a vindication of the land policy pursued by his Government, the Prime Minister was able to point to 150,000 people settled on the soil in a period of eighteen years. To these, new-comers with capital and farming experience are constantly being added, owing to the judicious but enterprising means employed for advertising the Dominion in Great Britain. The retirement during the year of the Hon. W. Pember Reeves, High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, deprived the Dominion of the services of a statesman whose claim to distinction has been established on both sides of the world. He was succeeded by the Hon. W. Hall Jones, a prominent member of the Government, who had also been closely associated with the late Mr. Seddon. An estimate of the wealth of New Zealand in 1908 set the figure at over 300,000,000l. as against 142,000,000l. in 1890. III. POLYNESIA. The chief items of interest in island history during the year are the settlement of the long-standing Marshall Islands dispute and the rapid development of Papua. The claim of Messrs. Burns, Philp & Co. against the German Government for the loss sustained by their vessels trading to the Marshall Islands was originally 12,500l., but after a long delay the sum accepted was 4,100l. At one time the incident had excited the liveliest excitement in Australia, and the final settlement of the difference was hailed with relief, A more amusing incident was the rebellion of Rakatanga, one of the Cook Islands, nominally a portion of the Dominion of New Zealand. To express his dissatisfaction with this arrangement, a native chief hauled down the British flag, which was promptly hoisted again by the three white residents of the place. With some trouble the flag was kept flying until the periodical mail delivery relieved them of an irksome duty. The development of Papua, or British New Guinea, was very remarkable during 1908. The applications for areas of land for tobacco and rubber growing were very considerable, and the grants made ensure the investment of much capital in these industries. In addition to the ascertained goldfields of the district, valuable and important discoveries of copper were made, which promise to play a strong part in the opening up of the country. The difficulty of obtaining labour was met with an ordinance of the Papuan Council entitled "A Bill to Encourage the Natives in Habits of Industry," compelling landless, non-taxpaying natives to work for at least one month in each year, in return, of course, for payment. All reports in New Guinea, whether by settlers, officials or visitors, point to a very remarkable advance in the development of the British settlement there. That Germany is also aware of the value of her possessions in New Guinea was proved during the year by a substantial increase in the shipping subsidy paid for the monthly service to the German Protectorate. PART II. CHRONICLE OF EVENTS IN 1908. JANUARY. 1. A pastoral letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury was published, laying stress on the significance of the coming Pan-Anglican Conference. (See English History, Chapters I. and IV.) - The Nimrod, under the command of Lieutenant Shackleton, R.N.R., left Lyttelton, N.Z., for the exploration of the Antarctic regions. In a Rugby Football match at Colombes, near Paris, England beat France by three goals and two tries to nothing. 2, 3. A severe frost took place over the United Kingdom, the temperature in London falling to 23° F. In Munich it fell to 1° F. 3. In Berlin, Herr Maximilian Harden was convicted of libelling Count Kuno von Moltke and sentenced to four months' imprisonment and to pay the costs. 6. In New York the second trial began of Harry Thaw for the murder of Stanford White on June 25, 1906. The prisoner withdrew his plea of guilty and pleaded insanity at the time. The jury was not completed until January 10. On February 2 Thaw was acquitted on the ground of insanity. 7. At Melbourne, the M.C.C. beat Australia by one wicket, after a very exciting finish. 10. It was announced at Tangier that Mulai Hafid had been formally proclaimed Sultan of Morocco at Fez on January 6. 11. At a cinematograph entertainment at Barnsley a number of children turned back from the gallery blocked the staircase. Sixteen children were killed and over thirty injured. At the inquest (Jan. 17) it was found that the deaths were attributable to negligence in the want of a proper staff of attendants, but that such negligence was not criminal. 11. At York, Mrs. Sarah Rushworth, wife of a solicitor who was also Secretary to the Education Committee, was convicted of gross cruelty to two girls whom she had adopted, and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. Her husband was fined 501. 12. Suffrage reform demonstrations in Berlin. 13. Severe frost; skating in many parts of England. At Lingay Fen, near Cambridge, the Amateur Championship was won by F. W. Dix, who skated 14 miles, with three turns, in 4 min. 37 sec. At Issy, Paris, Mr. Henry Farman, an Englishman, travelled on an aeroplane of his own invention for a kilometre towards a fixed goal. He turned easily and came back to his starting-point in 1 min. 28 sec., equal to nearly 41 kilometres (26 miles) an hour; thus winning a 50,000 franc prize given by MM. Archdeacon and Deutsch. At Boyertown, near Reading, Pa., an explosion during a cinematograph exhibition set up a panic and, by the upsetting of oil lamps, a fire; 167 persons were reported killed and seventy-five injured. 14. The appointment was announced of a Royal Commission, to make an inventory of historical monuments in Scotland. It was announced that Mr. H. O. Wills of Bristol had promised 100,000l. towards the endowment of the University for Bristol and the West of England, provided a charter was granted within two years. Seventy-five County Associations under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, for which schemes had been made by the Army Council, were specified in the London Gazette, together with their Presidents, Chairmen, and Vice-Chairmen. The remaining eighteen Associations were completed before the end of the month. 16. The Bank of England reduced its rate to 5 per cent. --- At Cambridge, Vernon Musgrave was sentenced to nine months' hard labour for cheating at cards. He had become acquainted on a pleasure cruise with an undergraduate and entertained him and his friends at a local hotel. - At Adelaide, the Australians won the third test match against the M.C.C. by 245 runs. - It was announced that Lord Brassey had been appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports vice the Prince of Wales, resigned. 17. Women's suffrage demonstration in Downing Street. (See English History, Chapter I.) In the Parliamentary bye-election for the Ashburton or Middivision of Devonshire, consequent on the appointment to a judgeship of Mr. Eve, K.C., Captain Morrison-Bell (U.) was returned by 5,191 votes, Mr. C. R. Buxton (L.) receiving 4,632—a severe and unexpected Liberal defeat. 20. The appointments were announced of Sir Louis W. Dane, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., to be Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjaub vice Sir Denzil Ibbotson, K.C.S.I., resigned through ill-health; and of the Rev. Prebendary William Barker, Rector of Marylebone, to the Deanery of Carlisle vice the Rev. C. S. Ridgeway, D.D., Bishop-elect of Chichester. 21. At Launceston, Tasmania, the M.C.C. cricket team beat the Tasmanian eleven by 120 runs. 22. The G.E.R. steamer Amsterdam, from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, collided near the latter port in a fog with the ss. Axminster and was beached. No loss of life. One boat, missing for two days, was subsequently discovered to have been picked up by the Norwegian ss. Songa, fog-bound. 24. Mr. Lloyd-George was presented with the freedom of Cardiff. 25. At Newnham College, Cambridge, Mr. Balfour delivered the Sidgwick Memorial Lecture, taking for his theme national decadence, and concluding that there was no present indication of a check to progress in Europe. The hopes of the preservation of Crosby Hall were finally abandoned, Mr. L. Harcourt, M.P., First Commissioner of Works, refusing the expenditure necessary for housing the commercial department of the Board of Trade at the Hall. (Cf. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1906, p. 30.) 29. In a letter from the Primate particulars were published of a scheme for the augmentation of the minimum income of poor benefices to 2001. where the population exceeded 1,000 and to 150l. where it was not less than 500. About 1,000 benefices were affected. It was announced that Sir W. S. Robson had been appointed Attorney-General vice Sir J. Lawson Walton deceased, and that Mr. S. T. Evans, K.C., M.P. for Mid-Glamorgan, had been appointed Solicitor-General vice Robson. -The King opened Parliament. (See English History, Chapter II.) 30. Suffragist disturbance. (See English History, Chapter II.) 31. At the bye-election for the Ross division of Herefordshire, caused by the death of Captain Alan Gardner (L.), Captain Percy Clive (U.) was returned by 4,947 votes, Mr. Whitley Thomson (L.) receiving 3,928. FEBRUARY. 1. The King of Portugal and the Crown Prince were assassinated at Lisbon. Prince Manuel was slightly wounded, and Queen Amélie had a narrow escape. Two of the murderers and one innocent passer-by were shot. (See Foreign History, Chapters II. and IV.) 4. At Melbourne, the M.C.C. cricket team defeated Victoria by 300 runs. 5. In the Upper House of Convocation (the session of which had begun on the previous day) the Bishop of Salisbury presented a report from a Committee of Bishops on the ornaments of the Church and of its ministers. (See English History, Chapter II.) In the St. Austell Division of Cornwall, vacant by the resignation of Mr. W. A. McArthur (L.), Mr. T. Agar-Robartes (L.) was elected without opposition. At the Parliamentary bye-election at Worcester, where the writ had been suspended since the trial of the election petition of 1906, Mr. |