Australia (including: Tasmania) did not exceed 80,000 persons. The towns of Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Auckland, Wellington, Ballarat, and Brisbane, may rival the largest centres' of Europe and America, in architecture and up-to-dateness. 'The financial trouble of a few years ago, checked the over-speculation in town propertics,'; and the over-expenditure upon public. Works, 'Which were the "result of making haste' too quickly. Enterprise has now; been largely re-directed' towards agriculture, and the development of the colonies is-proceeding upon sounder and more per-maniént, if less striking, lines. A Federal Council' was authorised in Australia by an Act of Parliament in 1885, but as yet, no definite steps have been taken towards federation. However, the meeting of the various colonies' delegates held this year, afforded many reasons for believing in the constitution of an actual united Australasian Government before very long.
Another expansion of British influence, almost as' remarkable, has taken place in Africa. In 1837, the civilised states of Africa were but a fringe at the northern and Southern extreme of the continent.
Great Britain has' now extended its actual colonial territory some 800 miles northward, while the' territory administered by the Chartered Company runs up to the southern border of the Congo Free State. Fifty years ago we took over Natal from the Boers, and thus gained posorsion of the entire southern sea-coast of Africa. Within the past few years these possessions have
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.