reef there is no danger of any kind. The belt of land which forms the island is about a mile average width, and densely covered with cocoanut trees, which produce fruit of the very finest description. The regularity of this palmetto forest is occasionally broken by conspicuous gaps, leaving thick clusters of trees standing apart with a low coral space between.

One of the principal features which gives value to the island, is the possession of a spacious lagoon, the entrance to which is on the S.W. side. The width of the channel available for vessels is about 100 fathoms. The bottom of the channel as also that of the lagoon is of coral, variegated in colour and quality. There is excellent anchorage for ships, both at the entrance and on the West side of the island, at a place termed Whalemen's Bay. At the latter place, the depth of water ranges from 8 fathoms to about 15, half a mile from the beach and upwards. Here ships of the largest class have at times anchored to procure a supply of fresh water, which is abundant adjacent to the anchorage. In the harbour, within the lagoon, the holding ground for ships at anchor is good, and there is sufficient room for several vessels when properly moored, to lie in perfect safety for any length of time. Through the kindness of the proprietors, every facility is offered for procuring firewood and water of fair quality. The lagoon abounds with fish of the very best description, and there has never yet been an instance of poisoning from eating them. The entrance varies in depth from 4 to 6 fathoms; inside the lagoon the range is from 4 to 9 and upwards. The Trade winds blow steadily from the eastward almost all the year round, and the island is seldom or never the scene of any very boisterous weather. The months of March and April are generally the worst throughout the year. With regard to its soil, it is in some places sandy, in others it is of dark earthy mould intermixed with great patches of phosphatic guano of a fine quality. It produces bananas, pumpkins, radishes, taro, figs, cabbages, tomatoes, melons, and numerous other garden vegetables, but lately introduced, and now for the first time springing up. From the numerous cocoanut trees there is a large quantity of cocoanut oil annually manufactured, which commands a ready market in any part of the world, its purity rendering it inferior to none for burning or in the manufacture of toilet articles, for which it is extensively used in Europe and America.

Having thus far, by way of introduction, given a brief sketch of the island, we will now describe an incident which recently occurred on it, and which will form an era in its history. On Monday the 4th of February the natives and foreign employées of the island were startled from their work by the loud report of a gun, and on looking in the direction of the sound, saw H.B.M. steam sloop Alert, which had for some time been expected. Captain English, one of the proprietors of the island, immediately went off to her accompanied by a pilot, and after the entrance had been sounded and declared safe by her officers, the beautiful ship steamed safely and majestically into the lagoon. against a strong ebb tide, and came to anchor in 6 fathoms of water. NO. 8.-VOL. XXX. 3 K

The Trade wind blew very strong from the eastward for two days, with frequent squalls, but everything having been made snug, no accident occurred. Subsequently, the weather became very fine, and her commander and officers took every advantage of it in making a close inspection of the island, collecting various conchological specimens. They were highly gratified at the entertainment shown to them, and with the various amusements offered for their acceptance. Riding, shooting, shelling, fishing, stuffing birds, &c., were the order of the day, into all which, on account of the novelty, the officers entered with great zest and pleasure. But for the following Friday was reserved the performance of the special duty, which was the object of the visit of the ship to Fanning Island,—the grand finale to the programme of bustle and excitement attending the visit.

On that day, about one o'clock p.m., the entire ship's company, consisting of the commander, officers, and crew, landed from the steamer, the crew aud marines fully armed, accompanied by a twelve pound field howitzer. They were drawn up in line, the marines and battery being on the extreme right. The commander then declared to the proprietors of the island that he was about to perform the object of his visit, to take formal possession of the island in the name of Queen Victoria, and to extend to it the benefits of British protection. A salute in honour of her Majesty was first fired from the howitzer and small arms, when Captain Pearse addressed the head of the firm as follows:-"Captain English and all present, take notice, I salute the British flag (pointing to it then flying from the flagstaff) and declare this island, in the name of the Queen, to be, now and in future, under British protection." Another volley was then fired along the line.

The harbour was named " English Harbour," and the point on which is the settlement, "English Point." A young cocoanut tree was planted on the spot by Captain Pearse, in commemoration of the event. The ship's company were then exercised by four hours' drill, after which they went on board, and the ceremonies of the day terminated.

On the following day a neat railing was erected round the tree by command of Captain Pearse, and on it the following inscription :— ENGLISH POINT TREE,

ENGLISH HARBOUR, FANNING ISLAND, Was planted on the 8th of February, 1861, to commemorate the Visit of. H.B.M.S." Alert."

The last day of the week ended with mutual visiting, Captain Pearse permitting the natives to go on board. Ship and shore vied with each other in liberal hospitality, and on Sunday a sumptuous dinner was given by the proprietors of the island to their guests, the whole passing off with great eclat.

OCCASIONAL PAPERS OF THE NAUTICAL CLUB.-No. XXI.The Commercial Treaty with France as dealt with at the Mansion House-The Loss of the "Canadian :" Ice in Belle Isle Strait-Thompson's Boat-Building-Captain Sand's SailMaking-Reduction of Light Dues-Mercantile Officers of Reserve-French Conscripts-Report of the Royal Life-Boat Institution-The "Great Eastern" to Quebec-A Missouri Representative's Eloquence.

Of the world's doings, since our last meeting, said the Chairman on taking his seat, one of the most important, it appears to me, is that of the conclusion of the new commercial treaty between France and this country. This has been celebrated, as it should be, in the capital of this land by a banquet in honour of those gentlemen who have carried it through all its phases in spite of every difficulty. The Lord Mayor of London, with the good taste which might be expected from the chief magistrate of one of the first emporia of trade in the world, has entertained Messrs. Cobden and Bright, with many of our English nobility, at a banquet, when sentiments were expressed which do honour to those who spoke them as Christian citizens. And while long discussions on the means and implements of warfare are so frequently before us at every turn, let us see what these sentiments are, for this is the object with which I have alluded to this demonstration. We will give Mr. Cobden full credit for all his illustrative allusions as to the ignorance of each other that prevails between the two races, their habits, propensities, good and bad qualities, and what is to be gained by each from the new commercial treaty, and we will take the words of M. Michael Chevalier as the specimen of the feelings of his countrymen towards us, and which, as we have said, do honour to his head and his heart. M. Chevalier said,—

But what a victory!

No

We are met to celebrate a victory. human blood has been shed, no empire has been overthrown or shaken, excepting that of prejudice and routine. No city has been taken by assault, excepting the citadel of prohibition, the ruin of which is complete, without entailing agony on any human being. The victory which we are met to celebrate is the final triumph of free trade, which must contribute so largely to the public benefit. But we are not here merely to do homage to an abstract principle. We are happy to unite in doing honour to one who, among so many distinguished champions of the good cause in which the fate of the mass of mankind is involved, has in spite of every obstacle achieved the triumph of free trade. We are here to acknowledge and to proclaim the title which Richard Cobden has acquired to the gratitude of Europe and of the whole civilized world.

There is a personage, a crowned head, to which the mind naturally recurs when speaking of the treaty of commerce between France and

England. The deep conviction and the firm will of the Emperor determined the conclusion of the treaty; and history will only be doing justice in proclaiming that the treaty of commerce, so far as France is concerned, was the spontaneous and personal act of the Emperor.N The City of London, in whose halls we are met to receive from its chief magistrate the hospitality for which it is so renowned, can claim an honourable part in the triumphs of free trade. As early as the year 1820, the principal merchants of this city presented to parliament a petition, since become celebrated, in which for the first time freedom of commerce was boldly advocated by practical men. That petition is a monument of logic and common sense. It contained the substance of those arguments which a quarter of a century later overthrew and destroyed in Great Briiain the protectionist system. It is a commonplace to say that free trade promotes the well-being of mankind in all countries, that it substitutes ease and abundance for poverty and misery. But it will produce other consequences far happier in the eyes of religious men and of philosophers and statesmen. The miseries of life are not all physical. There are ills which gold cannot cure, and they are not the least afflicting. I speak of moral evils,of those divisions and jealousies, and hatreds-which overshadow our existence here below, and which convert this fair earth, to use an inspired expression, into a vale of tears. Among these moral evils I should espécially stigmatise national hatreds, which are the deep seated causes of the most hideous and cruel miseries, for they engender war itself, which is the most terrible scourge that can be let loose on the earth.

Now, free trade tends to uproot those national hatreds, and all the evils which follow in their train: and it is for this reason, beyond all others, that it should he hailed as a blessing to the human race. So long as the nations adhere to the doctrines of protection, it furnishes them with motives for mutual distrust, and condemns them to a state of suspicion and jealous isolation, which is the ready preparative for

For, according to the protectionist faith, a nation which buys the products, natural or manufactured, of another people, becomes their tributary, and accepts in relation to such a people a humiliating and ruinous position. From the moment that we are converted to the principles of free trade, the aspect and character of matters are completely changed. The people who unite themselves to another nation by the bonds of free commerce, instead of making themselves a tributary to that nation, obtain by its co-operation the means of augmenting their own well-being and prosperity; the narrow and paltry feeling which led nations to isolate themselves disappears, and gives place to a belief in the community of interest. With faith in free trade people will cease to regard the prosperity of their neighbours as an evil to themselves. Instead of repeating the dogma of Montaigne that "the gain of one is the loss of the other," they will say, with the Emperor Napoleon III. in the opening speech of the legislative session of 1860, "that the more prosperous and rich a nation becomes, the more it contributes to the prosperity and riches of others."

Thus in our own day, the principle of free trade presents itself to the eyes of men in the character of a pacificator, and from the very fact that it favours peace, it is favourable to every kind of progress, whether political or social. And here let me express from the bottom of my heart the confident hope that the principle of free trade will fulfil its mission of peace and harmony, especially between these great nations on the two sides of the Channel. Indeed, what motives can the Englishman or the Frenchman have for hating each other? They worship the same God; they profess sincerely the Christian maxim, so simple and so elevated, which suits the intelligence of the infant as it leaves the cradle, and on which the greatest genius may ponder with satisfaction, "Do unto others as thou wouldst have others do unto thee." Is it the clamour of other countries that provokes these two nations to regard each other with a restless and suspicious jealousy? By no means, from every side the nations declare to them, "your good understanding is the surest guarantee for the political and social progress of the whole world, and your hostility, from the moment that it breaks out, will retard the prosperity of the entire human race." Is it the special interest of their separate influence? No: for when divided they paralyse each other. Or must they hate one another because the armaments of one necessarily give umbrage to the other? By no means; for the composition of their armaments is different. Both possess an army and a navy; but the amounts of their forces, instead of corresponding, are in an inverse ratio to each other. In England the chief element is the navy; for France, it is the army. I do not mean that England has not a brave and reliable army, or that France does not possess a considerable navy. But England ought not to, cannot, and will not, have an army equal to that of France; and France ought not to, cannot, and will not, have a navy equal to that of England.

Financial necessities, as well as the dictates of common sense, require that the two countries should preserve this inverse proportion in their respective military and naval armaments. And yet these two nations are easily excited against each other. It is an animosity which generally lies dormant, bnt is not difficult to inflame. Now what can be its origin? If you question the Frenchman or Englishman of our day, when irritated with each other, what is the cause of the irritation, it will be very soon discovered that it arises from the wrongs and injuries inflicted on each other during the long war of the Republic and the First Empire. If you had asked them when that war commenced, the cause of their mutual enmity, it would have been found to have originated in the wars that occurred during the reign of Louis XVI. and George III., or in the time of Louis XIV. and William III. But if at that time the cause of the war had been sought it would have been traceable in a great degree to the previous wars during the reigns of Francis I. and Henry VIII., or of Charles VI. and Henry V. And thus, in going back, it will always be found that the principal cause why people fought was that they had fought before, so that