the natives to go any distance from their villages, as they are so often at war with one another. Plenty of proofs of cannibalism were found. One of the party, on going into a house to light his pipe, saw a woman roasting the thigh and leg of a man who was killed the day before. The expedition bought the quadrant of the schooner "Lavinie," the ship's articles, and a savings-bank deposit book from the natives. The natives of Blanche Bay, New Britain, affirm positively the existence of a race of men with tails at a place called Kali, and deny indignantly that they were monkeys, asking if monkeys could fight with spears, plant yams, make houses, &c. Mr. Cockerell, a naturalist and collector from Queensland, accompanied the expedition, and was left with a Samoan teacher for seven days on New Britain as a hostage for some chiefs who were taken to the mission station on Duke of York Island, and he was collecting on New Ireland for five months. The natives were very friendly to him. They are all dreadful cannibals. There is a strange custom in New Ireland which requires that a chief's daughter shall be kept in a cage within her father's house until she is of marriageable age. The cage scarcely gives her room to move, and she cannot leave it during any part of the day, though she is allowed to take a stroll with near relatives after nightfall. It is in the interior of New Britain, where no white person has ever penetrated, that the men with tails are said to live. When a chief dies his body is wrapped up and placed in a tree, and the poor people are put in canoes in the sea to float away. The natives have large plantations, and work about two days in the week. They live chiefly on bananas, cocoanuts, and pork, but they also indulge in human flesh. The houses, which are small, have bamboo sides and thatched roofs. There appear to be no powerful chiefs, but a number of petty chiefs, the system of government seeming to be patriarchal rather than tribal.

28. AN ELEPHANT TO THE RESCUE.-It is very seldom that in England elephant labour is utilised, but an instance occurred this night which is worthy of record. The road at the junction of Waterloo and York roads, London, had been lately broken up, and about half-past six on Thursday evening an omnibus proceeding from Stamford Street towards the Waterloo Road, was so heavily laden that the horses were unable to drag the load. Several of the passengers alighted, and while the horses were endeavouring in vain to get over the piece of ground, one of Sanger's elephants, under the charge of a keeper, passed along the road. Seeing the helplessness of the horses, the keeper gave instructions to the elephant, who lowered his head and, placing his forehead at the rear of the omnibus, pushed horses, vehicle, and passengers beyond the obstacle which impeded their progress. This was witnessed by a large number of persons, who loudly cheered the actors in this incident.

- GROWTH OF LONDON.-The following figures in connection with the increased rateable value of certain London districts åre

[DEC.

interesting. There are eight localities with a rateable value ex ceeding 1,000,000l. Next below this group we have the Wandsworth district, with 857,422l., followed by Plumstead and Lewisham with 718,493l., and Hackney with 695,580l. The Fulham district has also made an advance, rising from the thirty-fifth place to the twentieth, the houses being more than doubled and rateable value trebled. Poplar has taken a step upward from the twentyfirst place to the thirteenth, the houses having increased in number by about one-half, and the rateable value risen from 218,256l. to 558,4861. In rateable value Poplar now stands next to St. James, Westminster. St. George, Hanover Square, despite its fashionable repute, has fallen from the fifth place to the seventh, but stands second for rateable value, which has gone up from 893,9761. to 1,499,954l., the latter being about half the rateable value of the City. This wealthy parish does not increase greatly in the number of houses, but the average rateable value of a house in St. George's is exceptionably high, being nearly 142l. The City average is about twice as high, but we see that the average for all London is only 55l. A marvellous increase in rateable value is shown by the parish of St. John, Hampstead, the amount twenty years ago being only about 77,000l., whereas now it is nearly 326,000l. Hampstead has only risen from the thirty-ninth place (last but Yet one) to the twenty-third. Bethnal Green has increased its rateable value more than threefold, although it has fallen from the twelfth place to the sixteenth.

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE WORLD.-A calculation has been made of the number of letters posted annually in each of the principal countries of Europe, by which we find that in the year 1875 the number in England nearly trebled that in France, being 1,100,000,000 to 366,000,000; Germany stands next to England, 643,000,000; Austro-Hungary 285,000,000; Switzerland 73,000,000; Belgium 68,000,000. From an official document issued from the Austrian Ministry of Finance it appears that about 2,922 millions of letters were posted in Europe during 1875. It is also calculated that in the same year the number of letters posted in other than European countries amounted to about 980 millions, so that altogether 3,900 millions of letters were forwarded in that year. "A simple calculation, therefore, demonstrates the interesting fact that the correspondence of the world requires the regular distribution of 10-6 millions of letters per day."

31. THE WEATHER throughout this month has been marked by a succession of destructive gales and storms, culminating towards the conclusion of the year in a terrific gale from the southwest which had by no means exhausted itself when the old year made way for the new. On Dec. 3 and 4 three Norwegian vessels, each probably with a crew of eight, were lost off Peterhead with all hands. All three vessels struck on one of the most dangerous parts of the coast, and went to pieces immediately, the crews being drowned

in presence of the spectators, and before any effective help could be given. On other parts of the coast the shipping casualties were severe. Traffic was stopped on the Deeside Railway, rails, sleepers, and waggons having been washed away at Lossiemouth. The station was inundated, and the water stood several feet deep on the perma

nent way. Fearful havoc was caused on the north side of Forth by the storm, and floods occurred in Fife. At Golsbie the waves swept across the village, and the unfortunate householders had to beat a hasty retreat. The gardens of Dunrobin Castle, the Duke of Sutherland's residence, have been considerably damaged. As the month went on, the Severn, Avon, and Teme rose considerably, and flooded the country along the Severn Valley almost from Shrewsbury to Gloucester to a very considerable extent, navigation on the Avon and Severn being seriously interrupted. Large tracts of land towards Shustoke and Whitacre, and for some distance on either side of the Ashby and Nuneaton Railway, were submerged, and similar floods prevailed on each side of the Leicester and Nuneaton Railway, at Nottingham, and in the valley of the Thames. In the middle of the month thousands of acres were reported to be under water in the Midland counties. At Christmas time many of the railways in Scotland and the North of England were blocked by snow, and in the latter days of the month the Thames overflowed its banks to a very disastrous extent. The shipwrecks along the north-east coast were frequent, and seventeen wrecks were reported as having taken place on the coasts of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire alone, in which it is estimated that probably a hundred seamen perished.

STATISTICS OF OCCUPATIONS.-The following figures are taken from the miscellaneous statistics lately published by the Board of Trade; it is difficult from them to form an accurate comparison between the returns of 1861 and 1871, as the classification of the two censuses has in some respects been altered. "Authors and literary and scientific persons," who in 1861 were returned as 7,675, appear in 1871 mixed with students, the whole enumerated as 145,335, the women being 78,107, as against 227 in 1861; musicians, actors, &c., 26,185, against 19,259--the larger increase being among the female artistes, who were 9,282, against 5,855. Of teachers, professors, &c., the numbers were 127,140, against 110,364; upwards of 14,000 of this increase is found on the female side, who were 94,239, against 80,017 in 1861. "Scholars and children at home" is destroyed for comparative purposes by including relatives in 1861; with this result, that the males have increased 441,000, while the females decreased 39,000 in round. numbers. Male servants (domestic, including grooms, gardeners, &c.) have increased in the decade 20,400; the female servants increased 265,000—the total in 1871 of male and female servants falling little short of a million and a half. The marked decrease of the class "boarding and lodging (hotel, boarding-house keepers, &c.)," is probably due to a change of ascription in 1871. There

were 159,134 in 1861, and only 139,103 in 1871-the females having decreased by 33,500. The "agriculturalists" have fallen from 1,833,652 to 1,447,481; the female portion being not one half the enumeration of 1861-namely, 183,450, against 376,577. Few people will be prepared to find a large decrease in the number of workers and dealers in dress; in 1861 they were enumerated as 1,205,747, but reduced in 1871 to 1,115,247; the larger part of the decrease, 76,000, is under the head of "females." Under "cotton and flax" fewer are numbered in 1871 than 1861; in the latter year the total was 563,014; in 1871 it was 562,015—the males had decreased 15,000, but the females had increased by 15,000 also. Under "wool and worsted" there has been a decrease among the males with an increase among the females; the total of both sexes in 1871 was 253,490, against 238,814-the males decreased 4,000, the females increased 19,000 very nearly. The silk industry in England would appear to be rapidly declining. There were 82,053 persons engaged in it in 1871, against 117,989 ten years earlier. Sometimes there is an increase of the number of females attributed to a particular occupation, where it might not be anticipated. Thus under "arms" the males have very slightly decreased, while the females have risen from 713 to 2,603; in 1861 there were but 94 females ascribed to head "minerals, miners; " but in 1871 they were enumerated as 5,678. The reverse has taken place under the head "copper," an industry which engaged 3,981 females in 1861 and only 160 in 1871.

OBITUARY

EMINENT PERSONS DECEASED IN 1876.