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steaming, she would be at the mercy of an inferior antagonist whose bunkers might be well filled. The$ commerce and the colonies of Great Britain demand the presence of our vessels in every sea ; the greater* part of that enormous carrying-power is now repre-1 sented by steamers which have replaced the sailing-.' vessels of old : therefore in the event of war we musti possess coaling-depots which in case of necessity · could meet the demands of any of our ships, whether naval or commercial. The attention of the usually far-seeing public .is seldom directed to this important question of coalingstations, but an examination of a recently constructed globe will discover the apparently insignificant redi dots which represent the dominant power of England' in every portion of the world. The smallest island may become the most impregnable and important coaling-depôt. It is the fashion for some modern reformers (happily few) to suggest a curtailment of the British Empire, on the principle that " by pruning wee should improve the strength of the national tree. " If there are rotten boughs, or exhausting and useless shoots, the analogy might be practical ; but if we examine carefully a map of the world it would puzzle the Royal Geographical Society to determine the point that we should abandon. A n example of temporary insanity was displayed in the evacuation of Corfu, which would under our present foreign policy have become invaluable as a powerfully fortified coaling station, commanding the entrance of the Adriatic and the neighbouring seas. It is this unfortunate precedent which is paralysing all the natural elasticity of commercial enterprise in Cyprus, as the inhabitants and English alike feel their insecurity, and hesitate

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