Thus the British Possessions in Europe, other than GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, and the adjacent islands, are few in number and of small extent, although for warlike and commercial purposes of vast importance.

The student will not forget that the IONIAN ISLANDS-viz., Corfu, Paxo, Santa Maura, Cephalonia and Ithaca, Zante and Cerigo--were under British protection from the treaty of Vienna, 1814, to 1863, when they were ceded to the new King of Greece, the brother of our Princess of Wales.

CALAIS was lost in the reign of Mary. DUNKIRK was sold by Charles II. The BALEARIC ISLANDS (Minorca) were lost by Admiral Byng, who, for his lack of courage, was unjustly condemned and shot. The CHANNEL ISLANDS are all that remain to us, not only of the appanage of our Norman duke-kings, but also of the vast conquests and kings' marriage claims in France of our earlier Henrys and Edwards.

I. HELIGOLAND (HOLYLAND).

1. It is situated about 30 miles from Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the Elbe, in 54° 11' N. lat., and 7° 51′ E. long. It is about a mile from N. to S., one third from E. to W., and two and two thirds in circuit. There are numerous sandbanks and shoals round it, one of the chief being called Sand Island or Dune. The one fathom line of water is shown on the map. Area three quarters of a square mile.

2. Some parts of the S.W. shores are elevated—e.g., Lathurn, the S. point, 164 feet; Nathurn, the N. point, 164 feet; and a lighthouse hill, 169 feet. A road from N. to S. is called Kartoffel Allee, i.e., Potato Walk. The town is in the S.E. or lower part of the island.

3. The population, 1912 in 1871, are chiefly engaged in fishing and piloting steamers; but recently they have turned their attention to building lodging-houses and establishing bathing-places for summer visitors from Hamburg, &c. The chief fish caught are oysters, lobsters, and haddock; annual value, £5000. Many English North Sea fishing smacks, as many as seventy or eighty at once, now rendezvous at the island.

4. HISTORY.-It was taken from Denmark in 1807, chiefly to serve as a convenient station from which to smuggle English manufactures into the Continent after Napoleon's Berlin Decree of 1806 closed the continental ports from Hamburg to Gibraltar against British goods. Prince Bismarck is said to have his eye upon it in connection with the development of the new fleet of the German Empire; so if the German Ocean does not take it from England, Germany may.

5. GOVERNMENT.-By an order in Council, 1868, the government is vested in Governors (appointed by the crown), and an Executive Council. Rev. £5000 nearly; Exp. £4133.

II. GIBRALTAR.

1. This strongly fortified town is situated on a rocky promontory that stretches from the southern shores of Andalusia, between the Bay of Gibraltar or Algesiras on the W., and the Mediterranean on the E. The peninsula is three miles long, three quarters of a mile broad, and about 1500 feet in height at its greatest elevation. It is in lat. 36° 2' N., and 5° 15′ W. long.; so that its time is 21' after Greenwich.

2. Let the student look at the forefinger of his left hand, and imagine the back of the finger a range of mountains in which are Windmill Hill, Mount Misery, Middle Hill (1010 feet), and Rocklyn Hill (1337 feet); the tip of the nail Great Europa Point, and the tip of the finger EUROPA POINT, the most southern point of Europe; the bend opposite the first joint Europa Bay; the bend opposite the second joint the dockyard within the New Mole; and the lower part of the finger, in contact with the hand, the town of Gibraltar, and he will have a very good idea of Gibraltar and its surroundings. North of the Old Mole, however, the peninsula narrows considerably before the Neutral Ground is reached.

3. TRADE.—Gibraltar is of great importance in a commercial point of view, as well as in a warlike. It is verily the key of the Mediterranean, as its device implies. The anchorage, however, in the bay is not good, because it is exposed to S.W. winds. It is the resort of a large number of Spanish smugglers; and we can on this ground only understand the motion made by a deputy in the Cortes, 1872, that negotiations should be entered into with England for its cession to Spain. Its imports from the United Kingdom amount to nearly a million sterling annually, and its exports to between £50,000 and £60,000. Of course, like Aden and Singapore, it serves as a depôt for the surrounding countries.

4. HISTORY.-To the Greeks and Romans it was Calpe, one of the pillars of Hercules (Calpe and Abyla). Its Phoenician name was Alube. The Saracen chief, Tarib Ebn Zarca, in the 8th century, changed its name to Gebel Tarik or Tarif (i.e., the mountain whence tariff could be compulsorily collected), and from this the modern name is derived. It remained in the possession of the Moors until the 14th century. In 1704 (the year in which Peter the Great laid the foundation of S. Petersburg), it was captured from Spain by SIR GEORGE ROOKE, after a vigorous bombardment, and has ever since remained under British rule. The French and Spanish made many fruitless efforts to recapture it; notably from June 21, 1779, to September 13, 1782, when GENERAL ELLIOT successfully beat off the combined fleets by firing red-hot shot on their decks. In 1842 it was constituted a see of the English Colonial Church, the Bishop of which has jurisdiction over all chaplains in and round the Mediterranean.

5. STATISTICS.-Population in 1868, 24,175 (of whom 6212 were military); in 1871, only 18,695. Rev. £38,000 nearly; Exp. £42,015 nearly. Tonnage of vessels - Brit. 2,391,124; For. 693,411; Total, 3,084,535.

Expenditure,

115 sq. m.

141,918 Valetta. 1800.

£170,941

£166,337

£7,728,514

£7,413,313

Total Imports, 1871, Total Exports, 1. SITUATION, &c.-The Maltese Islands-MALTA (17 × 9 miles, and 95 square miles), Gozo (20 square miles) and the small Comino between them-are situated in the Mediterranean, about 58 miles from Sicily, and nearly 200 from the nearest point of Africa. The parallel of 30° N. lat., which skirts the S. shore of Comino, runs through the Strait of Gibraltar. The meridian of 14° 20′ E., about the meridian of Naples, Prague, and Stettin, cuts off the eastern point of Gozo, skirts the W. shore of Comino, and cuts off the cape Ras el Kamineh from the N.W. shore of Malta. Malta is by far the largest island. The total area of the group is 115 square miles. The interior of all the islands is mountainous, and their coast-lines, especially that of Malta, indented.

2. CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS. The climate is hot, especially in autumn, the season of the Scirocco, but tempered by the influence of the Mediterranean. Max. for winter 62°; min. 53°. Max, for summer 83°; min. 74°. The islands are well cultivated, and produce cotton, cereals, the vegetables and fruits of South Europe, such as oranges, figs, &c., as well as many plants of more tropical character. Large numbers of horned and other cattle are fed. The mules and asses are remarkable for their strength and beauty.

3. POPULATION AND INDUSTRY.-The total population is about 141,918. The Maltese are of very mixed race, partly Arabic and Moorish, and partly European. There are usually between 7000 and 8000 British soldiers in the various forts round Valetta, &c. Without reckoning soldiers, there are more than 1000 inhabitants to a square mile, so that Malta is more thickly inhabited than any part of Europe.

4. TRADE.-Malta is of vast importance in a commercial point of view, for it not only serves as a depôt for collecting and distributing goods, but also as a coaling station for steamers both commercial and warlike, and as a rendezvous

or place of refitting for our fleet. The harbour of Valetta is one of the finest in the world. The largest vessels can anchor safely close to the wharves. The total value of imports from Great Britain is more than a million sterling annually. During the Russian war it was more than two millions. The value of its exports to England is about £120,000. The grand total of its import trade for 1871 was £7,728,514; export, £7,413,313.

5. TOWNS. (1.) The capital is VALETTA, situated on the S.E. shore of Malta, on a tongue of land between two harbours, Port Maramusceit, or Quarantine Harbour, on the north, and the Grand Port on the south. From the northern and southern shores of these ports project several high rocky and fort-crowned peninsulas or islets, like tiger fangs. The harbour's entrance is defended by three forts. The arsenal and important dockyard are in the fortified suburb of Vittoriosa. To landward, Valetta is defended by Floriana and its outworks. (2.) Citta Vecchia (Medina) was the ancient capital. It contains the ancient palace of the Grand Masters of S. John, the Cathedral, &c.

(3.) Rabato, which has a strong castle, is the chief town of Gozo. 6. The Government is managed by a Governor and Council of 18 members, 10 official and 8 elected.

7. HISTORY.-Malta has a famous history. The following are the great events in its story :-It was possessed in turn by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. S. PAUL was shipwrecked on Melita. The "creek" in which his ship's company landed is supposed to be S. Paul's Bay. The Saracens seized the island in the 9th century.

1092. Count Roger of Sicily conquered it.

1530. Charles V. gave it to the Knights of S. John of Jerusalem, who spent their wealth in fortifying it. The Turks lost 50,000 in

a futile attempt to capture it in 1565.

1798. The island was treacherously ceded to France. The Knights capitulated to Napoleon Buonaparte.

1800. Taken by the English under General Pigott.

1814. Annexed to England by Treaty of Paris.

IV. THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.

These islands, the only remains of our once vast Norman and French possessions, are situated in the Bay of Avranches, parallel to the Cotentin peninsula. They are, in order from N. to S., Alderney, GUERNSEY, Herm, Sark (Sercy), and JERSEY. The meridian of 2° W., the meridian of Berwick-onTweed and Poole, runs a little to the E. of Jersey. Guernsey, the furthest west, is under 3° 12′ W. long.

The total area is 112 square miles, and the population in 1861 was 90,000, and in 1871, 90,563-viz., Jersey, 56,627; Guernsey, with Herm and Jethou, 30,667; Alderney, 2718. The islands are picturesque and fertile, and in summer they are resorted to by a considerable number of visitors, especially S. PIERRE in Guernsey, and S. HELIERS in Jersey, between which towns and Southampton there is a regular service of steamers. They export fruit and early vegetables to the London and other markets.

Each island has a chief bailiff or judge. The magistrates (jurats) of Jersey, twelve in number, are elected for life. The whole are governed by a Lieutenant-Governor, generally an officer in the British army.

The language is a patois of French and English. The Admiralty have spent a considerable sum to no purpose in attempting to make a harbour of refuge in Alderney.