THE EXTENT AND THE MORAL STATISTICS

OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

SUPPOSE that an intelligent foreigner, not acquainted with

our language, were, some day about twelve o'clock, placed on London Bridge, not knowing what part of the world he was in. On the one hand, he sees an extended throng of shipping that appears as if a whole people had taken, after the manner of Chinese boatmen, to live upon the water; on the other hand, he finds passing and repassing a continuous stream of busy, well-clad people, intermingled with vehicles, such as proves that across that one bridge a far greater intercourse is maintained than across the Isthmus of Suez, which joins Africa to Asia, or across that of Panama, uniting the two Americas. He will at once receive the impression, "Wherever I may be, I am in the midst of some very great city." Passing on for a short way, he finds on his left, a tall and massive pile, with Grecian front, which he learns is the official residence of the Chief Magistrate of the city just across the way is another dilated edifice, spreading over several acres; this, he is told, is a place for monetary transactions: close by its side is a noble structure, with stately Corinthian portico, and sculptured tympanum ; this again, he finds, is a place for merchants to assemble. The impression grows upon him, "I must be in the midst of a very great city." He proceeds westward through a vast length of continuous city, until in his course houses rise to mansions, and mansions expand to palaces; and as he passes walled and

windowed miles of dwellings, moving miles of vehicles, and living miles of human beings, he begins to feel, "Not only am I in a great city, but this city must be the head of a mighty empire; the amazing width of town, the multitudes of men, and the assemblage of shipping, all bespeak the centre of some grand dominion." My present duty is to endeavour to lay before you some idea of the territorial extent and moral state of that empire of which this matchless city is the appropriate capital, and of which we, by the good providence of God, are members.1

To begin at home, our domestic empire consists of the British Isles. In speaking of these, it is not unusual to adopt a derogatory style of remark, as if the British power were only great in its foreign acquisitions. But much of this is gratuitous. It is true, that in respect of mere acreage we have in Europe six superiors: France, Spain, Turkey, Austria, Russia, with the united kingdom of Sweden and Norway. It is plain, however, that a dominion is not to be measured by the number of mountains it encloses; but by the number of men over whom it wields sovereign sway. He that reigns over waste lands, rules nothing; he only reigns who governs men; to control mind, is dominion; population is empire.2 Now, in this light, taking our home empire alone, there are but three states in Europe excelling our own. The population of the British Isles is greater than that of Spain, Turkey, and the united kingdom of Sweden and Norway, all put together; but less than that of France by seven millions, than that of Austria by ten, and numbers only half that of European Russia. Thus, you perceive, that were our empire confined to these islands, it would even then rank as one of the five great powers of Europe; for Her Majesty

1 The authority of Montgomery Martin's History of the Colonies of the British Empire (1843), has been relied upon in so many of the statements made, that a reference under each would be tedious.

2 The comparative value of territory and population is illustrated by the fact that Sweden has nearly as many square miles as both France and Prussia.

rules, in the United Kingdom, a population about twice as numerous as that governed by the King of Prussia.1

Besides her home empire, several patches of European territory are held by England. The beautiful little Channel Islands,2 though lying close upon the shores of Normandy, are English in political position, and thoroughly English in feeling.

At the extreme south of the Spanish coast stands Gibraltar, which, notwithstanding its commanding position, and classic fame, as one of the Pillars of Hercules, does not seem to have been fortified earlier than the eighth century, when it was occupied by the armies of the Caliph Alwalid Ebn Abdalmalic. The Moors held it for above seven centuries, with but one short interval. The reign of Queen Anne was illustrious with continental victories; but from all the triumphs of Marlborough nothing remains to England, except their pride. In that same reign an admiral, lacking employment for his fleet, captured the fortress of Gibraltar with a handful of troops under a German Prince, and a few sailors. The Parliament of the day would not give its thanks for the conquest; but its importance to our shipping, its command of the Mediterranean, its impregnable fortifications, and, perhaps more than all, the determined assaults against which it has been retained, now confirm it as a national possession of the highest value. It is a small territory to have cost years of battle, and almost seas of blood, measuring in length only two miles and three quarters, while three quarters of a mile is its greatest breadth. Its population is about 15,000.

Proceeding up the Mediterranean, we next find the English flag waving over the islands of Malta and Gozo, which from their close proximity are usually designated only by the name

1 See M'Culloch's Statistical Account of the British Empire.

2 Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, etc. The population of the whole is about 70.000.

of the former. Malta is sacred as the scene of St. Paul's shipwreck, and has an almost unequalled fame for historical vicissitudes. It was first held by the Phenicians, who yielded to the Greeks; these were overcome by the Carthaginians, who were in turn subdued by the Romans; they were swept from the island by the Vandals, and they, again, by the Goths; Justinian recovered it to the Empire; but it was soon overrun by the Arabs, and these were conquered by the Normans. At length it fell to the kingdom of Sicily, with which it remained till the days of Charles v., who placed it under the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. They held it till 1798, when it was seized by the French during Napoleon's expedition to Egypt; but the people rising against the invaders, an English force proceeded to their assistance; and in 1800 this place, so often lost and won, was numbered among our possessions. The two islands are about twenty-seven miles in length, with a population of 120,000 souls. The climate is warm, but salubrious ; and Valetta, the capital, is both a beautiful city, and one of the strongest military posts in the world. The language of the upper classes is Italian; that of the lower, a peculiar dialect, respecting which it has been disputed whether it is a preservation of the language of Carthage, or a corruption of Arabic ; but its identity with the latter appears clearly established.1

Pursuing our way in that classical sea, we find, strewed along the west and south-west coast of Greece, the seven Ionian Isles, known as the Septinsular Union; namely, Corfu, Paxa, Santa Maura, Ithaca, Cephalonia, Zante, and Kerigo. They formerly belonged to Venice; during the wars of the French Revolution their possession alternated between Russia and France; but in the great territorial settlement of 1815 they were placed under the protection of Great Britain. They may

be considered as a half-independent Republic; they hold a Court of Representatives, and are under a Lord High Commis

1 Gozo is celebrated for its lettuce, vulgarly termed "Gauze lettuce."

sioner appointed by our Queen. Their climate and productions are semi-tropical. Their population is about 200,000.

We might have thought that a tiny islet, measuring in full length a single British mile, would never have attracted the broad eye of England; but during the last war, when the continental powers combined to exclude our commerce from their shores, Heligoland, lying close to the south of Denmark, and commanding the mouths of the Eyder, the Weser, and the Elbe, was seen to offer such advantages to our shipping, that it was taken, and it has been thought worth while to retain it. The population is above 2000.

Now, if you look at the British Empire as existing in Europe alone, you find that it comprises a population considerably exceeding twenty-seven millions. This gives us a proportion, in the population of all Europe, of about one in eight and a half; so that if our Queen had nought beside to exalt her, she would have this one pride, that in that division of the world which is the centre of knowledge, enterprise, and power, out of every seventeen men, two at least hail her as their sovereign.

Turning to our foreign empire, the mind instantly reverts to that expedition in which England first started in the career of distant enterprise, the expedition of Cabot, the Venetian, under commission of Henry VIII. He reached the coast of Labrador in 1497, just one year before Columbus gained the mainland off the mouths of the Oronooko; so that England justly claims the honour due to the first discovery of the American Coast; though to Spain belongs the undisputed praise of having first lifted the veil which shut out Europe from the western hemisphere.

Then it is most natural that we should first of all direct our attention to the West; and here the possession we meet with as our nearest and our oldest is Newfoundland. This island is only sixteen hundred miles west of Ireland, so that