Enumerations of religious professions exist in Ireland only. This country had, in 1871, 4,150,867 Roman Catholics, 667,979 Episcopalians, 497,648 Presbyterians, 43,441 Methodists, and 52,442 of different denominations. The nativity of the 24,244,010 inhabitants of England and Wales was as follows: 21,692,165 were born in England and Wales, 213,254 in Scotland, 566,540 in Ireland, 25,655 on the islands of the British seas, 70,812 in the British colonies, 139,445 in foreign countries, and 4,395 on the high-seas. The following table gives the population of the principal cities in July, 1876: 118,581 Management of debt 207,881 108,343 138,425 18. Brighton.. 100,682 871,839 19. Aberdeen.. 96,499 814,666 20. Nottingham.. 93,627 Interest on loans for local pur 291,580 21. Oldham. 88,609 8. Sheffield 274,914 22. Norwich... 88,430 £27,443,750 9. Edinburgh. 215,146 23. Wolverhampton 72,549 2. CONSOLIDATED FUND. 10. Bristol. 199,539 24. Plymouth... 72,230 Annuities and pensions.. 828,110 12. Newcastle - on Salaries and allowances. 97,930 Russian-Dutch loan.. 63,884 Localization of the military forces..... 200,000 Miscellaneous 31,178 1,757,090 13,119,865 Surplus. Army services... £15,579,107 £8,218,294 Navy services... 11,063,449 5,894,822 26,842,556 77,335,657 76,466,510 869,147 5. DEPARTMENTAL CHARGES. 74,921,878 74,828,040 593,833 Customs and inland revenue 77,131,693 76,621,778 509,920 Total ordinary expenditure... Extraordinary expenses, for shares of the Suez Canal (£4,076,565), and fortifications (£250,000). Total expenditure.... 4,826,565 £80,871,778 The imports from and exports of British products to other countries, in the years 1873–275, were as follows: The value of the principal articles of import and export was as follows, in 1875: The railroad statistics for 1875 were as fol- Ireland. lows: Miles COUNTRIES. Opera- Capital. Gross Receipts. Net Receipts. The number of newspapers and printed matter was, in 1874, 258,000,000, and in 1875, 280,000,000. The number of postalcards in 1875 was 87,116,300. The number of inland money-orders in 1875 was 16,485,661, amounting to £26,497,918; the number of foreign and colonial money-orders was 334,8.297,000 213, amounting to £1,195,165. The number 1,213,000 of registered letters delivered in 1875 in the United Kingdom was 4,300,000, and the numTotal, 1975. 16,664 £630.227,000 £58.978,000 £28,020,000 1574. 16,448 609,896,000 56,899,000 26,643,000 ber of returned letters 4,350,000. The number of post-office savings-banks, on December 31, 1875, was 5,260; the number of deposits, £3,132,433; the amount of the deposits, £8,783,852; the number of accounts open, 1,777,103. England... Scotland.. 11.795 £527,094,000 £49,767,000 £23,510,000 The number of letters sent in 1874 was 962,000,000, and in 1875, 1,009,000,000. Of these 847,000,000 were in England and Wales, 91,000,000 were in Scotland, and 71,000,000 in VOL. XVI.-23 A The length of the telegraph-wires, at the close of 1872, was 169,437 kilometres (1 kilometre = 0.62 English mile). The number of stations was about 5,400. The number of dispatches, in 1873, was 17,294,334; in 1874, 19,116,634; and in 1875, 20,766,277, exclusive of the press, the Government, and the "news" messages. The British army is filled up exclusively by recruiting. The term of service is twelve years, after which a soldier can serve for nine years more. At the end of three years he can also enter the reserve, one year in the regular army being counted as three in the reserve. By the reorganization of 1872, the United Kingdom is divided into 68 military districts. In each district there is one brigade depot of 182 men, two battalions of the regular army, which alternately serve abroad, two battalions of militia, and the volunteers of the district. According to the army estimates for the years 1876-'77, the army was to be composed as follows: force, under military discipline, consisting of 13,000 men and 4,000 horses; the Channel Islands have a militia of 300 officers and 8,000 men, subsidized by the British Government; India has a native army of 140,000 men, and a police force, under military discipline, of 190,000 men, the officers of both of which are Europeans; the colonies all have a militia, a volunteer corps of their own. The home Government stations troops only at fortified places, except in the Cape Colony, where peculiar circumstances exist, and in places where policy demands it, as in Hong-Kong. The navy consists of 61 iron-clads, about 300 steamers, and 170 sailing-vessels. Of this number 252 were in commission on August 1, 1876, 121 being at home, and 131 abroad. The navy is manned by 46,607 seamen, 14,000 marines, and 20,840 men belonging to the Royal Navy reserve. The circulation of the notes of the Bank of England, and the average of bullion kept on hand by that institution, together with the total bank-note circulation in the United Kingdom, in 1870, 1875, and 1876, were as follows: YEARS. Bank of England. 1870.. Army service corps... 2,886 128 3,014 1875. Army hospital corps. Reserves.. £23.268,859 27,314,206 27,950,659 Miscellaneous establish ments.. Total. 141,340 24,344 62,849 2,131 228,533 Besides the above, there are the following organizations: In Ireland there is a police The finances, commerce, and the movement of shipping of the British colonies, in 1874, were as follows, according to the "Statistical Abstract for the Colonial and other Possessions of the United Kingdom, 1860-1874" (London, 1876): In 1875 the number of schools inspected by the Government inspectors was 13,290 in England and Wales, and 2,730 in Scotland. These schools had accommodations for 3,159,479 children in England and Wales, and 392,357 in Scotland. The average attendance was 1,885,562 in England and Wales, and 314,164 in Scotland. In Ireland there were, on December 31, 1875, 7,104 national schools, with 1,011,799 pupils enrolled, and an average daily attendance of 389,961. In England the number of paupers relieved in 1874-75 was 817,822, and the amount expended £7,488,481. Scotland in the year had 121,905 paupers, on whom it spent £835,306. In Ireland the number of paupers was 77,913, and their cost £913,095. The rate per head of the total population for relief of the poor was 68. 34d. in England, 48. 11d. in Scotland, and 38. 5d. in Ireland. The attention of the British public was occupied at the beginning of the year with the discussion of the recent purchase by the Government of the shares of the Khedive of Egypt in the Suez Canal, and of the threatening aspect which affairs in the East had begun to assume. Misgivings were felt among a large portion of the people, particularly of the Liberal party, in regard to the expediency of the canal purchase, mingled with a fear that it might involve the Government in political complications abroad, and there were manifestations of a disposition to question the proceeding, if not to censure it and prevent its ratification by the Parliament. In regard to the difficulties in the Turkish Empire, it was understood that the Government had decided to support the principles of the so-called Andrassy note, with a few reservations, among which were that it would not join in pressing reforms on the Porte with force or threats, and would remain uncommitted in regard to the course it would pursue in the future, whether Turkey accepted or rejected the conditions laid down in the note. This position of the Government was generally acquiesced in. The Queen in person opened the session of the Parliament, February 8th, delivering the following address from the throne: It is with much satisfaction that I again resort to the advice and assistance of my Parliament. My relations with all foreign powers continue of a cordial character. The insurrectionary movement which during the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and which the troops of the Sultan have up to the present time been unable to repress, has excited the attention and interest of the great European powers. I have considered it my duty not to stand aloof from the efforts now being made by the allied and friendly governments to bring about the pacification of the disturbed districts; and I have, accordingly, while respecting the independence of the Porte, joined in urging on the Sultan the expediency of adopting such measures of administrative reform as may remove all reasonable cause of discontent on the part of his Christian subjects. last six months has been maintained in the Turkish The representations which I addressed to the Chinese Government as to the attack made in the mah to the western province of China have been recourse of last year on an expedition sent from Burceived in a friendly spirit. The circumstances of that lamentable outrage are now the subject of an inquiry in which I have thought it right to request that a member of my diplomatic service should take part. I await the result of this inquiry, in the firm conviction that it will be so conducted as to lead to the discovery and punishment of the offenders. Papers on all the above subjects will be laid before you. I am which my dear son, the Prince of Wales, has enjoyed deeply thankful for the uninterrupted health during his journey through India; and the hearty affection with which he has been received by my Indian subjects of all classes and races assures me that they are happy under my rule and loyal to my throne. At the time that the direct government of my Indian Empire was transferred to the crown, no formal addition was made to the style and titles of the sovereign. I have deemed the present a fitting opportunity for supplying this omission, and a bill upon the subject will be presented to you. The humane and enlightened policy constantly pursued by this country in putting an end to slavery within her own dependencies, and in suppressing the slave-trade throughout the world, makes it important that the action of British national ships in the territorial waters of foreign states should be in harmony with these great principles. I have, therefore, given directions for the issue of a royal commission to inquire into all treaty engagements and other international obligations bearing upon this subject, and all instructions from time to time issued whether any steps ought to be taken to secure for to my naval officers, with a view of ascertaining my ships and their commanders abroad greater power for the maintenance of the right of personal liberty. The address further referred to a bill to be submitted for the punishment of slave-traders who are the subjects of native Indian princes; to the affairs of the colonial empire, including papers relating to the conference of the South African colonies and states; to the suppression of disorders in the Straits Settlements (of Malacca) by military interference; to a bill to be offered for regulating the ultimate court of appeal; to legislation to be proposed relating to the universities and higher education, and to measures of reform in the management of the prisons. He In the debate which ensued upon the address, the Marquis of Hartington said, in reference to the fugitive-slave circulars which had been issued by the Admiralty, that although the country did not want its ships made asylums for the destitute, the discretion of their commanders should not be interfered with. He trusted the present circular would be suspended pending the result of the inquiry to be made by the Royal Commission. was not disposed to raise objections to the preliminary steps taken by the Government in regard to the Eastern question. Her Majesty's ministers had doubtless done their best to maintain the integrity of Turkey. Nevertheless, he thought the policy indicated by Palmerston had not been acted upon. He urged a speedy explanation of the purchase He thought it of the Suez Canal shares. would have been better if the advice of Par |