nevertheless this state of things is most favourable to future European colonization, provided that the task of occupying the island is carried out in a systematic and orderly manner, and that the exploring and colonizing expeditions who may undertake the duty are well organized, well officered, and governed by comprehensive rules and regulations.

To a well-organized expedition of say fifty or sixty men, effecting a landing at any point on the northeast coast would be easy, and unaccompanied by bloodshed, for no single tribe would dare oppose such a force. They would, on the contrary, retire before it, hanging about its outskirts it is true, but never venturing within even musket range for many days, until accustomed to the sight and actions of the invaders. Then, one by one, the natives would come into the European camp with presents, and, when satisfied that no harm was meant them, would soon become friendly. This state of feeling should be encouraged; and in the event of any neighbouring tribe attacking or molesting the friendly natives, these should be assisted by the Europeans to beat back their enemies, and once the colonists show their real bonâ fides by such an act they need never fear being treacherously attacked; for their native allies will scout for them, fight for them, and do everything in their power to show their gratitude.

The great difficulty will be for the European to make his native ally comprehend that no aggressive action on his part will be tolerated, that is, to make him understand that he is not to retaliate on his enemies. This will be all the more difficult that the Papuan law is the old Mosaic law of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," which it will be necessary to supersede by inculcating into the Papuan mind the

serener virtues taught by the observance of the Christian faith; and the best means that can be adopted to attain this desirable end is, not to meddle with the adults any more than is absolutely necessary, but to secure, as much as possible, the regular attendance of children of both sexes at schools provided for their use.

When the Dutch first visited these parts, they found the natives inclined to be most friendly, and were received with open arms. The following simple narrative of Lieutenant Bruijn Kops is most strikingly illustrative of the then existing state of feeling:

One evening when we went on shore all the children of the village were collected together, and beads were thrown among them. Not only the children, but women, men, and even some of the chiefs, scrambled for the beads, and ran from every quarter to obtain a share. All were on their knees in the sand, and showed how much they prized these presents by the zeal and attention with which they sought for them, and by their merry laughter when they were fortunate. Although these beads were of great value in their estimation, the scram

bling was carried on without the personal contests which in civilized Europe would have been the result of an unequal distribution of presents. Walking along the beach after this distribution, I entered into conversation with a native who had learned a little Malay, and who invited me into his house, where I was led into the room which serves as a dwelling-place for the would take to flight, and was not a family. I thought all the women little surprised that they sat down close to me, and observed me very attentively, but without troublesome intrusion. Thus I sat in the midst of six women, three of whom were young, and whom on account of their beautiful eyes, clear, white, and regular teeth, happy, laughing faces, round shoulders and arms, fine hands, beautiful bosoms, and well-formed limbs, deserved the name of beautiful, not

only in the eyes of Papuans, but also in those of Europeans. The frankness with which I was received struck me; it was entirely unexpected. They brought me a dish of papeda (sagoflour steeped in water), some roast fish, yams, and fruit, requesting me to partake of it, which I did to please them. Seeing a ring on my finger, one of the girls tried to draw it off to examine it; but not succeeding I drew it off myself, and handed it to her. After examination, it was returned to me with care. I mention all this because the familiarity with which I was treated astonished me, and gave a favourable opinion of these people.

The products of the island are both numerous and valuable. Gold, tin, copper, iron, and sulphur are among its minerals. Seed and shell pearl and tortoiseshell are to be found along its coast, together with the sea-slug or bêche-de-mer and the edible birds'-nests so highly prized in the Japanese and Chinese markets. In its forests is found the Tectona grandis, or Indian teak, a wood most valuable in shipbuilding, while sandal-wood and ebony carved ornaments have been purchased from time to time from the natives by Sydney traders. The cotton-tree grows wild at many spots along the coast, wild nutmegs and cinnamon have been procured, and the breadfruit-tree, the sagopalm, and the cocoanut-tree at this present time supply the Papuans with their chief and most luxuriant food. It is difficult to say what might not be grown in New Guinea under proper cultivation, but, at present, the natives appear to content themselves with cultivating only the sugar-cane, the yam, the taro, and the sweet potato, together with a few tomatoes, gourds, or melons, and beans with very long pods; all of which they enclose within stout bamboo fences. These fences are evidently erected to keep wild animals from destroying the crops within the clearing; but what

are the animals these crops are thus protected against?

Captain Moresby only saw the wallaby in a wild state, and pigs and dogs in a tame state. He noticed. however, the spoor of some large animal, which he supposes to be a rhinoceros. The Bâsle missionaries report wild hogs and leopards on the north coast. The Dutch mention buffalo bones having been brought to them at Triton Bay. Mr. M'Farlane reports having seen the spoor of the buffalo in the mud. along the river side, when exploring the Baxter. His party also saw, without the aid of magnifying glasses, a bird, said to be capable of carrying away a half-ton dugong in its claws! The dugong is somewhat like a whale, and this fabulous bird must, in size, be very much like a whale also. A Captain Lawson reports having shot a tiger or leopard, which he says the natives call a moola. He also shot buffalo and deer, monkeys which chased him, boa-constrictors of fabulous dimensions, spiders and snakes of like proportions, and enormous scorpii ad lib! Truly New Guinea is a wonderful land if all these accounts are true.

We are inclined to believe, however, that in New Guinea will be found the connecting link between the Australasian and Asiatic flora and fauna, the one being separated from the other by the dividing range, which in reality divides New Guinea into halves, just in the same manner that a herring is divided by its backbone; and as in that, fish, so in New Guinea, will "the back" be the most profitable, unless, indeed, its abdomen be found to contain a

golden roe among its alluvial deposits.

The island of New Guinea in the hands of a foreign power would be a standing menace to our Australasian colonies. From its numerous harbours cruisers could at any mo

ment make a dash on our colonies, and lay them under heavy contribution should war break out in the future between England and that European nation holding New Guinea. These cruisers would also paralyze the Australian trade with China,and would necessitate a strong English naval force being sent to the New Guinea coast to drive them into, and blockade them in, their harbours. This naval force it might not at any moment be convenient to detach from our own waters, where every available vessel might perchance be wanted to defend our home ports. It is, therefore, a political necessity for this country to occupy New Guinea, and the only question to be solved is, how can she do so the most effectually, and yet withal the most economically?

New Guinea is a large island. Its area contains some 200,000 square geographical miles, of which England claims one-half, and Holland the other. But New Guinea is essentially "No Man's Land." It is invitingly near to the Suez Canal, and by means of this highway is brought into direct communication with the shores of the Mediterranean. Spain and Italy are both maritime powers seeking to extend their trade. They know that a colony of Spaniards or Italians once planted on the island of New Guinea, with their country's flag unfurled over their heads, could not be turned out, or that flag hauled down by England, for no Court of Arbitration would decide in England's favour, and both are consequently preparing each its. own expedition before England awakens to a sense of her own interests. The Dutch are also preparing their little expedition, it is said, to re-found the Triton Bay Settlement.

An English expedition is now being organized with a view, if

possible, to assist the Government in its action. For, as we have before remarked, there is absolutely nothing at the present moment for the Government to annex in New Guinea, but the moment a British settlement has been established by private enterprise, then the Imperial Government can step in and rule its own subjects, for an Englishman carries "English law" with him wherever he goes-or did so, at least, before the days of arbitration set in, and commenced to undo that which it took much of the best blood of Great Britain to accomplish.

The most recent, and by far the most reliable, account of New Guinea is that of Captain Moresby, R.N., who lately surveyed the southeastern peninsula of the island, thereby adding much to our geographical knowledge, and handing down his name to posterity as the discoverer of the China Straits. This gallant officer was for many months on the coast of the island. He mixed freely with the natives, and allowed his men to do likewise, thereby sowing the seed of future friendly intercourse between the white man and the aborigines of this region. His recently published narrative of his "Discoveries in New Guinea" is pregnant with interest, while his description of the natural resources of the island, of the manners and customs of its inhabitants, of its climate, of its fine harbours, and of its beautiful scenery, is well calculated to lead many adventurers to endeavour to penetrate into the interior of this "land flowing with milk and honey." The danger is, however, that these pioneers of civilization may undo all the good Captain Moresby has done, and so irritate the natives by their behaviour, as not only to lose their own lives, but to greatly endanger the safety of those who may visit the island

after them; and in order to prevent such scandals from being repeated as were perpetrated in New Zealand and the Fijis, an orderly, lawabiding, and well-organized expedition is now being equipped to explore the island, and, if possible, form settlements which, governed by proper rules and regulations, will protect the natives from attacks of a piratical nature, be it from without or from within; and it is therefore hoped that those who really do interest themselves in the future of New Guinea will assist in bringing the English undertaking to a successful issue.

During the discussson which followed on the reading of Mr. Michie's paper on "Great Britain and New Guinea," at the fifth meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute, held on March 16, 1875, his Grace the Duke of Manchester in the chair, Captain Moresby said:

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"Divesting himself for the time of his position as a naval officer, he stood there as one of the company of Englishmen who first visited and made known to the world the outline of the Eastern portion of the island of New Guinea, never before visited by a man, and, as such, might be able to arouse some passing interest in the subject. In the first place, he thanked Mr. Michie very warmly for the kind compliments he had made him, but would say that, when a naval officer put on Her Majesty's coat, he stood devoted entirely to his Queen and country, and whether he laboured successfully or died nobly, he only did what it was his duty to do. The thanks of the colonies were, however, largely to be given to the Imperial Government; for it was the Imperial Government who, after hearing of his first discoveries, at the east end of the Island, sent the Basilisk back, under his command, to follow up and substantiate these discoveries, and also despatched a very distinguished surveyor, Lieutenant Dawson, without whose aid the splendid charts and maps which many present had seen

could not have been made. This showed that the Admiralty and Imperial Government took a warm interest in colonial matters. Thanks also were due to Divine Providence for giving unusually fine weather, favourable winds, and health and

strength to the officers and men, which enabled them to open up that rich and new country; and he trusted the intercourse which must follow would result in good, not only to the English race of colonists, but also to the aborigines themselves. The map on the wall was a perfectly defined chart of New Guinea; but any one who had seen it before the visit of the Basilisk, instead of seeing the capes, headlands, and bays indicated thereon from the eastern extremity to Cape Cretin, would have seen nothing but a waving dotted line, showing that it was an unknown coast. The island had never been explored by Englishmen, and his motive for exploring was partly, though not altogether, the fact that, before leaving Sydney, he had received information that the French, and the Americans from San Francisco, as well as the Russians, who he knew were in Astrolabe Gulf, were fitting out expeditions to explore New Guinea and the adjacent islands; and he thought it was more an Englishman's right, if such could be done, to add the last discovery possible to the habitable world, and to put the name of English statesmen and English admirals on the map.

"New Guinea presented in its general features a high mountainous country, culminating in very sharp ridges, 12,000 and 14,000 feet high, sloping down towards the sea. There was every variety of level plains, terraced plateaux, rich open land, wooded country, and glens of extreme fertility. It would be perceived that in such a country one could enjoy every possible degree of temperature.

The produce of the country, as had been described by the lecturer, was all that could be desired. He had been reading that day an account of the island of Java, which might very well stand for a description of the eastern portion of New Guinea; and while reading he reflected that we now considered our forefathers to have made a

great mistake in giving up Java, and hoped that our children will not have to blame us for letting another Java slip through our fingers. The produce of the island consists of sago, arrowroot, Indian corn, sugar-cane, and wild nutmegs. Bananas and various tropical fruits were grown by a rude method of cultivation. Imagine for one moment the eastern extremity of the island in the hands of the European cultivators; you would have, first, the rich slopes of the mountains covered with cotton, rice, coffee, nutmegs, cinnamon, cloves, and spices of all kinds; and above that the English garden, producing all our home vegetables. You would see the apple-tree bending down to the vine below, and the vine descending to the crops on the stem of the palm. This is no fanciful picture, but a simple statement of what might exist in New Guinea.

If one, wanted cooler airs it would be only necessary to ascend a few miles, and the glow of summer would be changed for the frost of winter. The forest contained many kinds of valuable woods, but of their nature he was scarcely qualified to speak. The best known products of the island (he was speaking in the presence of commercial men, and therefore open to correction) consisted of jute in large quantities, and fibres of various kinds. Its shores abounded in pearl shells and tortoiseshell; and these natural riches were already attracting commerce from Australia.

"The gold alluded to was found in Port Moresby, on the south-east of New Guinea, a part never before visited; but no gold had been found on the north side. On Ferguson's Island (one of the D'Entrecasteaux group), where they had discovered a number of boiling springs, they had found minute chippings of rubies and sapphires, and he had little doubt but that larger stones would be found there.

"He thought the two islands of Australia and New Guinea were intended by nature and circumstances to be inhabited by one race for the peace and security of both, and he had constantly at his heart a desire that the natives who had given him such a hospitable welcome should fall into the hands of honest and true Englishmen, who would raise them to a higher and happier state."*

One of the objects of the New Guinea Colonizing Associationand that not the least of its objects in the opinion of all right-minded men-is to raise the natives of that island to "a higher and happier state." by introducing the blessings of Christianity among them; and we cannot therefore do better than to end this paper by repeating Captain Moresby's sentiments, as expressed by that gallant officer in the concluding sentence of his recently published remarks on " Our Duty to New Guinea and Polynesia," by asking our readers whether, in their opinion, it does. not appear 66 as though Nature herself has striven to show us that she has here laid down the noble proportions of an empire, and bids us not curtail it for our children?"

Reverting to what we have said. respecting other nations contemplating the colonization of New Guinea, we understand that the French Expedition is nearly equipped, and will probably sail about the 20th of July, to hoist the French Flag, if not on New Guinea, certainly on some of the islands around its shores.