striking example of the progress of Ocean Steam Navigation, more especially between the United Kingdom and our Colonies. A somewhat detailed reference to what has been done by it will, therefore, not be out of place.

The first contract with Her Majesty's Government for the conveyance of mails by seagoing steamers was that entered into in August 1837, by the company at that time called the "Peninsular." Inasmuch, however, as their steamers then ran only from Falmouth to Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar, this could only be regarded as an extended, but nevertheless a very important, coasting service. To this company, however, undoubtedly belongs the credit of having been the first to undertake a contract for the conveyance of mails from this country to, and from, foreign ports; the services, such as they were, had, up to that time been done by Admiralty packets at an enormous cost.

In the year 1840 the "Peninsular was expanded into the "Peninsular and Oriental " Company, which entered into a contract with the English Government to convey the mails by steamer from England to Alexandria; subsequently it extended the service to India, despatching on this line the "Hindostan," of 2,017 tons, in September 1842. A further contract was undertaken by the same company in 1844, to carry the mails to Ceylon, Singapore, and Hong-Kong; and in March 1852 (after the failure of two other competitors) the Peninsular and Oriental Company commenced a service to Australia, which has been carried on in the most creditable manner in respect of punctuality, safety, speed, and, as regards passengers, with a degree of comfort amounting to luxury. Fifty years ago the largest vessels of the Peninsular and Oriental Company (with a single exception) ranged from 600 to 800 tons each, the exception being the "Great Liverpool," of 1,311 tons and 464 HP. Twenty-five years ago there were very few of the vessels of this company of 2,500 tons, or of 2,500 HP. True, the "Himalaya," 3,500 tons, had been built by the company as far back as 1853, but was speedily sold to H.M. Government as being far too large for the commercial work of that date. The average tonnage of the fleet, of fifty vessels, is now upwards of 4,000 tons, with corresponding engine-power, the total being about 200,000 tons of the most costly description. The latest additions to the mail vessels of this fleet are ships of the type of the "Victoria,' about 6,500 tons register, maintaining a regular sea-going speed of 15 to 16 knots on the 12,000 miles run from London to Australia. The British Companies, owning at the present time what may, without exaggeration, be called fleets of magnificent steam-ships,

may be described in conventional language as "too numerous to mention;" certainly they are too numerous to be set forth in any detail here. Speaking generally, however, it is interesting to note that like the typical example (that of the Peninsular and Oriental Company) already cited, they have all, within so short a period as the last five or six years, made very rapid strides in the direction of increasing the size and power of their vessels.

By the increase in the size of the ships-by the diminished coal consumption and greater power arising from the adoption of the "compound" principle in the engines-by the reduction of weight in proportion to carrying capacity, consequent upon the adoption of steel-and by the extended application of steam and hydraulic power to many purposes in working the ships, and dealing with the cargoes (whereby the crews have not been increased in anything like the same proportion as the tonnage of the vessels)—from these several causes combined, all of which have been mainly due to the engineer and shipbuilder, such great economies have been effected as to bring about a reduction in the cost of Ocean transport, which is as remarkable as it is satisfactory.

Taking, by way of illustration, the cost of the freight of heavy goods such as unmanufactured iron, say to Sydney, on the eastern coast of Australia, a distance of nearly 12,000 miles, it appears that twenty years ago the freights by steamer for such goods ranged generally at about £25 per ton, whereas they were recently as low as 308. a ton, or at the rate of only a little more than d. per ton per mile.

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Lest it should be imagined that the Suez Canal has been the principal cause, or, at any rate one of the principal causes, of this reduction, it should be explained that in this assumed case of Sydney the saving in distance by the Canal, as compared with the route by the Cape (although considerable in itself), is not more than oneninth of the whole distance.

Before leaving this subject I should like to refer briefly to two recent but marked examples of modern passenger steam-ships. The first of these is the "Teutonic," belonging to the White Star line; this vessel is 582 feet (practically mile) in length, has a gross tonnage of 9,685, and is provided with accommodation for one thousand two hundred passengers, three hundred being first class. She is intended, by arrangement with the Admiralty, to carry in time of war twelve 4.7-inch quick-firing guns, having a maximum range of over 5 miles, and eight 1-inch four-barrel Nordenfelt quick-firing guns; she may therefore be regarded as a combination of, or a "cross" between, the reaceful "Greyhound of the Ocean" and the pugnacious "Bulldog of the Sea."

The other example is the "City of Paris," belonging to the Inman and International Steam-ship Company. This is the only vessel which, up to the present time, has made the voyage between Sandy Hook and Roche's Point in less than six days; her mean speed on that voyage in May last was 20.6 knots, equal 23.73 statute miles per hour. Her runs on three consecutive days were 504, 505 and 511 knots, or a little over 580, 581 and 5883 statute miles, respectively. She has again accomplished the voyage between Sandy Hook and Roche's Point within six days, her actual time on arrival last Tuesday having been five days twenty-two hours, fifty-seven minutes, as compared with five days, twentythree hours, thirty-eight minutes on a previous voyage; in round numbers she has, in six voyages, run 17,000 knots at an average rate of nearly 20 knots (23 statute miles) per hour. This fine vessel is of 10,500 tons, and 18,000 HP. (i.e. eight times the tonnage and forty-five times the HP. of the "Great Western"); she has twin screws, and two distinct sets of triple-expansion engines. A forced draught is supplied to the fifty-four furnaces, in which is consumed a ton of coal every five minutes, when she is under full steam. Her boiler-tubes measure upwards of 13 miles in length, and she has on board thirty-two auxiliary machines worked by hydraulic power.

Compare this "City of Paris" with the "Great Western," of 1,340 tons, 400 HP., upon which the newspapers of the day remarked, that when in the Thames, she was "crowded with visitors who were astonished at her magnificent proportions and machinery."

Of the "Great Britain," 3,440 tons, it was.said that "the excitement caused by her arrival at Blackwall was very great; that thousands of persons flocked to see her, and that she was honoured by a visit from Her Majesty the Queen, and H.R.H. Prince Albert."

Nowadays the arrival in the Thames or Mersey of a vessel twice or thrice the size of the "Great Britain," or six times larger than the "Great Western," is a matter of such frequent occurrence that it fails to excite public attention.

Interesting as the remarkable advances have been in ocean steaming since its commencement to all who view them from a general standpoint, they are particularly so to those of us who are old enough to remember, not only the birth and infancy of this great enterprise, but also the confident and reiterated predictions of failure and disappointment which it was said must result from the attempt to cross the Atlantic by steam-power alone-an attempt which, in some quarters, was regarded, and freely characterized, as an act bordering upon lunacy on the part of its promoters and advocates.

It would be idle to speculate upon the future progress of steamnavigation, but I may mention that some of our professional brethren in the United States are confidently predicting for it a thorough revolution, through the adoption of the by no means new idea of expelling a jet of water from the stern of the ship. Hitherto the trials seem to have been limited to jets of water of large area at comparatively low velocities; but it appears that a new departure is intended, and is to be tested in a boat now being built for trial in New York Harbour, the propelling jet from which is to be only inch in diameter, delivered under the pressure of 2,500 lbs. to the inch. As to the outcome of this experiment, should it be attended with the success which the promoters contemplate, we may confidently rely upon hearing more in due time.

Knowing the tediousness of bare statistics, the figures I shall place before you will be as few as possible compatible with the attainment of the object I have in view, which is to convey, as far as may be in my power, the most correct idea of a few of the chief engineering works which have been, or are being, carried out in British Colonies, and the scope which exists in those Colonies for the future employment of the Civil Engineer.

I have compiled the following table containing a few notes, which may be regarded as embodying so many standard measures whereby you may readily and accurately gauge the relative magnitude and importance of some of the facts that will be presented to you, and thus, it is hoped, a correct comparison will easily be made between "Great" and "Greater Britain" in respect of many matters which cannot well be otherwise than interesting:

The limitation to Great Britain alone, without comprehending the sister island, must not be interpreted as indicating what in America would be called a "proclivity" towards the severance of that which is now, and it is to be hoped ever will remain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; this limitation has been adopted solely because we shall thus have a standard that will be more familiar to most than if two islands were taken together, and one whereby, as being more simple, a comparison can be more readily and accurately made as we proceed.

It will now be desirable to speak in some detail of British Colonies, and particularly of such of their features and characteristics as have a bearing upon the subject under special consideration, giving, Their position, general configuration, and physical features; Area and population; Climate; Industrial products and mineral wealth; and, Public Works, whether already executed, in progress, or contemplated in the immediate future.

Commencing with the Western Hemisphere, it will be proper first to deal with what was originally a group of separate provinces on the American Continent, but which, since May 1867, have been federated under the title of the "Dominion of Canada."

CANADA.

Canada is larger than any other of the Colonial Dependencies of the British Empire; it extends across the entire Continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, it is about 3,500 miles from east to west, and 1,400 miles from north to south. The total area of the

Dominion is 3,610,000 square miles.

The population is 4,875,000, or 1.35 per square mile, the average death-rate in the towns being 25.17 per 1,000.

A special geographical feature in the Dominion is the general distribution of fresh water by its numerous lakes and rivers, which cover no less than 140,000 square miles-nearly 52,000 more than the entire area of Great Britain. The lakes are said to contain more than half the fresh water of the globe.

The climate is healthy and invigorating; owing to the fact that it extends over no less than 20° of latitude, it has a great range of temperature, nevertheless the extreme dryness of the atmosphere makes both cold and heat less acutely felt than might be expected from the great range of the thermometer.

An average winter lasts about four and a half months; and, although the spring may begin two or three weeks later than in