Total British Empire in 1861. An official census in the United Kingdom and the Australian colonies was held April 8, 1861, and in nearly all the colonies, with the exception of British India, in the course of the same year. The result was as follows:

England-its Colonies and Possessions-Total...
United Kingdom, inclusive of soldiers and sailors

Square Miles.
.4,419,559.
121,115.

Colonies and Possessions, exclusive of soldiers, 47,814 men..3,361,722.
British India, exclusive of British army, 62,893 men..
European Possessions.

933,722.

122.

North American Colonies..

512,193.

106,449.

130,756.

7,647.

25,485. .2,582,070.

Inhabitants. 174.156,882 29,321,288 9.264,243 135,571,351

West Indian Possessions...

African Possessions

Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Possessions in the Indian Ocean..

Australia and New Zealand...

Total British Empire in 1868*.

165,317

3,333,507

1,114,508

1,004,595

7,426

2.363.767

1,322,037

The usual returns from the British possessions, which were laid before Parliament in 1868, furnish the following latest statements, concerning the area and population of the British Empire: British India heads the list with its vast population of 150,000,000. Its area, however, 988,901 square miles, seems small when compared with that of North American or Australian possessions. British North America is returned as containing 632,360 square miles, and its population in 1866, 4,007,816; the Dominion of Canada, 376,988 square miles, with a population of 3,753,000; Newfoundland, 40,200 square miles and 130,000 inhabitants; Prince Edward's Island, 2,173 square miles, and 90,000 inhabitants; British Columbia, 213,000 square miles and 34,816 inhabitants in 1861. But this is without reckoning the vast north-west territory waiting to be occupied--territory that brings the extent of British North America up to, perhaps, 3,500,000 square miles.

Not far behind in extent is Australia, with its 2,582,070 square miles, and a population fast approaching 2,000,000, though only 1,662,063 in 1866. The extent of Western Australia is 978,000 square miles, a territory nearly as large as British India, but with a populationof only 21.065– less than a 7,000th part of that of India; Queensland is returned as containing 678,000 square miles, and a population of 96,172; South Australia, 383,328 square miles, with a population of 163,452; New South Wales, 323,437 square miles, with a population of 431,412: New Zealand, 106,259 square miles, with a population of 208,682; Victoria has been so conspicuous by its great prosperity that many forget its comparatively small extent-86,831 square miles, but having a population of 643,912 in 1866, and now about 700,000; Tasmania comprises 26,215 square miles, with 97,368 inhabitants. The West India Islands contam no more than 12,683 square miles, but the population in 1861 was 934,197; Jamaica has half the area, 6,400 square miles, and not far from half the population, viz: (in 1861) 441,264.

The Cape of Good Hope and Natal add 216,755 square miles to British possessions, with a population of 759,261; Ceylon, 24,700 square miles, and 2,088,027 inhabitants, Mauritius, 708 sq. miles, and 310,050, inhabitants: British Guiana, 76,000 square miles, and 148,026 inhabitants (in 1861); Honduras, 13,500 square miles, and 25,635 inhabitants in the same year.

The other colonies and possessions-the Straits settlements, Hong-kong, West African settlements, Labuan, St. Helena, the eight Falklands, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Malta-bring the extent of the British possessions beyond the sea up to 4,562,000 square miles, and their population to 161,486,000-a number which has increased since the date of these estimates or enumerations. Including the British North-West American possessions, and linking the whole to the mother country, the Queen's realm will be found to comprise territory of about seven millions of English square miles, with a population approaching two hundred millions.

Growth of the Colonial Empire. The following table exhibits the gradual growth of the Colonial Empire of Great Britain:

*Unofficial, and therefore not substituted for official returns given elsewhere.

.1763

..1846 Canada, Upper..

. Capitulation
Cession...

..1759

Increase of Population. The population of England and Wales in 1801, amounted to 9,156,171; so that it has more than doubled in the course of fifty years. From 1801 to 1861, the rate of increase was as follows: 1801-1811, 14 per cent.; 1811-1821, 16 per cent.; 1821 -1831, 15 per cent.; 1831-1841, 14 per cent.; 1811-1851, 13 per cent.; 1851-1861, 12 per cent. The proportion of male to female children is as 104,811 to 100,000. In consequence of the greater mortality of male children, equilibrium between the sexes is restored about the tenth year of life; emigration, war, and perilous occupations continue to thin the ranks of the male population, so that finally there are 100,000 women to 95,000 men.

The population of Scotland in 1801, was 1,608,420; it has therefore increased 90.32 per cent. within the last fifty years. The per centage of decennial increase was as follows: 1801-1811, 12.27; 1811-1821, 15.82; 1821-1831, 13.04; 1831-1841, 10.82; 1841-1851, 10.25; 1851-1861, 6.00. Decrease in Ireland. The population of Ireland in 1812, was 6,801,827; in 1831, 7,767,401; in 1841, 8,775,124; in 1851, 6,552,386; in 1861, 5,798,967. The decrease from 1841 to 1851 was 19.85 per cent. and from 1851 to 1861, 12.02 per cent.

Emigration. In the eight years from 1847 to 1854 inclusive, the total emigration from the United Kingdom was 2,444,802, equal to an average of 305,600 a year. It fell off considerably in the following eight years (1855 to 1862), being in 1861 less (91,770), than in any year since 1844; but it rose again in the subsequent years. During the fifteen years from 1852 to 1866, it exceeded, according to official returns, three millions and a half. The total number of emigrants in 1866, was 204,882; of whom 58,856 were English; 12,307 Scotch; 98,890 Irish; 26,091 foreign; and 8,138 not designated. As regards place of destination, 161,000 went to the United States; 24,097 to the Australian Colonies and New Zealand; 13,255 to the North American Colonies; and 6,530 to all other places.

Classification of Population. The general classification of the population enumerated in England, Wales and Scotland, at the census of 1861, was as follows:

Wealth. The gross annual value of real property in 1862, was in England, £120,069,963; in Scotland, £15,128,538; in Ireland, £13,400,546.

Pauperism. The statistics of paupers in receipt of relief, was in 1867 and 1868, as follows: England and Wales (1868): Adult able-bodied paupers, 185,630; all other paupers, 849,193; total, 1,034,823. Scotland (1867): Paupers, 76,737; Dependents, 44,432; total, 121,169. Ireland (1868): Indoor paupers, 56,663; outdoor paupers, 15,830 total, 72,493.

Crime. The number of criminal offenders, committed for trial, convicted, and acquitted, was, in 1867, in the three Kingdoms, as follows:

All the three Kingdoms show a considerable decrease in the number of persons committed for trial since 1853, which is partly attributed to the operation of the Criminal Justice statute of 1855, which authorizes Justices of the Peace to pass sentences for short periods, with the consent of the prisoners, instead of committing for trial to the Sessions. In Ireland the number of persons committed for trial has decreased more largely from 1854 to 1867, than in either Engiand or Scotland, (from 11,788 to 4,561).

Reigning Sovereign and Family. VICTORIA I., Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, born May 24, 1819; daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, (fourth son of King George III.), and of Princess Victoria, of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg, widow of Prince Emich of Leiningen. Succeeded her uncle, William IV., June 20, 1837; married February 10, 1840, to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; widow December 14, 1861. Children: 1. Princess Victoria, born Nov. 21, 1840; married to the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, (see Prussia). 2. Prince Albert Edward, heir apparent, born November 9, 1841; married March 10, 1863, to Princess Alexandra, daughter of the King of Denmark; (issue, two sons and one daughter: Albert Victor, born January 8, 1864; George, born June 3, 1865; and Louise, born February 20, 1867.) 3. Princess Alice, born April 25, 1843; married to Prince Ludwig, of Hesse Darmstadt. 4 Prince 'Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, born August 6, 1844. 5. Princess Helena, born May S, 1846; married July 5, 1866, to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. 6. Princess Louise, born March 18, 1848. 7. Prince Arthur, born May 1, 1850. 8. Prince Leopold, born April 7, 1853. 9. Princess Beatrice, born April 14, 1857.

The Civil List of the Queen, in accordance with the act of December 23, 1837, amounts to £385,000; besides £15,000 are allowed to Prince Alfred; £8,000 to the Crown Princess of Prussia; £6,000 to Princess Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt; £6,000 to the Duchess of Cambridge; £3,000 to the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; £5,000 to Princess Teck; and £12,000 to Duke George of Cambridge. The heir apparent of the crown has settled upon him an annuity of £40,000. The Prince of Wales has besides as income, the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, which, in 1866, amounted to £78,158. The Princess of Wales has settled upon her an annual sum of £10,000.

The House of Hanover.

The following is a list of the Kings of the House of Hanover: 1. George I. ascended the throne 1714. 2. George II. 1727; 3. George III. 1760. 4. George IV. 1820. 5. William IV. brother of the preceding, 1830. 6. Victoria, 1837.

Government. The form of government is monarchical, the monarchy being limited and hereditary. The Constitution vests the legislative power in Parliament, which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The executive functions of gov ernment are performed in the name of the Sovereign by a ministry taken from members of both Houses, the ministers being held responsible for all executive and administrative acts. Legislative authority is lodged exclusively in Parliament, and the three branches of King, Lords and Commons must concur in any measure before it can become law. General measures of legislation may be initiated in either House, but all bills of supply must originate in the Commons, nor has the House of Lords the power of amending their provisions. The Sovereign has the prerogative of the veto, but this has long ceased to be exercised, and the House of Commons is virtually omnipotent in its control of state affairs. The House of Lords consists of the Lords spiritual and temporal. Of the former there are 30, viz.: the Archbishops of York and of Canterbury, 24 English Bishops, and 4 Irish Spiritual Peers. The latter numbered, in 1867, 433, divided as follows: Peers of the Royal blood, 4; Dukes, 20; Marquesses, 19; Earls, 110; Viscounts, 29; Barons, 214,-all English; and 16 Scotch, and 28 Irish Representative Peers. The House of Commons has a total of 658 members, which has generally been the number since the union of Great Britain and Ireland. By the passage of the Scotch and Irish Reform Bills, the distribution of seats was so changed as to give England 493, Scotland 60, and Ireland 105 members. Scotland receives 7 additional members, but the whole number of members of Parliament remained unchanged. The passage of the measures in question has led to very material changes in the constituency of the popular branch of the Legislature. In the session of 1867, a bill was introduced by the Derby Ministry providing for an enlargement of the constituency, by certain modifications of the franchise; but the changes proposed were clogged with provisions of so restrictive a character that the measure as introduced was vehemently opposed by the Liberal party, who successfully pressed upon the Government certain amendments which have had the effect of placing the franchise within reach of the working classes, and of adding hundreds of thousands of votes to the electoral body of the United Kingdom. The main feature of the Act is the provision establishing household suffrage in England. According to this new electoral law, every man is entitled to vote for members of Parliament, who, not laboring under any legal incapacity, shall be the occupier, as owner or tenant, of a dwelling-house in the borough in which he claims to vote, provided he is assessed, and has paid rates for the relief of the poor; and every man also who occupies lodgings which would let unfurnished at £10 a year, on the condition in either case that he has occupied such dwelling-house or lodgings for a period of at least 12 months previous to the last day of July in any year. This is the qualification for voting in the boroughs. To be entitled to vote for county members the claimant is required to have a copyhold, or leasehold interest, or an interest arising from any other tenure whatever, of at least £5 clear yearly

value, in property situated in the county; or to be the occupier, on the same conditions as to period of residence as above stated, of lands or tenements within the county, of the ratable value of £12 or upwards. The other important provisions of the new Reform Bill related to the redistribution of seats, whereby members were taken from certain small boroughs, not entitled to more than one representative each, and given to large towns with a numerous population, and to counties; and the adoption also of the principle of the representation of minorities, according to which, as applied in the Bill, in Constituencies returning three members, the voters shall be respectively entitled to vote for two only. In the session of 1868, supplementary Reform Bills from Scotland and Ireland were introduced, placing the franchise in those parts of the United Kingdom on substantially the same basis as in England, and in the case of Scotland providing for an addition of seven members to her representation.

The duration of Parliament is septennial, but the Crown has the prerogative of dissolving at its pleasure, and a dissolution always takes place on the death of the Sovereign. The prerogative of dissolution, however, is never exercised except on the advice of Ministers, and as a rule only when some great question of state has to be submitted to the people for their decision, or when important acts have been passed by Parliament, involving great changes-such, for instance, as the new Reform Bills. A general election, on the basis of the reform bills passed in 1867 and 1868, and explained above, took place in November 1868, the Right Hon. Benjamin Disræli being then Prime Minister.

The Cabinet. (Dec. 1868.) First Lord of the Treasury, Right Hon. WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE; Lord Chancellor, LORD HATHERLEY, (late Sir W. Page Wood); Lord President of the Council, EARL DE GREY and RIPON; Lord Privy Seal, EARL OF KIMBERLY; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Right Hon. ROBERT LOWE; Secretary of State for the Home Department, Right Hon. HENRY A. BRUCE; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, LORD CLARENDON; Secretary of State for the Colonies, EARL GRANVILLE; Secretary of State for India, DUKE OF ARGYLL; Secretary of State for War, Right Hon. Mr. CARDWELL; First Lord of the Admiralty, Right Hon. Mr. CHILDERS; President of the Board of Trade, Right Hon. JOHN BRIGHT; Post Master General, MARQUIS OF HARTINGTON; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, LORD DUFFERIN; President of the Poor Law Board, Right Hon. GEORGE J. GoSCHEN; Chief Secretary of Ireland, Right Hon. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE. The Duke of Cambridge is Commander of the Forces, and A. Henry Layard Chief Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings.

Political Parties. The following are the statistics of most of the Parliamentary elections that have taken place since the passage of the Reform Act, showing in what manner the proportion between Liberals and Conservatives has been in various times affected:

Education. Public Education has of late made great progress. The proportion of men who could write increased from two-thirds in 1842 to three-fourths in 1866; and of women, from a half to two-thirds, in the same periods. The least progress has been made in Wales. The progress of schools, inspected and supported by the Government from 1860 to 1866, is exhibited by the following table:

ENGLAND AND WALES, INCLUSIVE OF ISLE OF MAN AND ROMAN CATHOLIC
SCHOOLS FOR GREAT BRITAIN.

About 30 of these were Liberal-Conservatives. There was a tie vote for one English borough.

In Ireland, the total number of children whose names appeared on the rolls of the national schools in 1866, was 910,819, a decrease of per cont. as compared with 1865. The average daily attendance was 316,225, a decrease of one-fifth per cent. Of the total number on the rolls, 738,794 (81.18 per cent.) were Roman Catholic; 6.96 per cent. belonged to the Established Church, 11.16 to the Presbyterian, and 0.70 to other persuasions. The unmixed schools show 18,702 Protestant pupils under Protestant teachers, and 373,756 Roman Catholic pupils under Roman Catholic teachers.

The annual Parliamentary grants to popular education amounted, in 1840, to £30,000; in 1848, to £83,406; in 1850, to £180,110; in 1854, to £326,436; in 1858, to £668,873; in 1862, to £774,743; in 1866, to £649,006. From 1839 to 1866 the total public expenditure for education was £6,710,862. Of this amount, £4,039,333 were given to Church of England schools; £228,110 to Roman Catholic schools in England and Wales; £406,184 to schools connected with the Church of Scotland; £322,777 to the Free Church of Scotland; £34,363 to the Episcopal Church of Scotland; £18,793 to Roman Catholic schools in Scotland.

A report of the Army Medical Department shows the following condition among every 1,000 recruits examined in 1864:

Finances. The gross produce of revenue, for the year ending March 31,1868, and the gross expenditure for the same period are as follows:

The total amount of revenue and expenditures from 1864 to 1867 was as follows:

The details of the changes made in taxation in the seven years from March 31, 1860, to March 31, 1867, were as follows: Taxes repealed or reduced, £19,299,863; taxes imposed, £3,263,215; net reduction, £16,036,648. The state of the National Debt for the five years from 1863 to 1867, was as follows: