COLONIES OF GREAT BRITAIN.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 60, 29 November 1845, Page 4

COLONIES OF GREAT BRITAIN.

A Parliamentary return gives the following view of the political constitutions, and the dates of capture, cession, or settlement of the Colonies or dependencies of Great Britain. The information contained in it has a practical use as well as a historical interest : — North America — Lower Canada, capitulation, September 18, 1759; Upper Canada, capitulation, September 18, 1760, cession by treaty, 1763, governed by a governor, council, and assembly ; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and Newfoundland, fisheries and settlements established soon after their discovery, in 1479; governed by a governor, council, and assembly. West Indies— Antigua, settlement, 1632; Barbadoes, settlement, 1605; Dominica, ceded by France, 1763; Grenada, ceded by France, 1763 ; Jamaica, capitulation, 1655 ; Montserrat, settlement, 1632; Nevis, settlement, 1628; St. Kitt's, settlement, 1663, governed by a governor, council, and assembly; St. Lucia, capitulation, June 22, 1803, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council ; St. Vincent, ceded by France, 1763; Tobago, ceded by France, 1763; Tortola, settlement, 1666, Anguilla. settlement, 1666, governed by a governor, council, and assembly ; Trinidad, capitulation, February 18, 1797, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council; Bahamas, settlement, 1629; Bermudas, settlement, 1609, governed by a governor, council, and assembly. British Guiana : District of Demerara and Essequibo, capitulation, September 18, 1803 ; district of Berbice, capitulation, Sept. 23, 1803, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council ; Hondurus, treaty, 1670, superintendent and magistrates. Gibraltar, capitulatian August 4, 1704, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council. Malta and Gozo, capitulation, September 5, 1800, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council. Cape of Good Hope, capitulation, January 10, 1806, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council. Sierra Leone, settlement, 1787, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Gambia, settlement, 1618, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Gold Coast, African forts, 1618, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Ceylon, capitulation, September 17, 1795, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council. Mauritius, capitulation, December 3, 1810, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council. New South Wales, settlement, 1787, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament Van Diemen's Land, settlement, 1803, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Western Australia, settlement, 1829, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. South Australia, settlement, 1834, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. New Zealand, settlement, 1839, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Falkland Islands, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. St. Helena, ceded by Holland, 1673, governed by a governor and council, and British acts of Parliament. Hongkong, treaty, 1842, governed by a governor and council, and orders of Queen in council.

THEwhole ofour colonial possessions(excepting India) amounted in 1842 to 4,674,335 souls (one fourth the population of Great Britain). The value of their imports into the United Kingdom Was £10,495,019; and'of their ex-

ports'from the United Kingdom, £17,3 18,670. The declared value of the exports thereto of the produce and manufactures of Great Britain and Ireland was £8,070,717. The number of their ships entered inwards was 2,788, tonnage 860,729 ; the number cleared outwards, 3,077, tonnage 911,033. Of the declared value of our produce and manufactures exported to the colonies, the Canadas take £1,589, 169 ; Jamaica, £1,1 61,146 ; Gibraltar, £937, 719; Malta, £289,304; the Cape, £369, 076; New South Wales, £598, 645 ; and Van Diemen's Land, .£268,730.