a single year had risen to above ,tl,()UU,()UU. Thanks to the per- severing^ skill of the Cape farmers, there is now no fear that the race of ostriches will become extinct, or the supply of feathers run short. In the next chapter we shall lind an account of a visit to a hirge ostrich farm. CHAPTER XIV. AX AFHICAX IXDUSTllY. A Visit to an Ostrich Farm. "The size of the farm is lo^OUU acres, situated in the Eastern Province of the Cape Colony. The herbage is a mixture of grass, karoo (a sort of heather), and succulent bushes. The rainfall in this })art of the Eastern Proviiui' is too uncertain to allow of cultivation without irrigation; so the cultivation is contined to a few acres of lucerne irri- gated by i)umps, some soft green food being indispensable for rearing the little ostrich chicks during- drou<>'hts. On the farm are kept 600 ostriches and 400 breeding cattle. The whole property is enclosed by strong wirt; fenees rv kl AN A Fin CAN IXDUSTny Kin fivn feet liift'li, and subdivided into numerous camps with similar fence.'. Near tlio homestead the camps arc of a])out 11)1) acres cach^ beinji;' a])propri!ited to tlic rearin^j;' of the youno" birds. Heyond tliesc aijain are camps of aljout :^') acres each, tliese ])eini»' o-iven up to a sin_f>'lc pair f)f isnpcrior old birds in each camp for breedinf]^; whilst beyond these a^-ain are hiro-e camps of al)out 2,r)()0 acres in extent, with 150 ))irds in eacli. ^' But let us take a stroll in tliese camps^ and see what is "oing- on. Here in the first we find an old Hottentot, with about thirty little ostriches only a few days old around him. These have all been hatched in the incubator, and he is doing" nurse to them, cutting up lucerne for them to eat, supplying them with fine gravel to fill their gizzards with to grind their food, breaking uj) bones that they may i^ot a supply of phosphates, and giving them wheat and water; and at sundown he will bring them back to the incubator for warmth, or, should the weather change and rain come on, he will be seen hurrying home with his thirty little children followino- him to a warm, well-liMi ted room, with a clean-sanded floor. *^ Tn the next camp we have a pair of birds and about lii'teen chicks, accomj-anied by a Kaflir man, who has been with them everv dav from the time thev were hat(died, to fivtthem tamed and accustomed to man. These have been hatched by the parent birds, who will brood them at night in the camp. But great risks are run by this method of rearing, from wild carnivorous animals catching the chicks, as great numbers of carnivorous animals of nearly every known species abound, in South Africa; the most destruc- 166 liOUM) THE KMVIUE. five to yoiinjj^ ostrielios bciiij^' tlic jnckals, a si))«^'l«» one nf wljich will doslrov a wliolc l)ro(>(l in a iii«>*l»t. Our lin-st • CI' informs us that lio is compelled to keej) a man constanllv emj)loye(l InyiiiiJi' ]>oison and setting* traps. " hut here we come to another cam)), in which we ;itv told there is a nest, and as we enter, a heavy thorn-bush is given to us, and we are told that if the male bird chari;vs we are to hold it to his eyes. But we do not see the cock bird, and have o-ot some distance in, and can just see the lien bird upon the nest, with its neck stretched along' tlic g-round, making' itself look as much as i)ossible like one d' the monster nut-heaps that abound in the country, when we are startled bv three tremendous roiirs behind us, mid only just have time to put up our bush when the in- furiated cock charges down as fast as a horse can gallop, making every nerve in our body shiver with fear, as uc remember having" heard of broken ribs and legs, and men killed by savnge male birds ; but we follow the example of onr conductor, and keej) the bush at a level with the bird's eyes, when just as he reaches the bush he stops sudden h, his instinct teaching' him not to risk his eyesight against the thorns. Then we move on to the nest, keeping the cock at bay with onr bushes ; but we are thankful when it is over, as the cock dodges round us, first on this side, then on that, always trying to get his head past our bush; and, should he succeed, he would instantlv tloor us with a kis the eo^s, and we find tliat the hitherto infuriated cock's nature luis (piite changed ; lie tliat a moment a<:^o was tryinij;' with all his mio-ht to g-et at us and kill us, now stands a dejected, ])eseechinacked in so closel}' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) v^" '^ ^J^ A % ^ 1.0 I.I lii^^ |2.5 li 1.8 ^ Ui — i^ IM V] ^%. 7. M '-^i o^. /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation V ^ ,v ^ ^ <> Q.'^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSEO (716) 873-4503 4^ ^ ^ W IGH lioiwn Till-: EMPiiU'j. thai llu'V liavc no r-inin to kick. Jus^t as we enter \\>- observe the ))irds eoiiiiiii;' over the liill, hein*^' driven bv 1. 1, men on horseback, each man carr} inj^ liis thorn-bush 1.. turn a refractory I'inl or to master a savage e(»ek. 'I lu' l)ir»ls beinii' yanh'd^lhc phickinL*- ))eo'ins; tlic tails and loll^• IKi. Ilii. — (»>Tl{ltHE!S. bhiek and drab leatliers are pnUeil ont, tlie white feathers beini»- eut off, and the stumps left for two months, till ihf (juill is ripe, this beini;' done to o-et the feather before it i- damao'ed, and the quill beino- U'ft in so as not to injure the socket l>y j)nllin«^ it before it is ready to be shed. " We now return to the homestead, and visit the incu- bator-room, which is constructed to be as little affected b\ changes of temperature as possible. Then we visit the niilTlSH roSSESSIONS IX AFinCA. ir,9 e enter w. ven bv 1. 1 1 rn-bikvli 1., (.ek. 'Ill, s and loll"' f feathers IS, till 111.' et'ore it i- injure the the incu- Feeted h\ visit the f(':ither-rooni, and see the foathrrs Ix-inij;' sorted into the different ([ualities, and done np in hunches, citln'r fur sale in the colony or for shipment to Eniji'land. Wo thru vi^it the krn;ds, and find some seventy or ei^-hty eows Immul;- milked, as dairy farminf*" ean be most sneecssfully earried en in C'onjunetion with ostrieli f'armin<>' ; the cattle eat ini;- the coarser grasses, and tendini*- to keep tlie })ush from 2;'ettin«i- t("0 thiek for the ostriches to pass amoni^st it. Wo find all the la))our on the farm is done })V natives, who mak<» excellent servants for niana<^ino; stock ; and as the natives are exeeedinj^ly fond ol' milk, the f)strich farmer, who has an unlimited amount of milk to o^ive them, o-reatly reduces the cost of their food, and makes them (;ontente(» ll)s. oi' nioliair were sold, but thirteen years later llii' sale had increased to more than r),()l)(),OOI) Ihs., and it i> now one of the consideral)le <'X|iorts of the country. Just as Austi-alia and New Zealand, ))V the introduction ^t sheep, have heconn' the y-reatest wool-«;rowin«^ e(tuntries in the world, s(> it seems as if South Africa may be made the recious stones. Their extreme hardnc— makes them of L»reat use for a few mechani<'al jinrposc-, such as cutting" ii'hiss, and maUini;' drills to ]ienetrate the lianlest rocks. Hut their value has always depended dii their beaut v as an ornament more than upon their ntilitv. Rich people have always been ready to pay larjj^e sum- for a jewel which was at ouch* rare and beautiful. In ancient times diamonds were chielly o])tained in India, and formed part of the tratle with that countrv. Then, after the discovery of America, the mines of Brazil became very famous. Hut the mines of South Africii. iirst discovered about twenty-live years aiii-o, have f;ii surpassed in value and })r()ductiveness all that were known I>efore. Great fortunes have been made in working" theni, and more than i. 1,00(1, tMK) worth has sometimes been exported in a single year. iii:iri>ii ru.ssL\'in^ <»n in the four chief iniiitN, Bloemfontein, De Beer, Du Toit's Pan, and Kimberley. all of whi(di are within two or three miles of each other. From this small district more than C 10.000,000 w<.illi of diamonds have heen taken since the mines wcir oj)oned. Natal. Natal, situated on the souih-east coast of Africa, ha- an and 000,tM)0 — of whom not a twelfth are white. The first European settlement was mnde in 1S:2I hy Ennj-lishmen, who were a lew years later foll(>wedby Dut
  • tho Ca)ic, listriots (ii fifteen or ul a vorv idigo, rice. intrv witli larley, \\\o ang-es anw liirufe ui>lancl plains, chielly suited fur ivarino- sheep anil cattle. The pojtulation is enriously mixed. Ainon<^ the whites, the Ens^lish outnnniljer llie Dutch ; Xatal dilferinj^' iiuin Cape Colony, where the Dutch are most numerous. The Natives are of many tribes, and consist niostlv of those who have, in conseijuence of wars, tied into the inh)nv to he safe under the Britisli tlaii". As thev are cither lazy or prefer cultivating- their own tields, Hindoo t'dolies, to the number of nearly 10. OdU, have been intro- ihiced tu do the work of the pUmtatiuJis. Protectorates and Crown Colonies. Besides the colonies alreadv mentioned, we have in Soiith Africa taken under our control or protection several rt'oions which are inhabited almost entirely by the native races. BECHUANALAND lies to the north o£ Ca])e Colony. It consists of two ])arts : one, comprisin<^ about 50,000 Hjuare miles, which has been made a Crov/n colony, and iiMother covering" 102,000 square miles, which is a British Piotectorate."^ The expense of g'overning' the former is (•liieHy paid by the people of the United Kingdom ; in the latter the native chiefs managH» their own affairs, while jiiotectioii is given to the borders by the British poliee litive. Much of Hechuanaland is poorly watered, but the < limate is good, and the region seems likely to grow into 111 important colony. * Tho term Protectorate is used to denote ;i n-jjion over whieh our (iiivernment, without assuming complete jiossrssion. claims the light to I x< rciso ii limited control, to the ( xclu.sion of other European nations. 17} HOrWI) THE EMPIUE. BASUTOLAND is ji .small Cmwn colony, iM-twecn C;!].- Colony and Natal. It extends (jvor about 10,000 s(|U;iic niilos, and lias a jjopulation of nearly :'00,000, only a Ww hundreds heini'' 3'hiropeans. It is well watered, with liiir pastures, on whieh the natives rear i^reat herds of eatllr. lilt l;ili( IK;. .{>. /I i.t s. It is said to have the best ^•r;nn-|)rodueini4' soil of an\ district in South Africa. ZULULAND is a country inhabited by a warlike people with whom a few years a<4(» we had a serious war. Findin*^- that it was iinjiossible to establish a lirm :iativf (jovernment, it was decideil in Iss? to make Zululand a l^rilish colony ; but native dis[»utes are settled by native law, and Europeans are not allowed to settle on the land, except for tradiny-, mining, and missionary purposes. iJiurrsn rr assess joys [\ Mine a. it:» Wwn C;i]ii' DOO s(|Uiir.' only a t'lw , with Hill' 1 of ealtlf. 1 of any :(.' [)e( »))!('. )us war. Ill :iati\f iliihuid ii )y nutivi' on ihf )urj)ost's. Tin,' Governor of Natal also acts as (iovcrnor ol' Zulu- liiiid. South African Republics Two small States of Soiitli Africa, oiice annrxod to the iKi. :i!t. " tju;kkin(;. I'liiijiire, but now iiulcpendt'nt roj)ii])li('s, slioiiM be men- tioiit'd here. The Transvaal and the Free State. The TRANSVAAL and the ORANGE FREE STATE were settled bv Duteh eolunists from the (^ape who were 17H ROUND THE EMPUiE. disssatisliecl with Enj^lish j^ovenuneiit, and so reinovnl (or, to use tilt' South Alricaii I'xpivssiou, Irckh'il) fuitlicr into the interior of the country, and formed new settlo nients. In In.jI both the Transvaal and the Oranj^e Frcr State were reeo«^nised as independent States Ijy the Eng'lisli (iovernnient. The Transvaal was jinnexed to the Empire in 1877. To tliis annexation the JJoers offered a vig'orous resistance, and the English troops sent to jfut down opjjosition weiv defeated. A treaty was then made by which the continued independence of the country was agreed to. The two Republics are now on friendly terms with tlio liritish (jovernment and with the neighbouring eolonio. ^lany colonists from Jiritain have settled in both, and should the Provinces of South Africa ever become con- federated like Canada, it is not unlikely that the Transvaal and the Orange Free State would wish to form parts of the union. Trading Companies in Africa. AVe have already pointed out that in many cases colonies were founded for trading purposes. Indeed, ii may truly be said that it is chieHy as a race of traders that ,ve have spread our inlluence over so large a portion of the world. When we come to studv about India, we shall find that nearly all our vast j)ossessions there were gained for us, and were for a long time governed, by a company of English merchants. We have also found that for many years more than half of Canada was held and controlled by another such company. In Africa we have now remarkable examples of regions if c jiiirrisii r()ssp:ssTnxs ix ArnrcA. If I rernovtil t'uitli.r .'W settlo le En«»'liftli 877. T.. :esistanc( , itiou WL'iv contiiiiicil 3 with tlk' ' colonio. buth, uii'l ome coii- Tmusvuul L parts nf jiiy casts [iideed, it at' traders a portion India, we here weio lied, by a so fouud was held of regions l)i'ini»' opened up t<» eonnneret' in tlw sanic way. Ii;iri»«' portions of tin* continent are nn«;'etlu'r, and subscribe a larye sum of money to carry •)ut the pur- [Mtses they haye in yiew. They then hiy tlieir plans l)ef()re tlic Imperial Government and (obtain from it a " Royal Charter," wliidi entitles them to trade oyer a certain area (if country, to make treaties with the native tribes, to establish a force of soldiers or police for maintainin rilH F.MVIUE. ilistricl. A l;iin<' tnidc is ildiu? witli the natives in i \. cliMiiL;inL;' l*Jii;lisli in;iniir;ictiiic(l l;«mi(|s i'or ivdiv, nihlicr j>!ilni-nil, i^'iiin-ni'abic, citj);!!, liidcs, and other jinuluct- o llir coimlrv. 'I'll." IMPERIAL BRITISH EAST AFRICA COMPANY lias its Iciritnry <»m tin* r;»>t('i'n si inih's. It stretch.^ inhtnd to tlie l)ordrrs of the Con^o Free State and to ih, waters of the Nile. A railway is hein*^ constructed from Mombasa, iln j)rinei|>al liarl)our, tn Lake Victoria Nyanza ; trade roa.U liiive l)cen opened to the interior; steamships phiccd npiii tlie rivers and Lake Victoria Nyanza; and different piHiil- liave been conneeted ))y tele^'rapli. The exports of ihi- reo-ion are various, and include ivory^ hides, indiarubber. cloves, gums, ebony, rhinoceros horn and hippopotamib teeth, tobacco, cattle, sheap, and gloats. In past times, and until very lately, the ^-reatest ex] ' ri of all was that of slaves, and to ])ut down tiiis trade is "iic of the nniin (tbjects of the Kast Africa (^tmpany. It i- believed that n(»thin' up of ovKid roads and the (• n- struction of railways. The Arab traders who fornu rl\ bouoht ivorv in the interior of the countrv found that tli' easiest wav of ^cttinii" it carried to the coast was bv inc.iiw of slaves. To obtain them, they attacked and burnt wlu'li villaj^es, killini? those who resisted, and takinc^ eaptiw others, whom they first eniu])e]led to act as beasts of bnnlcii on the lonn' journey to the coast, and then sold as slavcvs. Burns u ]>nssESsi()Ns t\ aihica. 17!» lives ill ( \. Di'V, nil)lifr imuluct- . 1 COMPANY , t lie (11 -1- iXltll In li|r It Shvtrl;,.. and to ;l,' unbasa, ilh ti'juk' r();ii|« )liu*('d iipi.ii .•rent points H'tS of till- indiarubber. ppopotamus litest CN] ' r! trade is "in )any. It i- puttinn' ;iii nd the < ^ n- lo i'ornicrlv ul that til' IS ])V nuMii* nirnt \vli"]r ins: eajitivi ts of biinli'ii d as slaves. Kail\va\s and roads will not oiilv make tliis method (»f (•iirriiio'e unjirolitahh', Imt will enal>le us easily to reach the li'iiit of the eoiintry to (,'heek Aral* erueities. Thr BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY has under- tikcn to ojM'ii ii|» a vast territory, culled Zambesia, in the heart of Afriea, south of the River Zambesi. 'Ihis region is Ix'lieved to lie ii<»t fHily very I'ieJi in o<,Id, loit aUo ;i <4(»od ])iistoral and aoricultuial eouiitry, >uital»Ie f(»r Kiiropean settlement. A railway is heino- l)ui.'t and tele- i;nij)hsare l)ein;i' extended northward from llu i 'sijie C'ohtny, tlirouoh l^'cluianaland, and in 1 "sl)() an I'Jii.';li^h expeilition made a road still farther northward iuU) Masbci.aiand, nliieli it ; . i ujtied. Forts have ])een estaMMied for the prolir'tion of .settlers coming' into the eouniry. Portuguese Territory. AVo may see on the map that in order to ov| ].y tlio shortest wav from the coast to Zaml)esi;i, it is neeessarv for immigrants to pass through the strij) of ]*ortnouese territory whieli stretches along" tlie east of Afriea, from Delagoa Bay to Cape I .egado. This circumstance has laiised trouhle with the Portuguese Government, and furnislies an exam])le of tliose diiliculties which we meet witli from liaving to deal with the various nations who occuin' j)arts of Afriea. The Duty of the British Government. These trading com|)anies are not left entirely to themselves in the government of the regions in which their operations are carried on. It is tiie duty of one of M li 180 liOUXD THE EMPIRE. the UiK'cii's ministers, the Secivlarv of State for Forciiin Afl'airs, to see that notliiiiii' is clone in their dealiiiii- wnii th«' native raees of whicli the people of Enu'land do ii); 'PI )rove Tl us is very neeessary ; tor ollen in our f'( )ft< hist. '.''•S it lias heeii found that the eagerness of trad eolonists to ^-et all the advantage p(3ssible out of a new eountrv has le(•(•( 1 government are established it is found that the jieopli- settle down to steady industry, and are able to product' articles of commerce, in exchan<>'e for which they mav secure maii\ thin««s that add to their comfort and lia|ijti- ness. Besides this, the horrible slave-trade is ''•radually put down, and teachers and missionaries have an op|Hir- tunity to instruct the natives, and so lift them out of tlioir state of iirnorance and barbarism. West Africa. There are some thinjj^s in the earlier relations of our country with the West Coast of Africa which are ii"t pleasant to remember. Before slavery was abolished in the British domini-nb, and when net»'roes were wanted to work on the planta- tions of the West Indies and North America, it was on ninrfsn I'os sessions ix jruicA. isi this const tlirit llic luirliaroiis slave-trade was eliiellv lanied on. The vessels of the slave-traders infested the riiist, ea})tured the uiilortiinate negroes, or j)ur('ljased the raptivi's taken in war ironi the native ehiei's, who were thus eneouraui-ed to k( ej) up the most cruel and constant strife with each other. After the trade was made illcii^al in lS(i7, and slavery itsi'lf was abolished in \>>'-\'-\, our colonies on the West ('(last of Africa became of imjiortance in connection with Miir efforts to put an end to the inhuman traffic. Sierra Leone. In 17^7 an EnQ-lish company was formed to eslal)- iish 11 colony in Africa for the reception of freed neg-roes, it wliom there were then a <^ood many in Enj^hmd. These were collected and sent out to what is now called Freetown, the capital of the colony, where a grant of land bad been obtained from a native chief. These first colo- [nists were joined at a later period by other freed negroes from Nova Scotia and Jamaica, and after 1807, when the Government took charirc of the colonv, whole caru'oes of licj^roes, saved from slave-trading ships, an'tcl to thr West India llei»Minents, wliicli are eom})osed oT nei^-nus. but tlie number (»t' En<;lish tr()(i])s on the station will probably l)e larf^cly increased. The population of Sierra Leone and the adjoiniiiL:' IK.. 10. — (AIM; COAST CASTl.i:, ON THE COM) (OAST islands is over 71,000, but the resident white i)opnlation does not now number much more than :^00. GAMBIA lies to the north from Sierra Leone. It ]i;h an area of GD S(]Uare miles, with a })oj)ulation of ab^iil 1 1,000 persons, of whom very few are white. At oin time Ciaml)ia was a j^reat centre of the slave-trade. The GOLD COAST, stretdiino' aloni^ the northcMii shore of the (julf of Guinea for about ojO miles, has an aiva Binrisii rossEssfoxs ix .wine a. 1S3 (il iilxtiit 8'.),(l()0 S(jiiniv niilis, and a populalinii "stimatcd ;il iH'nrly a million and a hall' soids. Gold is I'dund in ronsidcraljlo ([nanlities. It was obtained hy ihc Portn- L^iu'se and Frencdi in the I'onrlei'iilli, {il'teentli, and sixt»>onth (viitnries, and pt I'vesent about tSO, ()(!(( worth eaeh year is o])taincd for export. LAGOS is n small island Ivin": oil' what was rorinerlv known as the Slave Coast, and was taken |)ossessi(.n nl' hy the British Government in order to suppress the slave- tiade, of whieh it was the head-cpiarters for this part of Al'riea. Other islands and a portion of the nei<4hl)(iurin<»' mainland have been added to the eolony, which has a population numlierinj^ Jl'djOOO. Fiajji'os has the only safe lKirl)our found aloiio- 0(0 miles of eoast, and has therefore Iceome the chi(^f seat of eommeree for the neighbouring- territories. The eity is the wealthiest and most pojjulous • Ml the West Coast of Africa. St. Helena. Alono- the track of ships yoini;' from Europe to India I'v the Cape of Good Hop«' is the island (.f St. Helena, whieh has belonu'ed to Britain ever since Id/'i. when it was captured from the Dutch. Bef<»re the opening' of the Suez Canal it was of ^reat importance as a port of call for ships in tht3 Indian trade, whieh sto)>ped here for water and fresh provi-ions. It is now so little used that the popidation of tluj island has ureatly decreased, and the force of s )ldiers once niain- lained for its defence has been much reduced. It has, liowever, strong fortilications. Should the Sue/. Canal ft- ¥ 0V( muTisrr possessioxs in Africa. 185 % % M over 1)0 closccl to our trade, St. Helena would at onee beeome as important as in former times. The island is lOi miles loiif^ and (')\ miles hroad, and is about a third of the size of the Isle of Wio-ht. Lofty cliffs, from fUlO to 2,100 feet in height, fate the sea on all sides, giving the island a desolate and forbidding aspeet. Tlie soil is in niany ])arts fertile, and furnishes excellent pasturage, while the island is well watered. The whole population numbers about 5, ()()(). St. Il'dena has been made famous in history from having been the place where Xa])i)k'(m Hona parte was kept in exile after his final defeat by Wellington at Waterloo. \1 Ascension. Eiffht hundred miles northward from St. Helena is the equally lonely island of Ascension. We took possession of it in 1815, probably as a part of our precautions in watch- ing over Bonaparte at St. Helena. The staticm of George- town, situated on a small bay on the western coast, is protected by a fort. The place has an excellent hospital, to which the sick may be sent from ships which touch there. Ascension has been chiefly used as a victualling jdace for vessels employed in suppressing the slave-trade on the African coast, and for those engaged in the southern whale fisheries. In time of war it might become of con- siderable importance as one of the links in our line of com- munication with the East. It has been described as a fixed store-shij) of the navy, and as such is under the control of the Admiralty. 186 no [IX I) THE EMriVxE. TIk? jirca oF i\w island is '^o scjuare miles, arid the pojui- lation iHiinlx'is altout 2(MI. Sea-turtles constitute almost tlu' onlv article of commerce. Tliev are cauijht in laiuc numbers, \veii»hiii«»' from 000 to SOD \ho. each. .»♦« ClIAPTKR XVI. iJIMTlSll sTI{()N(illOLI)S l\ THE MEUITEH llAXEAX. The Mediterranean Sea. TllK (^rcat tiadini;- and civilisino* nations ol' old times, such as the Jews, Vluenicians, (ireeks, Romans, and Cartlin- ^inians, were settled around the Mediterranean f 3a. Must no. \1. — THE MEDITEUUANEAX. of the commerce ot* tlie ancient world was carried on around its shores. At a later time the Republics of Venice and (lenoa rose to i^Tcat power and inHuence, chiefly owinjn; to the oMod ])osition for trading" ]>urposes which they occupied on the same sea. The wealth of all these nations caTiie |)artly from the fact that it was only by way of the BRITISH STIiOXGHnLDS. 187 IH' pOplI- t' almost in lainv vx, les, siu'h Cartlni- j\Iust 1 around nice and )\vinjn" !(• [H'cupicd IS eanu' of the Mediterranean that tlie rich iinnluetiuns of the far East could reach Knr(»pe. When the new route to India and China hy way of the 'Jape of (iood Hojxj was discovered, in 1 11*7, the com- inercial im})ortanee of the Meditcnaiiean declined, for it was found easier to bring; i>;"oods from the I'^ast hy sea than overland across the Istlinius of Suez to the ^fediterranean. But all this was once more ehanijed in JS(iS, when the Suez Canal was opened, and a large j)art of the vastly in- creased Hood of Eastern commerce hei»an a«»ain to come to iuirope hy way of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. As most of this trade is British, or carried t)n under the British Hay, the interests which we have to i^nard in the Mediterranean are vt:y «>reat, even if we only look upon that sea as connecting us with parts of our own Kmpire. We have long maintained here places of great strength, which are of much importance for the protection of our commerce. Gibraltar. On the northern side of the Straits of Gibraltar is a promontory of rock, joined to the mainland of Spain by a sandy isthmus. At the highest point it rises to about 1,400 feet above the level of the sea. This Rock of Gibraltar we captured from the Spaniards in 1704. ]\Iany attempts have since been made to re- take it, especially be- tween the years 1770 and 17S3, when for three years and seven months our <»arrison there had to sustain a siege against the combined French and Spanish forces. Very large sums of British money have been spent in strengthening the fortiHcations, and we usually kce[) there lifirnsH sTiioxa HOLDS. 189 GIBRALTAR ^.^ORoocoJ>-'C,^.. no. Ai.- STltAlT or (.IltK.M TAU. :i «j,'nn'i^<>ii <»!' :il)i»iit o, (1(1(1 iiu'ii. liattorirs Imvc Imtii ci*!! strurtt'd at many advant;)L>».'ous points, wliile un tlie laml ward side, and also so us to command tlio bay, two ranj^os of oallci'ics liavo In'en cut out (A' the s(did rock, and i'urnislicd with lu-avy cannon, (lihraltar is thcrct'orc now commonly c(»nsidcrcd one of ft' the strono-ost I'ortrcsses in the world. Its whoK' area is only about two s(|uart' miles, and it is the smallest dcpenilcncy (»1' the lOmpire. JJut it is a very important one. Situated at the mouth o[* the Mediterranejin, it serves to protect our trade in that ^•reat sea. As a coaling station, it sup}tlies steamships en^'atjjed in the Eastern, Australian, and Mediterranean trade, and those which ply alono- the Western coast of Africa as well. As the ])lace is chiefly important as a fortress, its governor is always a military oflicer of high rank. Besides the liritish g-arrison, the town has a poi)nlatiou of ab TiOVSD Tin: EMPIliE. of I lint ^^ivjit sea, is f?(;urec'ly less imi>ortant. JSituatiMl between Sicilv and Al'rica, and alxml lialf'-wav Ijrtwcin (jibrallai* and Port Said, Malta lies in the direct iNMitf m| the main trallie wliieli passes tlirouu;!! tlir Sne/ ('aii;il. Upon it we eliii lly rely lor the del'encj' of (tnr conniK r«c within the Mediterranean. It is the head-quarters <>i" mid Mediterranean Meet, and ;i ))ort of call for most oi* \\u- «»;reat steamship lines to tlic East. ri(i. I'..— HAKHOIU or VALETTA. We obtained possession of ^Malta in 1S(I0, when, afl.i the expulsion of the French, the islands eom posing' the H'roup were ceded to (Ireal liritain bv the inhabitant>. The two principal islands arc Malta and Gozo, with several smaller ones, and the total area is about 117 square miles, with a population of nearly l('(1,()0i) people, exclusive of the six or eii^ht thousand British soldiers usually kept in g-arrison there. For 204 years, from l.j:34 to 17 Us, Malta was occupied by the Knights of St. John, a military brother- hood, or<^anised to defend the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and to resist the '' infidels, '^ or Turks, who then threatened to overrun Europe. These knij^'hts spent large sums ol' money in constructing' fortifications, and much more has been done since the British occupation to add to the strength of the fortress. In the magazines, stores of water, material, and provisions are always kept, sufficient Situatr,! V l)«'t Weill i I'ollt." ..f K'Z (';ili;i!. coinnicivi. I'I'S ol' Mill' t, and ;i )st. ol' ill,. ICS to tlir "jscssion (if iL'ii, jil'lcr e French, siiii^' llic If) ( I real liahittiiits. rcditerranean, is not a part of the British Kmpire, nnr are its people British subjects, but both aiv at present in the kee|i- iug of the British Government, which administers justice, collects taxes, and is responsible for the welfare of the people. The control of this island was obtained in 1878 from Turkey, as a position from which the advance of Russia in Asia Elinor could be watched, and, if neces- sary, checked. Although we keep a small body of troops there, we have made no attempt to change it into a strongly fortified post, as seems at first to have been intended. The trade of Cyprus has largely increased under British rule, and the administration of justice has been much improved. AVe pay a subsidy of £O:^,S0n each year to the Sultan of Turkey for giving us the control of Cyprus. This sum is chiefly derived from the ME D i T E R^,R A N E A N , S E A 34 FIG. 47. — CVI'UIS. lilll Tl^ll S TROyGUULVS. 193 ivvoiuifs of the ibluud, but u portion is paid by vote of Parliatneiit. Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus, tlien, are tlie three (k'j)endeneies whicli we liold in tlie Mediterranean, and 1)}' wliicli we maintain our national i)osition there. Note. — From Plytnouth to (;ibriiltiiv by sen is 1,().)() nuuticil miles: frdiii Ciibraltar to Maltn, 080; t'lom Malta tu Port Said, '240 miles. ' yprus is nearly 1,U00 milt .s distant from Malta, and JoO i'rum Port Siiid. The Suez Canal. We pass ; m the waters of tlie Mediterranean to those of the Red Sea tliroui^h the famous Suez Canal, which was cut about twenty years ai^o through the sands of Egypt. This eanal was planned by a celebrated French en- ffineer, jNI. de Lesseps, and its construction was laro^elv the result of French enterprise. Nevertheless, because Britain is a great tradinjj and colonisinj*' • ountry, she has gained much more advantage hvm the Canal than France or any other country. Much the largest part of the vast quantities of merchandise which are constantly passing through it is carried by British ships and owned by N no. 4>>. — THE SLE/ CANAL. 194 BOUND THE EMPIRE. British merchants. Of the steamships which <^o tlirtaiiih it every year, ahout seveuty-eight out of every huiuhed carrv the British Hayr. The canal has tlierefore become for British commerce tlie most important i)iece of water in the world outside of our own home waters. Its construction has ji^reatlv clianged our relations with many parts of the Empire. For all purposes of trade and intercourse it has brought Australia, India, and other places in the eastern and southern seas much closer to England than they wciv before. Steamships from these places can now save many days in coming" to England compared with what could be doiu' when they had to go round the Cape of Good Hope ur Cape Horn. The Indian and Australian mails therefore come and go by this route. So also do the large numbers of soldiuis whom we are constantly sending to or bringing back from India. The Canal is likewise the nearest line of communica- tion with our newer settlements in East Africa. Great steamships are constantly ])assing from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, laden with the productions of India and China — tea, coffee, silks, cotton, spices, gums, dyes, ivory, precious stones, or with Australian wool, gold, silver, lead, or tin. They are met by others coming from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, laden witli every kind of British manufacture which our own people require in India or Australasia, or which are used in trade with the native races in the East. The Canal is the On BRITISH STRONGHOLDS. 195 (Treat meeting-place for the trade u£ the East aud the West. From Port Said, where the Canal is entered from the Mediterranean, to Suez, on the Red Sea, the distance is 87 miles. In this distance lakes, which requiied little or no excavation to make them deep enough for the passage of large ships, extend over '21 miles. The depth of the canal is 16 feet. At intervals of a few miles it is made of (li)uble width, and here ships going in one direction are moored, while those going in the opposite direction pass by them. Vessels are only allowed to steam at a slow speed, and the average time spent in the passage is now a little more than twenty hours. The Passage through the Canal. The navigation goes on by night as well as by day. On entering the canal for a night passage, each ship is provided with a powerful electric light. A very striking sight it is to see a long procession of great steamships coming through the canal, each with its brilliant light at tlie bow piercing far out into the desert gloom, and meet- ing a like procession, similarly illuminated, coming in the opposite direction. Less peculiar, but equally interesting, is the passage by day, when it is possible to realise how immense was the task of opening up this great channel through the desert. Excavation works are still usually going on, sometimes with dredges, sometimes by means of camels, which descend the banks, and kneel to have the pimniers upon their backs tilled with sand, which is then tarried away, to be deposited at a distance from the canal. 196 ROUND THE EMPIRE. Far as the eye can reach on eitlier side stretches the sandy or stony desert, with an occasional clump of palm- trees or tut't of thorn-bush. Along* the banks, almost the only objects of interest are the trim little station-houses, with their sij^naliinjj apparatus of black balls upon Hai;- staffs ; now and then a g'roup of Arabs, with their camels ; and the Egyptian Hamingoes and ])elicans, which stand in long rows by the edges of the shallow pools or bitter lakes. Frenchmen deserve the highest j)raisc for the skill and energy which enabled them to plan and exct te this great canal, so useful to the commerce^ of Lne world. British j)eoi)le, who have reaped such advantages from the canal, should not forget to whom its construction is due. The Value of the Canal. The use that we make of the Suez Canal for the Viist trade of the Empire causes our people in Australia and ludia to be as much interested in its safety as the l)eople of Britain themselves. * Thu canal is owuod aud managed by the Suez Canal Com- pany. In this company, however, the British Government is now tho largest shareholder, having paid in 187o nearly £4,000,000 sterlini,' for 176,002 shares previously possessed hy the Khedive of Egyj)t. The profit derived from working the eanal in 1887 was £l,199,')o'J, and tho interest paid to the shareholders amounted to LrG per cent 3,389 vessels passed through the canal in 1890. Of the entire number, tho division among the various countries was as follows:— English, 2,522; Gorman, 27'3 ; French, 169; Dutch, 144; Italian, 87; Austro-Hungariun, o5; Norwegian, 43; Spanish, 34; Turkish, 21; Russian, 20 ; l^ortuguesc, 7 ; Japanese, 4 ; Greek, 3 ; American, '6 ; Ilrazilian, 1 ; Siamese, 1 BniTTSH STROXGHOLDS. 197 If, for instance, Australian wool could not pass through the canal safolv. the wool-jjrowers in Australia would puffer as uiuch loss as the wool-spinners in Yorkshire; and tlie same is true of other ])roductions and manufactures passing between Britain and India or Australia. It would he for the common interest of our people in all these countries to use their united strength and influence to keep this great channel of trade safe and open at all times. It is the existence of common interests like these which helps to bind a nation together. Again, the canal gives the British nation a great in- terest in the good government of Egypt — the country through wdiich it passes. So great is this interest, that when the Egyptian army rebelled against its Government in ISS'Z, a British force was sent to put down the rebellion, and restore the power of the Khedive, as the ruler of the country is called. Since that time we have " occupied '' Egypt: that is, we keep a small army there to assist the Egyptian forces in maintaining order and resisting the attacks of their chief enemies, the Arabs of the Soudan. Besides this, a number of English otiicials remain in Egypt to advise and assist the Khedive in the government of the country, and especially in the management of the taxes, of the courts of justice, and of the irrigation works. Thus we have made ourselves in a measure responsible for the safety and good government of a country which is not our own, and we have done this chiefly on account of our interest in the safety of the Suez Canal. 198 BOUND THE EMPIIiE. Aden. The fortified harbour of Aden watches over the moutli of the Red Sea, as Gibraltar does over the mouth of tlio Mediterranean, and is one of the most important of thiit line of protected coaling* stations wliich connects Britain with Australia and the East. The territory which wo possess at Aden includes an area of about 70 s(piare miles. The harbour is excellent, but it is impossible to imag-im- anything more desolate and forbidding than the count vv which surrounds it. It is thus described Miles o 1 a 3 4 ? ttatktr / JtoKtaU fC FIG. 49. — ADEN. bv one who has n- cently visited it : — ^All around, abovt', about is hard, arid, barren, volcanic rock, calcined, contorted, ejected fp^ra ancient earth furnaces, and everywhere exhibiting the dry drear colours of extreme heat, brick-red sulphurous yellow, Tartarean black. A faint green tint here and there in the clefts of the sterile hills, where infrequent rain has trickled and dust has lodged, manifests the presence of sparse thorn-bushes and of the Aden lily, a pretty white - flowering bulb, which is well-nigh the only growing thing redeeming the utter desolation of tlie landscape.^' ^ The intense beat of the summer months makes the * Sir Edwin Arnold. BRITISH STllOXGHOLDS. 199 the mouth uth of tli(> lit of tliat cts Britain which we uare miles. to imagine he count IT •ounds it. described has re- •d it :— Lind, above, ard, arid, aiiic rock, contorted, "A ancient dry drear IS yellow, L there in 1: rain has •resence of a pretty the only n of the makes the cfation a very trying one for English constitutions. During many months of every year, and sometimes for two or three years together, no rain falls, and artificial means have to be employed to secure a sup])ly of water. In the hollows of the hills immense tanks, lined with cement, have been constructed, capable of holding many million gallons of rain-water, while condensing-engines are used to distil fresh water from the sea. Wells dug to a j>reat depth in the rock, and an aqueduct from the mainland, furni.sh a small additional supply of brackish water. In spite of all these difficulties, we have made of Aden an almost impregnable fortress. By excavating and tun- nelling the volcanic rocks, batteries of heavy guns have been placed in position to command the approaches to the harbour, and we maintaia there at all times a considerable body of British and native Indian troops. AVhile Aden is chiefly valuable as a coaling station and as a place of safety for our ships, it is also the centre of a large and growing trade with Arabia and the neighbouring coast of Africa. Coffee, spices, gums, hides, ivory, feathers, and other pro- ducts, are brought here to be shipped to England and other parts of the world. No stranger mixture of nationalities could be seen anywhere in the Empire than in the streets of Aden. Europeans of every nation from the ships constantly calling at the port mingle with Arabs, Egyptians, negroes from the Somali coast, from Zanzibar and from Central Africa, Turks, Jews, Lascars, and the Indian merchants who carry on much of the trade of the place. 200 ROrXD THE EMVIJiE, Perim and Socotra. Along with Aden must \w iiu'iilionod Perim, an islaiid situated immediately in the Striiit of Bab-el-Mandeb, nnd so eommandinj4" the entrance to the Red Sea at its n;ir- rowest point. It is a volcanie rock, with an area ot alniit live sijuare miles. Here we keej) a small garrison nf Indian troops ; but beyond the fact that it has a liglit- house, the island is of little use except in the event of war, when its position, and the fact that it has an excellent harbour, would make its possession a matter of considerable importance. In order to still further secure our position at the mouth of the Red Sea, the large island of Socotra was, by an agreement with its ruler, the sheikh of the neighbouriiiir African coast, annexed to the Empire in 188G. Xo steps have as yet been taken to occupy the island, and its annexation was probably effected in order that it might not be taken possession of by any other Power. Our possessions at the mouth of the Red Sea are nil nnder the control of the Government of Bombay, and are looked upon as a part of British India. Their maintenance is therefore not a charge upon the revenues of the United Kingdom. _fp INDIA. L> some oC those wlio controlled the affairs of the East India Comjiany that it would he well if En<»'lish rule could he extended so as to estahlish the peace and order which are necessarv for prosperous trade. They thought, too, that there were means by which it could he done. Sepoys. We often see soldiers or volunteers beino- drilled hour after hour and day after day in order that they may perform military duties well, and we know that a man is not thouj^'ht to be worth much as a soldier till he has had this drill. Now, both the French and English had noticed in India that a small body of well-drilled European soldiers was more than a match fur many times its number of the untrained troops of the native princes. These princes themselves had found out the same thing, and so in the wars they carried on with each other they often offered large sums of money and much territory in return for the aid of French or English troo])s. It had ai&3 been found that Kuropean officers could drill native Indians into being ij^uod soldiers. More than this, the natives of one race were quite willing to enlist and light under English or * Prof. Seeley. " Expansion of England." 208 ROUND THE EMPIRE. French orders against those of other races. So the priio tice was begun of hiring " Sepoys," as the native soldiers are called, and giving them the best discipline possible. The superior courage and discipline of British troops and the employment of trained Sepoys were, then, the means by which the East India Company gradually spread its control over India during the hundred years after the French were driven out. At Plassey, Robert Clive, with 1,000 English soldiers and 3,000 Sepoys, defeated more than 40,000 followers of the Nabob of Bengal. The same thing has been repeated many times in Indian history India under the Company. For various reasons the Company was constantly com- pelled to interfere in the affairs of the native States. Sometimes the quarrels of these States with each other checked the Company's trade ; sometimes they were com- bining with each other or making treaties with the French to expel the English from India. When the Company did interfere, its well- trained troops and its command of the sea gave it such an advantage that district after district, province after province, and tinally whole kingdoms^ fell in succession under its rule. India under the Crown. But it is not the East India Company which now governs India. It is the British people themselves, who do so through the Queen and Parliament. How did this change came about ? The Company was, as has been said, merely a body of merchants trading for INDTA. 209 g-ain liioh lluW Ivcs, who How did 3, as KIS iding for The men wlio were sent ont to manage its affairs were often persons of great ability, and disposed to rule wisely and justly. Sometimes, however, one of them was tempted to use his power to make unjust gains for himself or the Company. When cases of this kind became known in England, Parliament began to insist on taking a large share in the government of India. It appointed the Governors-General and the Councils which assisted them, and it took steps to establish the Indian Civil Service. The members of this service, judges, magistrates, tax- collectors, and other officials, confined themselves to the task of governing the country, and were not allowed to have anything to do with trade, so that they had no temptation to use the natives unfairly. Under this system the government of the East India Company was much improved. But a much greater change was yet to come. The Sepoy Mutiny. We have seen how India was conquered for us largely by the help of native troops, or Sepoys. These same Sepoys proved, however, to be a great danger as well as a great assistance. In 1S57 occurred the Sepoy Mutiny, when ii^reat numbers of the men whom we had drilled and armed so carefully rose in rebellion against our rule. There were frightful massacres of oar people. For a short time it seemed probable that British power in India would be over- thrown. Had the whole of the people of India joined in the rebellion, this would no doubt have taken place. But they did not do so, and of the Sepoys themselves many regiments remained faithful, and helped us to fight the o 210 ]WUXD THE EMPIRE. mutineers. The Sikhs of the Puiijaub, whom we had con- quered shortly before, fought valiantly npon the Britisji side, and rendered g-reat assistance^ as did also the princes and people of some of the feudatory native States. Tlie common people of the country went on as usual renderinf^^ us those services which are almost necessary for the exist- ence of Europeans in the hot climate of India. Never perhaps did British soldiers display greater courage and I endurance than during the Sepoy Mutiny. But it was put down by native aid as well as by the exertions of our own troops. The mutiny proved that India was not, and probably never will be, a country which can be united to oppose our rule. The Empress of India. The Mutiny of 1857 was followed by the important change in the method of government to which reference has been made. Our people had gradually made up their minds that the East India Company, wonderful as was the work which it had done in building up our Indian Empire, was not a body suited for carrying on its govern- ment. By a Bill passed through Parliament in 1858, the government of India was transferred from the Company to the Queen, as the representative of the people of this country. In 1877 the Queen took the title of Empress of India. Since 1858 the English people have been entirely responsible, through the Queen and Parliament, for the good government of our fellow-subjects in India. How this work is carried on we shall briefly explain in another place. PHYSICAL FEATURES OF IXDTA. 211 had con- 2 Britisl) e princes es. The •enderin*'' the exist- . Never rage nixl it it was ns of our not, and )e united mportant reference up their 1 as was ir Indian 5 govern- 1858, the Company e of this mpress of 1 entirely :, for the ia. How n another CHAPTER XVIII. PHYSICAL FEATUTl?:S OF INDIA. Geography of India. Let us now consider the main features in the geo<]^ra]ihy of the immense country wliich has thus been brought under Eno^lish rule. We see on the map that the greater part of India con- sists of a large peninsula, in shape something like a tri- angle, one side washed by the Arabian Sea, another by the Bay of Bengal, while on the north the vast range of the Himalaya Mountains forms an irregular base. The ffreatest length and sjreatest breadth are each about 1,900 miles. The whole of this vast peninsula may be roughly divided into three sections : — 1. The mountainous region of the north, where the Himalayas, and the ranges which branch from them, gradually sink from far above the limit of perpetual snow to the hot plains beneath. 2. The great river plains, beginning at the foot of the Himalayas, extending east and west from sea to sea, and including the vast regions watered in the west by the Indus and its branches, and those on the east watered by the Ganges and Bramahpootra. 3. The Southern Peninsula, or Deccan, consisting chiefly of a great table-land bounded on the north by the A^indhya Mountains, and on its other sides by the Eastern and Western Ghauts. o 2 212 TiOUNT) THE EMPIRE. The Mountain Region. The Himalayas form the loftiest and jirrandest mountain ran<^e in the world. For many hundreds of miles tlnv serve as a great wall of defence for India on the nortli, as they cannot he crossed hy an army, l^ut in tlie north- west is the famous Khyber Pass, an openini»; through which many invaders have come^ and wliich we now o-uanl with the greatest care. The Himalayas also serve to collect, and in tlu'ir higher regions of ice and snow to store up, the water which supplies the great rivers of India, upon which the pros- perity and even the lives of more than 150,000,000 of people depend. As the Indus and Bramahpootra hoth rise to the north of the Himalayas, the water from both the northern and southern slopes is thus carried through tlie plains of India. Between the summits of these great mountains, the highest peak of which, Mount Everest, is more than 29,0(10 feet high, and the hot plains beneath, are found all tlie climates of the world, with most of the productions of the Arctic, temperate and tropical zones. The River Plains. Southwards from the Himalayas lie the great river plains. Here are to be found the richest, most populous, and most prosperous parts of India. On the west, the Indus, 1,800 miles long, flowiiii,^ from behind the Himalayas, receives the waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravee, and Sutlej, from the southern slopes of those mountains. PHYSICAL FEATURED OF IXLIA. 213 mountain ilos tlicv nortli, a>< le nortli- throuu'li )\v ^uanl in their ter which the pros- 10,000 of both rise both the 'oujj-h the ains, tlie m 29,000 d all the ctions of 'eat river populous, , flowing" rs of the southern These rivers g-ive the district its name of Piinjaub, or " Five Rivers/' The Indus system drains an area of over 300,000 square miles. The Ganges, though only about 1,600 miles lon^, chains the still larger area of 500,000 square miles, and is viikii«aSf^:> ':tS^^r=^A}\ tr ifTH^^ IIG. al. — CALCUTTA. {From (t photooraph l>u Frith it Co., Reiifate.) hy far the most important river of India. As it approaches the sea it is joined by the Bramahpootra, 1.500 miles lun«^. An immense delta, called the Sunderbunds, and itself nearly as large as Ireland, has been formed at their mouths by the mud broug-ht down from the Hima- layas. The fertility of these river plains, especially that of the Gang-eSj is very trreat. They sustain a population of 214 UOVXD THE EMPIRE. more than 150,000,000 of people. In Lower ]3eiii,''al there are three harvests eaeli year ; pease, pulse, and various oil seeds are reaped in April and May, the early FIG. 62.— HEXAKES. riee crop in September, and the great nee erop two or three months later. Alono- the vallev of the Ganjjes is a wonderful sucees- v| sion of great cities : Delhi, Agra, Cawnpore, Lucknow, PHYSICAL FEATURES OF lyOTA. •215 Allahabad, Benares, Mirzapur, Patna, Dacca, and Calcutta, with innumerable smaller towns and villages. The Deccan. The table-land of the Deccan is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Its average elevation above the sea is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. On the eastern and western coasts, between the mountains and the sea, are narrow strips of flat fertile country, much given up to the cultivation of rice. Bombay, on the west coast, is the largest city, and one of the great seaports of the world. AVhen the American AVar in 18G1-5 cut oft' the mills of Lancashire from supplies of American cotton, they had to obtain it from India, and Bombay became one of the chief cotton markets in the world. About 4,000,000 cwts. are now exported every year, while half as much more is spun and woven in the country. Madras, on the east coast, is also a city of great im- portance. Burmah. The great province of Burmah, which lies eastward of the Indian Peninsula, still remains to be mentioned. Until five years ago our possessions in Burmah con- sisted of a narrow strip of the coast of Further India, stretching along the Bay of Bengal. In 1880 Upper Burmah was annexed. The province now contains 280,000 square miles, and is the largest in British India. The inland parts are mountainous, covered with forests, and only in parts suited for agriculture. On the 216 ROUND THE EMPIRE. I flat and fertile lands of the coast are raised iinmtnsL' quantities of rice, wliieh is the chief product of tla- country, about £6,000,000 worth being exported every year. A p^reat deal is sent to England, as well as to America, China, and the continent of Europe. The forests supply teak, valuable for ship-building, and other woods. The ruby mines are the most famous in the world, and thorc are also mines of silver, copper, tin, lead, and coal. Our possession of Burmah seems likely to open up for us a new and large field for commerce outside of the country itself. The river Irrawaddy is navigable for 200 miles, to a point not far from the frontiers of China. It is proposed to construct from this point a railway into China, and so have a short route for carrying on trade with a large and thickly populated region. Rangoon and Mandalay are the chief towns of Burmah. Ceylon. For convenience sake we may here give a description of the island of Ceylon, which, as will be seen on the map, lies like a pearl-drop at the extremity of the great Indian Peninsula, Though geographically'^ a part of India, how- ever, Ceylon is not under the Indian Government, but is treated as a colony by itself under the Colonial Office'. For this reason we must make a distinction between what is said of the Government of India and Burmah on the one hand, and that of Ceylon on the other. Ceylon is a beautiful and commercially valuable island. Its length from north to south is '2,6Q miles, its greatest breadth 140 miles, and its size is more than PHYSICAL FEATURES OF IXDIA. 217 three-fourths that of Irehiiul. The inhabitants number more than 3,000,000. The Portuguese, who were the first Europeans to occupy the country, kept it chiefly under their influence for more than a century. In 1658 they were expeUed by tlie Dutch, who retained it till 1796, when they in their turn gave it up to an English force. Since that time it lias been governed as a Crown colony of the Empire. The products which Ceylon sends to our English markets are very important. The early traders were attracted by its spices, of which quantities are still exported. Chief among these is cinnamon, which grows here in greater perfection than in any other part of the world. Between two and three millions of pounds are produced every year, and nearly 50,000 acres of land are devoted to its cultivation. Far more important is the culture of tea, co£fee, and cinohona bark. It is in the management of the plantations on which these are grown that the English settlers in Ceylon are chiefly engaged. For many years coffee planting was the leading and most profitable indus- try. x\bout fifteen years ago a disease attacked the coffee plants, which spread so rapidly that many planters were idmost ruined. AVith great energy they turned to the cultivation of tea. The result has been very wonderful, and is a striking example of what British capital and energy can do when it is turned in any direc- tion. In 1878 Ceylon was sending us no tea. In 1880, only eleven years later, it sent us half as much as we received from China, so long the great centre of the 218 ROUND Till': EMVIUE. lea trade. The export is now about 1,500, 000 [xnnuls \vei«4'ht each year, and the produetiou is still rapidly ii,- creasing'. The quality ot* the tea, also, is considered liy many much superior to that of China. The bark of the cinchona tree furnishes the quinine which is so much used in medicine. This tree, originally a native of South America, has been introduced into Cevldii and India with great success. About 10,000,000 lbs. ul" bark are now exported annually from Ceylon. The tea, coffee, and cinchona plantations are all cul- tivated chiefly by native labour, and so Ceylon does not offer a Held for emigration so much as for the em- ployment of English money and English skill in producing- by native help many things which this country requires. Rice is the chief food of the native population, and about 000,000 acres are given up to its cultivation. Next in importance is the cocoa-nut palm, groves of which fringe all the coasts of Ceylon. The variety of uses to which the different parts of this tree are put is so great that it seems capable of supplying nearly all the wants of the natives. It gives them food and drink, timber for their boats and houses, materials for thatching, for manufacturing mats, cordage, baskets, and domestic uten- sils ; while the nuts themselves, oil from the kernel, and coir fibre, are largely exported. Ceylon has for ages been famous for its precious stones. It has no diamonds like South Africa, but parts of the island are rich in rubies, sapphires, cat's-eyes, and other gems. The pearl fishery on the north-west coast is one of the most valuable and productive in the vvorkl. lUilTISH RULE IN INDIA. 219 It yields a considerable revenue to the Government, to which it belont^s. Amon<«: useful minerals plumbago is the most imi)ortant. Large quantities of this are supplied to English markets. Colombo is the capital. The construction of a splendid breakwater has made it a good harbour and coaling station. Trincomalee, on the north-east coast, has also an excellent harbour, which, like that of Colombo, is being strongly fortified. Galle, a port of call on the south coast, and Kandy, in the interior, are other towns. The Maldives are a group of islands in the Indian Ocean tributary to Ceylon. CHAPTER XIX. BRITISH RULE IN INDIA. The Defence of India. To defend this vast country of India and to maintain our power there, we have an armv of about 200,000 men. Of these, some 70,000 are British troops, while the native soldiers are more than double that number. To carry on the ordinary work of government there are about three thousana officials belonging to the Civil Service. It should be remembered that the government and defence of India do not cost British people anything. The Viceroy, Governors^ Judges, and other officials of various kinds, the officers and soldiers, of the army, whether 220 Rouyi) Tin: empfre. British or native, are all paid out of the taxes of India itself. So, too, in the constriu'tion of Indian railways, eanals, j)ublic buildings, and other national works, the people of this country take no burden upon themselves. Even the expense of defending Aden, so innportant t whole nation as a coaling and naval station, is born the Indian j)eople. On the other hand, India pays nothing directly into the revenue of Great Britain. When Rome had conquered and ruled over the greater part of the ancient world, each province was expected to pay a certain amount into the imperial revenue, that the taxes of Roman people might be diminished. Spain compelled Mexico, Peru, the West India Islands, and other provinces which she had conquered, to pay her in the same way large surr in tribute. W^e have adopted the different plan of \ 'j all public money raised in India spent on India itself. It may be thought that because Great Britain pays nothing for the defence and government of India, and receives nothing from it in the form of taxes, that there- fore from a money point of view it makes no difference to us whether we possess it or not. It would be a very great mistake to think this, and it can easily be shown that the comfort and prosperity <»t' great numbers of people in this country depend in various ways on our possession and government of India. Indian Trade. Let us first look at the trade question. Every year the people of these islands sell to India more thau BIUrrSH JiULE IN TXDTA. ooi of Tinlia railways, orks, the enisielvos. bit t "(. bo I'll I. by tly into conquered it world, )unt into m peoj)le Peru, the she had SUIT in »£ y self. tain pays ndia, and lat th e re- el ifPeren CO is, and it sperity of n various ery year ore than £30,000,000 worth of manufactured p^oods. in the yi>ar KSSS India took eott<»n goods and yarns al(»ne to the value of £21,250,000, or almost a third of all that was cxporttMl from the whole of this country. AVe can sec, t' <.>n, how much the manufacturers and work-people of a «;reat ('otton-spinniiiij;' county like Lancashire depend for work and prospenty upon having such a market as this in which to sell their jifoods. In the same way, many millions of pounds' worth of machinery, hardware, railway iron, woollens, and other goods, are sent every year from the factories of Yorkshire, Scotland, and other parts of these islands to India. In return for these goods, India sends us more than £30,000,000 worth of wheat, rice, tea, colFee, raw cotton, jute, hides, indigo, wool, and other products, which furnish to our people either food or the material which they use in manufacture. We shall find later that the power of the Indian people to supply us with these products or to buy our goods depends very much upon our government of their country. From these facts we may more easily understand what Lord Dufferin meant v/heu he said, in a speech to the merchants of London, that — " It would not be too much to say that if any serious disaster ever overtook our Indian Empire, or if our political relations with the Peninsula of Hindostan were to be even partially dis- turbed, there is not a cottage in Great Britain — at all events in the manufacturing districts — which would not 222 BOUND THE EMTIRE. be made to feel the disastrous consequences of such an intolerable calamity » India's Tribute to Britain. But British people receive from India a great deal hkho than what they get from commerce. It has been estimated that the United Kingdom draws no less than sixty or seventy million pounds a year from India in direct payments. This comes to us in different forms. Part consists in the pay of the British officers and soldiers, of whom so many thousands serve iu the Indian army, and whose pay is much better than when they are serving at home. Several thousands of Englishmen also receive well-paid employment in carrying on the govern- ment of the country, as governors, collectors, judges, magistrates, engineers, clerks, and so on. Then an enor- mous amount of British money — some hundreds of millions sterling — is employed in the construction of Indian railways, canals, and other public works, and in carryinu' on Indian industries. The interest or profit of this money comes to England; and we may be quite sure that there are a great many thousands of people in these islands who depend for their living on money which in one way or another comes to them from India. If another nation, such as Russia, should conquer India, and take it from us, or if we left the country, and it fell back into the disorder which prevailed when we began to rule it, almost all these sources of income, which make so many of our people comfortable and prosperous, would disappear. BRITISH RULE FX IXDIA, 22S such an Jeal more )m draws ear from different Seers and le Indian they arc men also J govern- , judges. an enor- " millions : Indian carryinu' is money liat there \nds who ) way or conquer itry, and when we ie, which osperous, What England does for India. On the other hand, British rule has done a great deal fur India. We can truly say that Britisii people now wish to govern India for the good of the people in it. So we send out many of our ablest pul)lic men to make and carry out just laws, and they have given to the country peace, order, and justice, such as it knew little about in old times. Of all our exports to India none are so valuable to the country as the honest and upright men which we have sent to it. Many things have been done to greatly increase the prosperity of tlie country. Nearly 20,000 miles of railway have been built, opening up communication, and enabling tlie people of the remote districts to send to market the commodities which they produce for sale. It is found that as more railways are constructed, the imports and exports largely increase, showing that the people are able to buy more and produce more. Even more important thar railways is the system of irrigation canals which has been made under our direction. We should note why these are so much needed and do so Miuch good. Famine. One of the greatest clangers which the dense population i>f India has always had to fear is that of famine. We hear of terrible famines, in which millions of people perished from want of food long before Britain had much to do with the country, and even under our government there has sometimes been a great loss of life from the 224 ROUND THE EMriRE. same cause. It is well that we should understand wliv this danger is so great in India. There are facts about our own country which will liclp to make the condition of India clear. If all the inhalntants of England and Wales were distributed evenly over the whole country, it is estimatcil that there would be nearly 4.50 in each square mile. It requires immense quantities of food to sup ' so many ])eo|)le. We have a climate which is generally favourable for agriculture, and crops seldom entirely fail. Even so, however, we do not produce in England nearly all the food required by our dense population. We get from othor countries great supplies of corn, flour, meat, cheese, siigai-, and many other articles of food. Fortunately, we are able to pay for these with the manufactured goods which millions of our people are engaged in making. If seasons be bad and crops poor, we import more provisions from abroad, and so avoid the risk of famine. Now, there are large areas of India where the popula- tion is even denser than in England and Wales. Taking- the whole vast country together, there is the high averag-e of 184 persons to each square mile, which is much higlier than the averaiye in Scotland or Ireland. The people depend almost entirely on the productions of the soil, not only for their own food, but for what they export to other countries. The climate is one which at times causes severe droughts, occasionally followed l)y excessive rains. When the crops fail their main support is gone. At such periods millions of peojde, if left unaided, may be reduced to starvation. No words could picture the BRITISH RULE ly INDIA. tand why will lit']]) ales wore estimatt'd mile. It so many 'avouralilc Even so, I the £((0(1 om other ise, suuch as the custom of burning widows with the dead bodies of their husbands, and the murder of little children by their ovrn parents, once very common practices, have 226 ROUND THE EMPIRE. been put clown. Now a j[^roat deal of attention is hamo; given to education, and large nunil:)ers of colleges and %\i'^ riG. 53. — THE "MAN IN THE KEI) COAT. schools have been established. In these and other ways British peopl-e are striving to make their rule of India a good thing for its inhabitants. The "Man in the Red Coat." Before we leave the subject of India altogether, we must y one word more about a very important individual who must on no account be forgotten. We have spolani tlu I BRITISH liULE IN INDIA. 227 1 is beiiiir leges and ther ways [)£ India a ^ether, we individual ive spolcen of the Viceroy or Governor-General, of the Officers of [State, of the Civil Service, and of all the wise and able men whom England sends out to govern her great Indian I Empire. These are men of whom the country has reason to be proud, and to whose courage and judgment we owe it in a great measure that we are able to retain our possessions in India. But there is one other personage upon whom all [hese others depend, and without whom we should un- doubtedly have to give up all the good work which we are now able to do in India. We have here a picture of the man who, above all others, retains our rule in India, the brave, patient, ever trustworthy '^ man in the red coat,'' the British private soldier. Here we see him marching [ stolidly up and down on sentry outside one of the great Indian palaces, doing his duty in peace as he is sure to do it in war. The heroism and endurance of our soldiers in India jform a very bright page in the history of our country, and when we are called upon to give honour where honour is due to those who keep India for the British Crown, we must put in a very high, if not the highest place, the *' man in I the red coat.'^ The emblem of India is a very beautiful one. It is the I star which forms the decoration that has been chosen for the Indian order of knighthood — the Order of the Star of India, with its motto ''Heaven's Light our Guide"; it may be seen on the bow of the great troopships which plough the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean with soldiers for the army of India, and on the breast of many a distin- guished soldier and public servant who has helped to win or helped to keep our great Asiatic Empire. p 2 228 ROUND THE EMPIRE. \ :i CHAPTER XX. THE NATIVE STATES OP INDIA. British and Native States. We may now point out one or two facts about the wa3 in which Government is carried on in India. The first tiling to remember is that the whole countrvl is divided under two heads — BrUuh Terrifori/ and N((in\ Slates. The British Territory is that which is entirely iiiKkii the control of our own English Government. This is b far the larger part, extending over more than a millioi square miles, and having a population of about £:iOjOOU^I)( souls. It is divided into several great provinces, such aa Bengal, Bombay, Madras, and the Punjaub. Over eacl^ province is a Governor, or Chief Commissioner, under whom are collectors and other officers in control of tht districts into which a province is divided. The mass of the people themselves have nothing to say in the appointment of these officials or in making tht laws by which they are ruled. There are no elections iiil India of County Councillors or Members of Parliament to make laws or carry out the wishes of the people a^ there are in this country. Both those who frame tlu laws and those who carry them out are appointed tc their ])osts — the more important ones by the Queen aiK^ Government of this country, and inferior officers, l»otl English and native, by those thus sent out. A different form of government prevails in the Native States, of which there are several hundreds scattered oveil NATIVE STATES OF INDIA. 09Q various parts of India, some large and populous, others Ignite small communities. In all they contain a population |aumbering not far from 05,000,000. In these states the people are no more consulted than |in the British territory, but the administration of o-overn- Iment is mainly in the hands of the native princes or chiefs. jA British agent or Resident is kept at each Court, and Jiffairs are usually manag-ed with his advice or assistance. These native rulers acknowledge the Queen as tlieir bvereign, and in some cases pay a fixed amount of money lo the Indian Government. They have no right to make Ipeace or war, and they agree not to maintain more than a prtain number of troops. When a native state has been feriously misgoverned the Governor-General has some- |;imes dethroned its ruler and replaced him by another. Thus it will be seen how wide a difference there h between the government of a dependency like India, W i^arts of the Empire like Canada or Australia. In Ihese great colonies the people choose men to manage Jheir affairs, impose their own taxes, and decide how |lieir money is to be spent. They govern themselves. Jn India the people are governed. They had been accus- tomed to this for ages before we got possession of the ountry. How much longer the same kind of rule will be hecessary it is impossible to say. In Eastern countries llianges come very slowly. 230 MOUND THE EMl'IIiE. CHAPTER XXI. BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN EASTERN SEAS. Asiatic Colonies. Closely connected with our Indian Empire are tliel groups of islands which we possess in the Bay of Benuulj and the settlements of the Malay Peninsula. The Andaman Islands, off the coast of Burmah^ :uv " ^KIU£.j'' + Tri'iiii- II f ('anrtrr Marianne " Sea ^..0 C E A 1^- ^ VftlSLANOS , ■■,. *, , , ■r ^\ ( »riJline.l5lau(l! S ^M nniitiii-i T;/iii>Etchiii'jf''f. Hi-, 1-If!. .VI.— EAST IXDI.W .SEA. used as a convict settlement for British India. One of the Nicobar Islands, fartlier south, is used in the samel way. Both groups of islands are heavily wooded. Thoiij chief productions are cocoa-nuts, ambergris, and tortoise- shell. Singapore. Tlie Straits Settlements is the name given to onrj possessions on the west and south coasts of the ]\Ia]ii}1 Peninsula. Tlie various settlements are grouped togetlieij BRITISH FOSSESSWNS IX EASTERN SEAS. 231 into a Crown colony, which has rapidly grown into great commercial importance. Singapore is by far the most important of the Straits Settlements. It is an island 27 miles long and 14< broad, having a population of about 200,000. The town of Singapore is the seat of government for the whole colony. Singapore was ceded to the British Government in 1 824 by the Sultan of Johoro. It has now become one of the great centres of the world's commerce. Through it passes most of the trade of Europe with the far East, of the Dutch with their East Indian colonies, and of Australia with China and Japan. Singapore has a splendid harbour, strongly fortified at the expense of the colony itself, only the heavy guns for the batteries being supplied by the British Government. The harbour has miles of wharves with fine docks. From its relation to Eastern trade, Singapore is one of the most important points in the Empire. It is a free port, no duty being charged upon any goods which enter it. Mala:cc& ft W^ FIG. iV). — THE STUAITS SETTLEMENTS. Penang and Malacca. Farther north is Penang, an island containing 107 square miles, which was ceded to the Government of India in 1786 by a native prince. It is the centre of a large and increasing trade with the neighbouring mainland and Sumatra. 232 JinUND THE EMPIBE. The province of Wellesley, a small district ou tlio const of the peninsula, and the Dindings, which include some islands with another strip of coast, are p^overnod from PiMianj^. Malacca is the larj^-est of the Straits Settlements, and has an area of ().*)!) square miles. It was first occupied hy the PortujTuesc, who were driven out hy the Dutrdi, from whom we (!aptured it in 171)5. Afterwards it was secured to j!]n<^'land in 18^1- hy treaty, when we f^ave Holland in exchange for it our possessions in Sumatra. Besides these settlements, which are entirely under the control of our Government, most of the remaining territory of the INIalay Peninsula has heen put under British j)ro- tection hy the native princes. The peninsula comprises regions of great fertility, and its productions are of great importance to English commerce. They include tin, sugar, rice, pepper, spices, dye-stuffs, guttapercha, indiarubber, tapioca, gums, and tobacco. The Cocos Islands, 700 miles west of Sumatra, are considered a part of the Straits Settlements, and one of the group has heen used as a coaling station. The l)roducts of the cocoa-palm are the chief exports. Borneo, Labuan, etc. BrifisJi Norih Borneo is another of those districts which have been handed over by a Royal Charter"^ to an English company to manage. It has an area of 31,000 square miles, * Sec undoi' South Africa, page 177. BT^ITISJI rOS'SESSTOXS IX EASTEBX SEAFi. 23^ luler llic territory isli j)iY)- lity, and Englisli :, spices, ms, and itra^ arc [ one of . The ts whicli Eng-lisli :e mile«, with a population numberin«>' 1 oO^OOO. A large trade is fiirried on in products very similar to those of the Straits Settlements. Jjahnan, on the north-west coast of Borneo, lias lar«»-o coal (lei)osits. The mines, thoufrh not now worked to any considerable extent, may become of much importance. The island is mana«]jed by the British North liorneo Company. Jh'/tnff is a native territory of Borneo, which has been taken under British protection. Sarawak and Raja Brooke. AVhile speaking- of our Eastern possessions, it is worth while to mention a very curious instance of success achieved by an Englishman in ruling a coloured race. On the western coast of the island of Borneo, south of the territory of Brunei, there is a large district called Sarawak. It is rather larger than Scotland, and has a population luimbering 300,000. This district, though not a part of tlie Empire, is ruled by an Englishman, with the aid of a staff of English officers. About lift}' years ago Mr. James Brooke, an English gentleman, who was sailing in his yacht around these seas, became interested in the country, and filled with a desire to better the condition of the uncivilised people. He succeeded in persuading the Sultan to make him a large grant of territory, and then proceeded to repress piracy, which was common on the coast, establish law and order, and encourage commerce. The people soon began to find that under his rule they were safer, happier, and more prosperous than they had ever been before, and so 234 ROUND THE EMVIUE. willinjrly submitted to and supported his power. As the English Government was unwillinji^ to make Sarawak a j)art of the Empire, Kaja Hrooke, as he was eommunlv called, continued during his life to rule the country as an independent sovereign, maintaining a small army and navy, arranging taxes, and executing the laws which he had framed. He has now been succeeded in the government by his nephew. ^lost people will feel that one who earnestly tried, as Kaja Brooke did, to rule for the gond of those he governed, deserved the success and fame \s\\w\\ he gained. Hong-Kong. IIoug-Kouff is a colony small in area, but of great coni- mercial im)»ortance lo the Empire, from the commandini;' Junk Waterfr.ll 8.V~==_ v^..''^°-9- K PoWoir ff , ,-^- rt\^ V^VShingshnnoon Putdy I nnlirrf l:., IIG. M. — HONG-KONG. position which it occupies in the China Sea. I is an island eleven miles long and from two to five miles broad, BULTISU /'av.V£'.S'.s7oXV IS KASibUiN SEAS. 2;J5 Fir; A QUIET STREET IN HONG-KONTJ. situated just within the tropics, at the moutli of the Canton River, and ninety miles distant from the large Chinese citA of Canton. Several small islets and a peninsula which 236 BOUND THE EMPIBE. juts into the harbour, with an area of four square miles, are also included in the colony. The island consists of a broken ridge of high hills, and contains very little ground fit for cultivation, its value depending chiefly upon its splendid harbour. This harbour has an area of about ten square miles, is sheltered on all sides by lofty hills, and is connected with the sea by two excellent channels, which are now protected by strong fortifications. Hong-Kong has been in our possession about fifty years, having been ceded to the British Government after the Chinese war of 1841. At that time the island was little more than a barren rock, inhabited only by a few fishermen or pirates who frequented the surrounding waters. Now it has a population of nearly 230,000, and is the third port in the British Empire in respect of the tonnage of shipping entered and cleared every year. In 1800 this amounted to more than 13,000,000 tons. Hong-Kong is the head-quarters of our China Squadron, and the centre of our great trade with China. In the harbour may usually be seen thousands of Chinese junks, which carry on commerce with the mainland. The larger proportion of the population consists of Chinese, who have become British subjects. It is from this port also that the emigration of Chinese coolies chiefly takes place, and an important part of the duty of the Government of the colony is to see that this emigration is carrried on without in- justice to the coolies. Hong-Kong is a free port, and has thus become the emporium of trade between China and other nations, as well as ourselves. British steamship lines from England, BRITISH POSSESSIOXS IX EASTEEX SEAS. 237 India., Canada, and Australia; American lines from San Francisco, German lines from the North Sea, and French lines from the Mediterranean, all meet here, and swell the trade of the port. The town is a husy and interesting place. " Well-to-do shops, both English and Chinese, line the streets on either side ; substantial buildings of brick and granite attract the eye. Thick-leaved rows of banyan trees line the roads ; an air of general activity conveys a sense of prosperity or contentment ; while the spectator is amused by the bewiklering confusion of jinrickshas, sedan- chairs, peripatetic cook stalls, pedestrians of all sorts, hawkers, barbers' stands, coolies carrying their nicely balanced loads on bamboos, women with children strapped on their backs, all making a motley crowd that fills the streets from morning to night. The aspect from the sea is of especial beauty, with something of the ragged grandeur of the Western Scottish Isles and a suggestion of Italian softness and g-race.^' New Guinea. The (jreat island of New Guinea has been divided into three parts — British, Dutch, and German. The British territory comprises SS^OUO square miles, and extends over the south-east portion of the island. It was annexed in 18S8, when the Australian colonies agreed to pay £15,000 a year towards the cost of its government. The native population, numbering perhaps 150,000, consists of a low type of savages. They have, however, very clear ideas about the ownership of their land, which is divided 238 nOUyD THE EMPIRE. iimoiif^ tribes and families. In the administration of tliu country the native rights are respected, and as New Guinea is not a country suited for European settlement, the chief object aimed at in the occupation of the island is the promotion of trade. The Administrator of the colony acts under the direction of the Government of Queens- land. Mauritius. When trade with India was carried on around the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius was a very important station for Miles -5. 10 f /(It /'^, ORovnd I . o Q"°'nC/ JSunnersQaa'm' Arsenal B. Tombenti B Ff, Georg BewsherPt,, FlicenFlacqP Tamarin B BlachRiverd Morne l.j.jj Uarron \ PJ. pro.' xiiAmber I, ^ffbche Noire Pt. Flaaq Pt. Islesoux ^^SCamisnrd Pt. ■ \euilsPt. i*" ~ — '>^- WaHtr t DmuiII K. Via. 5s. — MAIIUTIIS. ships makino" the voyage between Europe and the East. It was for some time held by the Dutch, but afterwards it fell into the hands of the French, under whose care it became a rich, populous, and important colony, under the name of "Isle of France." In our w^rs with France at BRITISH POSSESSIONS IX EASTERN SEAS. 23ft the end of the last and the beginning of the present century, it was made a centre from which to attack British commerce in the Indian Ocean. Its conquest was therefore resolved upon, and this was effected in the year 1810. Thus in Mauritius, as in Canada, large numbers of French people became, and have continued to be, British subjects. There also, as in Canada, the French have been allowed to retain their own laws and customs. Mauritius is almost entirely given up to the cultivntion of the sugar-cane. Under the rule of France, and for some time after the island came under the swav of Britain, the labour of the sugar plantations was performed by slaves. In 1835 slavery was abolished, and the planters received £'2,000,000 sterling as comj^ensation fro.m the British Government. The abolition of slavery led to the introduction of great numbers of Indian ''coolies,''^ as giving another form of cheap coloured labour. These coolies, or their descendants, now form by far the larger part of the population, number- ing more than 250,000 out of the 370,000 inhabitants of the island. No colony of the Eff , ire furnishes a more striking example of the strangely mixed population which is some- times found under British rule. Besides the comparatively small number of English residents, there are the descend- ants of the old French settlers, the Creoles, or descendants of both white and coloured parents, Indian coolies, African negroes, Malays, Chinese, and natives of Madagascar and Ceylon. * See West Indies, chap. v. 240 ROUND THE EMPIRE. English is the language used in the courts of law, but French is more generally spoken among the educated classes, while, as may be supposed, the language of tlie mass of the people is of a very mixed kind. Besides sugar, which is its chief production, Maur'tius exports rum, coflfee, cocoa, vanilla, and a fibre known as "Mauritius hemp." Almost everything which the island produces is exported, and it has to procure from abroad nearly all the necessaries of life, both food and manu- factured jjoods. The Seychelles. We find several groups of islands scattered through the Indian Ocean, as dependencies, under the government of Mauritius. About 1,000 miles to the north of Mauritius are the Seychelles, consisting of twenty-nine islets. They, tou, were originally settled by the French, and ceded to Britain in 1814. The whole group comprises about 50,1^0 acres, and has a population of about 17,000. The largest island is Mah6, which has an excellent harbour, at which steam- ships stop to coal on the passage from Aden to Mauritius and other ports. Cocoa-nut oil, cocoa, Indian corn, and vanilla are the chief products and exports. The scenery of the islands is very beautiful, the soil is fertile, and the climate is said to be better than that of any other tropical portion of the Empire. Rodrigues. Next to the Seychelles Islands in importance is the island of Rodrigues, situated 350 miles eastward from TRADE OF THE EMPIItE. 241 )venimeut Mauritius. It is 18 miles lonj,^ and 7 broad, and has a population numbering- more than 1,900 souls. It was taken possession of in 1810 by the British force which was preparing to capture Mauritius, and was of great service to that expedition. The chief industries are fishing and tlie roaring of cattle and goats. The soil is exceedingly fertile, producing oranges, limes, and citrons of excellent quality, and indeed all the fruits of the tropics. The want of regular communication with other places and a scarcity of labour discourage agriculture, for which the island is well adapted, and which flourished to a greater extent than now before the abolition of slavery. Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Archipelago, has of late years been used as a coaling station for steamships going between Aden and Australia. CHAPTER XXII. TRADE or THE EMPIRE. The Great Trade Routes of the Empire. We have mentioned before that there is scarcely any part of the ocean where trade is to be carried on in which British ships are not sometimes found. But there are certain lines over which they have to pass continually in carrying on the commerce of the Empire. These are or- great trade routes, which we shall now describe. It will be well to arrange them in a certain m m m ;^ 1 242 ROUND THE EMPIRE. order, and number them, so that we can easily trace thcrn out on the map. 1. From Eng-lnnd, by way of the Straits of Gibraltar, throuj^h the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and the livd Sea, into the Indian Ocean, and thence by the Straits of Malacca into the China Sea. 2. The two Australian branches of this line from Ceylon, one passinii^ southward by Kin' the b'^st in the world ; many are already strongly de- fended, and others are having important fortitieations erected. On the route round Cape Horn we possess the Falkland Islands, which furnish a port of call for ships. For the great lines which cross the Atlantic we have the strongly fortified positions of Quebec, Halifax, Bermuda, and Kingston, in Jamaica, with other ports ami coaling stations in Eastern Canada, Newfoundland, and the West Indies. On the Pacific coast of Canada there are excellent harbours, and the important station of Esquimalt is beiii^' put into a state of defence, to protect trade at this terminus of the two Pacific routes. Almost as important as the fortifications vhieh defend these ports are the docks, which in many of them have been constructed at great expense for the repair of ships. There are such docks at Malta, Bombay, Hong-Kong. Sydney, Auckland, Lyttleton, Halifax, Esquimalt, aiul Bermuda, and arrangements are being made for their construction at Gibraltar and other points. Vessels which have been damaged by storms or in any other way can be taken into these docks and re-fitted so as to resume their voyages. In time of war this can be done under the shelter of strong fortifications. TRADE Oh' THE EMPIRE. 245 Goal and Coaling Stations. "We have spoken of some of the positions which we hold along the great trade routes as coaling stations, and the same term might rightly be applied to all ot* them. The importance of these places as coaling stations should be clearly understood. We all know how useful coal is, and how much the comfort and prosperity of people in this country depend on the great supplies of it which are found in our mines. Coal warms our houses, cooks our food, and gives us the gas with which we light up our streets and homes. It drives the machinery by which arc carried on the manu- factories which give employment to millions of our people. It has often been truly siiid that Britain owes her wealth, which is greater than that of any other country, chiefly to her mines of coal. We notice that every engine on the railways which convey passengers and goods in all directions over the country, has to carry a supi)ly of coal for fuel, without which it would be useless. So, too, at nearly every railway-station there are large piles of coal, from which the engines can get new supplies. If we are near the docks of a great ship[)ing port, like London, Liverpool, or Hull, we see wharves covered with immense quantities of coal, and whenever a steamship starts for some distant part of the world, a groat deal is put into her hold to supply fuel for her engines. But though hundreds, and even thousands, of tons are thus often taken on board a single ship, still she cannot with her other freight carry enough for the long 246 ROUND THE EMPIRE. voyages which sometimes have to be taken. Just as thi* railway-engines have to get new sui)i)lies at the stations, so steamships must take in new supplies at intervals of a few thousands of miles. In the last few years a very remarkable change has taken place in the kind of shij)s with which trade is chieHy carried, on. The number of steamships has increased very much, and the number of sailing-vessels has diminished."^ You will understand, then, that com- merce must depend much more now upon coal and coaliii*;' stations than it did in the past. The change is still more striking in the case of ships of war. Sailing-vessels are now of little use for naval purposes, and are scarcely employed at all. The result of all this is that large stores of coal must be kept at most of the ports which have been mentioned along the great trade routes. A great deal of this coal is raised from mines in the United Kingdom, and carried in ships to the places where it is wanted. Thus supplying our coaling stations gives employment to numbers of colliers in the English, Welsh, and Scotch mines, as well as to the sailors who carry the coal abroad. The remote stations, however, do not depend on England for coal. Coal on the Trade Routes. In almost all the distant parts of the world where our * For tlie ten years ending in 1887 there was in the IJiiittil Kingdom a ileclino of oJySo in the number of sailing-vessels, and of 988,785 tons in the tonnage ; and in steam- vessels an increase of 1,837 in the number, and 1,768,803 tons in the tonnage. TRADE OF THE EMPlin:. '117 people have settled they have found <»'reat deposits of coal, which give the same advantage to industry and commerce that our own do here. Indeed, one of the most remarkable facts about our Empire is the way in which coal is distributed over its various j)arts, and in places where it is most useful to a great trading* nation. Let us once more glance over the map of the world, that we may learn the great advantage our nation enjoys in this way, and the relation of the larger coal deposits to the great trade routes. Coal on the Atlantic. Look again at the map of Canada. We see that it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the east the peninsula of Nova Scotia stretches far out into the Atlantic. Nova Scotia is the i;art of the mainland of America nearest to Europe, where the ports are open all the year round for ships to come and go, and from which railways extend across the continent. It is near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, along which passes a large trade between Britain and America. Now, in the northern parts of Nova Scotia, and in the island of Cape Breton close adjoining, there are vast deposits of excellent coal. Here there are abundant supplies of fuel for the growing fleets of steamships which carry on trade across the North Atlantic, for the railways which carry commerce across Canada, for manufacturing and for domestic use. 24S BOUND TlIK KMriHE. The coal-fields of Nova Seotia on one side of the Atlatitic seem to match those of Britain on the other, and furnish the means for the closest commercial intercourse. Across the North Atlantic, from the United States and Canada, come the greatest supplies of food which the United Kingdom receives from other countries, and for defendiii f in Ireland J iva Scotia. I ed States. , ) our gTfiit ' est TndiM orida liiir- as well as le between - oiiies, ami j on Britisli ; niiinea1i"ii e ill ni;iii\ to India, iti'laiid 1" to Malta. to Aden. 1 parts S I' •(1 ; to Iii'l..!. 10s. 'J(l. : I" iiy timo, aiiilj (1892.) India are laid to Bombay, wlienee, after i)assiiii»' overland to Madras, thev are continued across the liav of 13en«»'al to Penang and Singapore. From Singapore a line extends northward to Hong- Kong, where it C(»niiects with the telei^'raph systems of China, Japan, and Russia. Tlie main line is coiitimied bv way of Java to Port Darwin, in Australia, from which ])oint it crosses the con- tinent to Adelaide, and thence to Melbourne, Sydney, and other ])oiiits in Australia. From IMelbourne connection is made with Tasmania, and from Svdnev with New Zealand. Cables to the Cape. Another cable route of importance is that which passes own the West Coast of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope, thence overland to Durban, and up the whole East Coast to Aden^ touching* at all the more important points in the British, French, German, and Portuo-nese territories. Our British system of cable communication is still in- complete. Preparations, which have been referred to before, are Ix-ini!' made to lav a cable across the Pacilic. Tlie national importance of such a line can scarcely be over- estimated. At present, all our lines of communication with India and Australasia ])ass over foreig-n countries or throuj(»']i shallow seas, where, in the event of a European war, th\v miii-ht be rendennl useless, it is believed that a line passing" across our own soil in Canada, and through the deep waters of the Pacilic Ocean, could be easily guarded and made much more safe in time of war than any which we now i)ossess. 254 ROUND THE EMPTRE. In all tlio GiTcat colonios wliich have boon nKMitioncd as connoctcd with Britain by cable, there are no towns of importance, and very few villai^es even, which have ivit, jnst as we have here in these 13ritish Islands, tlu-ir telef^raph-ofliee to unite them with the rest of the world. K very wonderful thinj^' it is to think that over the wires which we see passinfr- out from our vilhi^-e post- office w<' can send a message to the distant parts mimI remote corut r« of this vast Em[)ire which so eiicinlcs the i^'lobe. This will make us feel that, after all, the different countries which our people inhabit are in some ways close toiirethcr. Another line of ca]>le, not connecting us with other parts of the Empire, but of great value to British com- merce, is that which has been laid from England by way of Lisbon, Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands to the eastern point of South America, whence land lines or submarine cables give connection with all points of im- portance on that continent. It is sometimes of great importance to have different routes of telegraphic communication between two points. Here is a striking example, which will also show you what remarkable things can be done by aid of the tele- graph. It niay be seen on the map that Suez and Alexandria, in Egypt, are not far :»nart; the distance is about 800 miles. AVhen we were engaged in putting down the Egyptian rebellion in 188:^, part of our British troops were at Suez HOW OUR COLONIES ARE GOVERXED. ore; lentioncd towns of lave ii'it, ids, their : of till' a' over the i lifferent 1 points, low yon he tcle- xandria, miles. Lfj-yptian at Suez and part at Alexandria, and it was most necessary that each should know what the other was doinj^. The tele- fyraph line between the two places, which is also part of the main line between England and Aden, v»as broken, probably by the enemy. It was, however, found ])ossible to send the messag'c by a circuitous route, from Suez to Aden, Bombay, Knrrachee, and across Persia to (Constantinople, and so on to London, from which it was tele^^raphed across France to ^Marseilles, and then on to Malta and Alexandria. After travelling" 0,01)0 miles, it arrived at Alexandria only a short time after it left Suez. Note. — There are lit pix'sont in existence about 12.'), 000 miles of ocean oahlo. Of these nearly 90,000 miles are owned and mana^-ed by British people, leaving only 3-'), 000 miles for all the other nations of the world. Such a fact -ts this shows liow much i;-i eater is uur interest than that of other nations, in keeping up connection with remote parts of the world. ♦♦♦- CHAPTER XXIII. MOW orif cor.oxiEs aue govkhnkd. Self-governing- Colonies. It has been pointed out tliat our people in Canada, Australia, Tasmania, Nevfoundland, and parts of South Africa are left almost entirely free to manag-e their own affairs as they wish. They elect the members of their own Parliaments or Legislatures to make their laws, arrang-e their taxes, and decide how public money is to be spent. r •irs BOUND THE EMPIRE. The Queen, liowever, is the head of the Government thciv. as liere, and as she eannot be present in person, a Governor is appointed in eaeh eolon y to represent her. The Governor has the same power in tlie colony tluit the Queen has lierc of refusinj*- to assent to any law, but tliis power is seldom used. Colonies of tliis kind are said to luive Bc-ywit.s/Ur Govenniivnt and to be Sclf-govcrninf/, Crown Colonies. There is another larg-e class, known as Croivn Culoiiiis. In these our British Government keeps the control oi' affairs entirely in its own liands, appointing all public officers : both those who frame the laws and those who carry them out. India is the greatest dependency of this class, which includes a lari>'e number of smaller places, such, for example, as Ilong'-Kong, Gibraltar, and Sierra Leone. Crown colonies are usuallv^ either militarv stations or countries mainly inhabited by other races than our own. Colonies with Representative Institutions. A third class consists of those which are said to have liepresenidiivc liisiili((lo)i.<<. lu these the Lci^islatures which frame laws are partly elected by the people and l)artly appointed, while tlie public oHicers are ai>pointeil and controlled by the Home (jovernment. Of this class, Malta, Guiana, and many of the AVest India Islands mav be taken as examples. These e(>lonies usually have a mixed population of blacks and w bites. Almost all the various ptirts of the Empire of which we I But ;; inak ^ do. •: of O I Thu I tionf I tain( 'I a ve \: ditio and I meni I QlH'C i Parli ment I T whoh Office India l)y a A I and I throu, I Office HOW OUR COLONIES ARE GOVERXEh. Ihl snt thurc, Grovenioi- Governor has here IS seldom jontrol of ill public those wln' I cy of this I ler places, lid Sierra V stations ices than ons. d to have i^islatures }ople and a]>pointed :his class, lands may have a \o i which we have spoken were, when first occupied, Crown colonies. But for many years the plan has been pursued of o-radually makings colonies self-governinji: where it is possible so to do. This commonly depends upon the increase of settlers of our own race, who are accustomed to self-i»'overnment. Thus a Crown colony first obtains representative institu- tions, and finally responsible <]r'overnment. Colonies main- tained chiefly for military or naval purposes, and those with a very small white population, usually remain in the con- dition of Crown colonies. This country's share in the government of the colonies and dependencies is mainly entrusted to two <;reat Depart- ments of State. At the head of each is one of the (iueen's Ministers, who must be readv to o-ive account in Parliament for the way in which the work of liis depart- ment is done. The India Office. The affairs of our vast Indian possessions require the whole attention of one of these dejjartments — the India Office. At its head is the Principal Secretary of State for India, who is assisted by a council of fifteen members, and hy a large staff of secretaries and clerks. All directions given to the Governor-General, Governors, , and other officers who go out to rule India for us, are sent through the India Olfice, and it is to the head of the India Oftice that these otticers make their reports. The Colonial Office. The CoIoHidl Office deals with the relations of tliis kountry to all the British colonies and de; iidencies, except 258 liOUXD Till: EMPIRE. India. Tho Colonial Secretary, who is at the liead of it, j^ives instructions to tlie (iovernois wlioni the (:)iit'(ii | ai)i)oints t(; represent her, receives throuiL'li them connuniii- I cations from the Legislatures or people of tlie colonies, and f g'ives information to Parliament about all colonial k\\w^- | tions. AVhen we think of the '••reat number of the f colonies and dependencies, of the many races who inhabit them, and of the rapid chang-es throuj^-h which they arc passing', we can readily understand that the Colouiid Ollice has a yreat many difHcult questions to consider and decide. The Foreign Office. l^ut a whole class of questions is constantly coming' \\\) with which neither the India Ollice nor the Colonial Ollice can deal. If a dispute arises between a colony or depend- ency and any foreii^n nation, it has to be inquired iiiio and settled by the Forch/u Oj/iri\ ]Many such dis))ut(s occur — as, for instance, between Canada and the I iiitcd States about catchin<«- seals in the Behrin<^' Sea; between France and Newfoundland about the coast fisheries ; between South Africans and PortuQ'uese about the bound- aries of their territories. If we observe what is said in Parliament, or read tlic Blue Books which tell us what is done at the Foreign Otiice, we shall find that the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, | who is at its head, sjjends a large part of his time in deal- Iher busi of t r affai dire( then espe( sentr who Out Ihe p to ri away men Brita H< If Street on the inseri} HK ing" with colonial questions. AVe may see in London, not very far from the Ilousf of Parliament, the line buildings of the India Ofllee, tln'ii Colonial Ollice, and the Foreign Office. Should we visit All th< mport colonis HO]V nun COLOXTEfi Alii: goverxed. !>:>!) j;hI of it, e Uut'cii lonnmini- tiiics, and T (>r the \i) inh:il)it tlicy aiT Colonial isidei" and loinin^' np nial Olli'i' ^ )Y depend- [lii'L'd int(» I dis])iitt's i le I'nitnl I ; between tislieries ; Ihe bound- 1 read the | Foreiu'ii f In Affairs, I le 111 deal- lie Houses i (ttiee, 111*' we visit them, we should find hundreds of t;»'Pivtnries anendeneies under the direction of Parliament. But tliev oan only superintend lliem; the actual Ministers about the affairs of his colony, gives informii- tion concerning' it to emigrants and others, and transjicts its public business in Great I5ritain. During the last few years these otfie(^s in Victoria Street have gradually become an important part in the system by which the coloniis are governed. We now see that the Queen and her Government are represented in tlie colonies by (iovernors arid other oftieials, and that the colonies are represented in England by Ili^h Commissioners and Agents-General. Thus colonial affairs! are man-aged by the united wisdom of our people at houK and those abroad. h- The Building of the Empire. In going round our vast British Empire we have! seen that our people have gained its different parts inp various ways : sometimes by hard fighting with other nations, sometimes by treaty or purchase, sometimes Ityl merely occupying lands previously waste or held only li\i scattered savage tribes. But in all cases the conquest has been completed, oij our right to possession established, in other ways. First, it has been by patient industry, by the toil which clears awiwj forests, which constructs roads, bridges, and nnhvny: which makes the soil productive, which changes tlit IfOW OFR COLOXIES ARE GOVFAINED. •2<)1 stood 1 ' y 3y tlicrt - Icrstaiids his High ! Uucvn s i n form II- transacts I last few ly become i colonies iment are | n* oflicials, by Hi*"!! \ial affairs! at home we havei parts ini itli othor| otimes livj (1 oulv l»\'i ipleted, or First, it lears awav railways, .\n% /. 1.0 I.I 11.25 lAil2.8 110 ■" 1 1^ 1^ 12.0 U III 1.6 tu(lif(l simplicity ;iik1 cleiirnc^s, and by tin- judicious use of inttMcatiii!^ ;ind ua.>ily j^MM-^ix'd examples, has succeeded in niakinj^ readily intellijjibie the .sc()|x' and action of the nioit iiiip(-)rtant laws ot pijlitical economy. The ciiapters on the laws of supply and demand, prices, work and wages, the n-lation of capital and labour, co-oix-ralion, trade-unions, and strikes, are sound expo>itions, which not only lay a solid foundation for the study of nujiv advanced treatises, but will cxeiciMe with no little profit the mental powers of schoolbo\s. \\'c heartily commend the book to sehool- nuisters of every grade." — Spt' tutor. " 'The Laws of Every-day Life' deal> in a very simi)le and attractive style with laws of reason and nature, and especially with such eccjiiomic laws as liave a restraining and regulating influence on the lives of men. The illustrative examples, by their striking character and appropriateness, serve not only to impress upon the readers the principles of natural and national law, but enliven the instruction with the interest that springs from variety." — Practical Teucli'r. " This is an excellent and much-needed school-book. As a higher reader it will be found to be a most valuable v>ark." —Pd/icationat JVeros. " ' The Laws of Every-day Life' deals in a simple and instructive style with tjuestions relating to law, trade and commerce, labour and c.ipil.d, and other 9/0 "7^ 5 ^ 7 DATE DUE /08i/ 'Tl'/^'^^J tVp — ^tvypir^ iiliiahio as a 1 and sucial led aiKilliiT the laus of and Iflling •jics mark a ■lob,'. written ac- )!e 'C'lti/.t-n one ot ilu; f Scots Mil n. which it is e kind we 0«#A#>'' I ' ('itizPH -e of elr- -Joumal oj \, A ' J.aO' \S.^-M .-a >« ,\U^' x^rtj.ZyN-.lX XV\^ aJer. By H. O. ARNOLD-FORSTER. W II II I'KI.IAC E llV The liitc Kig:lit lion. W. U. FOKSTKK, IfLP., Formerly Vice-President of the Cottuniitee of Council on Education. FULLY ILLUSTRATED. " 'llie ' Citizen Reader ' is so called because it is intended to prepare those who read it for becoming good citizens. It is chiefly composed of chapters which explain in simple language the nature and working of the various institu- tions by means of which the government and defence of the country are carried on, such as the throne, the Houses of Parliament, the public otVices, tlie courts of justice, the army, navy, and auxiliary forces. In addition to these, there are chapters on patriotism, freedom, thrift, education, and our duly towards foreigners."- -./Mtv/^v/w. " Merely to conceive such a plan was laudable; to carry it out in such a way as to combine interest with instruction is to confer a national benefit Of Which it is impossible to exaggerate the y^lM^"— Academy. "The fclu-me ot the book is excellent ; and its practical realisation leaves little to be desired. Such a course of reading is simply invaluable to pupils completing their education, and about to enter on the stern duties of life."' — Educational News, Edinbun^h. 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