The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4943, 12 November 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1884.

Some very interesting data have been recently given regarding the British Empire, in a paper read by Sir Richard Temple before the British Association of Montreal. The figures quoted will show the power and wealth of the Empire to be far in excess of any ordinary experimental computation, and it may be deduced from them that Great Britain is, and will continue to be, capable of maintaining that place among the world's powers which she has so long held. The Empire's area will, when the few regions likely to j come shortly within its control are added to it, include ten millions of square miles — nearly one-fifth of the habitable globe, and hardly onefifth of this area is or has been brought under cultivation. There are over 300 millions of people under British rule, but tho proportion of the fair races is somewhat small, only forty millions belonging j to them. It is computed that forty-six | millions are Christians, and if the whole population were fairly distributed over the whole area it would give a square mile to every 33 persons ; England, however, excluding the other portions of Great Britain, shows a population of 485 persons per square mile. A contemporary summarises the annual revenue collected for General Government and administration purposes as follows:—" Total sum, £203.000,000, of which £89,000,000 are raised in the United Kingdom, £74,000,000 in India, and £40,000,000 in the colonies and dependencies. This is exclusive of £61,000,000 raised by local taxation. Yet both together only amount to £1 5s 4d per annum for each head of the population. The individual incidence of taxation is highest in the mother country, where it is £4 7s 5d per head, and lowest in India, where it is not more than 7s lid per head, or less than 2d per week. A review of the military strength of the I Empire produces the result that the ' armed force being 850,000 men, gives only one soldier to every ten square miles and to every 376 people. On the sea Great Britain is indeed powerful; her fleet consists of 240 war vessels —72 sailing and 174 steam. The merchant navy isprodi* gious, reaching the astonishing number of 30,000 vessels, a tonnage of 8-3- millionsand manned by 270,000 sailors. " This," Sir E. Temple says, •• surpasses all other nations put together in respect of steamers, and nearly equals them in respect of sailing vessels." Almost within a trifle, half the ocean traffic of the world is carried on under the British flag, and Great Britain is credited with twoIhirrls of the world's ship-building, no less than 1.200,000 of 1,800,000 tons annually constructed are launched from British dock-yards. Several other inlerestiug figures are given in Sir Kichird

Temple's paper, the principal of which are that 30 per cent, of the steam power, as applied to mining, manufactures, &c, is in her hands ; the average earnings per head are £35 4?, against £27 4s in the United States and £18 Is on the Continent of Europe, and the wealth of the United Kingdom in real and personal property is 8720 millions, and if India, Canada, and Australia be added, it reaches thetsum of OTer 12,600 millions. With these figures before him any diligent and thoughtful reader will think is it not well that these vast possessions of Great Britain should not agree to cement the ties which bind them together with theTiew to their further mutual protection and prosperity.