which is becoming a most expensive station. In 1857 the cost of this colony was upwards of 300,000l., and that sum will be enhanced by the present unsettled state of affairs in China.

Such is the condition of our colonial empire. It consists of countries and territories large and prosperous, and with unbounded resources. Financially they are almost independent of the mother country; commercially they are free to trade with all countries; and politically these colonies act with plenitude of powers. They have their own legislative assemblies, and with their governors acting as the representatives of the Sovereign, they are able to make laws and to exercise all the rights of sovereign States. The bonds now connecting the British colonies with the mother country are those of sympathy, good-will, and even affection. Chiefly inhabited by Englishmen or their descendants, the colonist still looks to Britain as his home. Moreover, British capital and energies are indispensable to the development of colonial resources. Britain is undoubtedly the best and the greatest market for their produce; Britain is the only country that can assist them in the construction of their railways or other public undertakings, and from Britain the best settlers annually go forth. Since 1815 as many as 5,000,000 emigrants have left the British shores. There is something gorgeous in the constellation of fifty and more colonies of so vast dimensions, far away, north and south, east and west, swelling the boundaries of these narrow islands. May nothing ever occur to sever any of these brilliant jewels from the diadem of our gracious Queen!

FOR

CHAPTER IX.

PUBLIC SALARIES AND SUPERANNUATIONS.

OR the administration of the affairs of the kingdom, a large number of officers is required, of varied capacities and rank. Hence a great portion, amounting to more than one-third of the entire public expenditure, consists in salaries and wages. The civil service of the United Kingdom comprises upwards of 60,000 men, besides 200,000 soldiers and seamen, representing perhaps an aggregate of 700,000 to 800,000 persons, directly or indirectly maintained by the State. First amongst these we have the chief officers of State, many of whom belong to the highest families. It is indeed a source of congratulation and satisfaction to find the peers and nobles of the realm taking an active part in the administration of the State. They have the time and the opportunity for such duties. They are often endowed with the highest talent, and they possess many of those requisites which are sure to win and command the confidence of the nation. The middle and working classes have trade, agriculture, and other industries open to them, and it is well for the nation that many of the upper classes prefer a life of usefulness to one of luxury and idleness.

PUBLIC SALARIES AND SUPERANNUATIONS.

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The rule of the State demands the most unremitted attention. It is not a dilettante's work to be a minister of State, and his salary should therefore be adequately liberal. To measure the worth of the public service rendered by our highest dignitaries, we should see what are the incomes of those attaining the highest position in other professions. A minister of the Crown receives a salary of 5000l., a judge, of 4000l. or 5000l.; but a barrister in full practice will realize 6000l. or 7000l. a year, if not more. A bishop has an income of upwards of 5000l., and a successful merchant of 7000l. or more. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the law officers of the Crown are the highest salaried officers in the realm; but, as a whole, the civilservice officers have salaries barely proportionate to the amount of labour they have to perform. Whilst the average salaries of public officers may be about 2007. per annum, the salaries of the officers of the Bank of England average 250l., and those of the East India House nearly 400l. Upon the wages of soldiers and sailors we have already commented. They are poor and disproportionate to the labours and risk of life connected with the service. On the whole, judging from the extensive demand for skill and industry, the increased cost of provisions, higher rent of houses, and greater general expenditure, there is every probability that a higher scale of salaries may ere long be introduced into the civil service.

The only essential advantage which distinguishes the public service is the certainty of a superannuation or pension after years of devotion to the interests of the State.

After ten years' service a civil servant enjoys a fourth of the salary, and from that limit the proportion increases with the number of years of service. This is the great recommendation of a public life; though, we are happy to say, similar liberality now marks the administration of many banking and public establishments, and even of commercial houses.

The votes for salaries of public departments, during the last twenty-five years, have been as follows:

The salaries and expenses of the revenue departments, including the cost of the Post-office, have been as follows:

The superannuations and retired allowances paid to officers of the civil service, exclusive of those paid out of the Consolidated Fund and for the army and navy, were as follows, since 1835:

CHAPTER X.

PENSIONS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES.

'HE nation fulfils one of the most sacred duties in

THE

liberally rewarding those illustrious men who have devoted to their country's service talent, energy of action, virtue, and valour of surpassing excellence. The names of Nelson and Wellington, of Erskine, Lyndhurst, and Brougham, have thrown a perennial lustre on the annals of the nation, and will ever be associated with national trophies in military glory and in the path of science and civilization. Yet the continuance of pensions of considerable amount for centuries after the services have been rendered, and the illustrious individuals themselves, and all their families, have ceased to exist, is very objectionable. It is almost impossible to realize that we are yet paying for the meritorious services rendered by William Penn, the Duke of Marlborough, and the Duke of Schomberg, and we cannot help thinking that such pensions should not continue so indefinitely. A better rule, however, now prevails. All pensions granted for naval and military services under the present reign extend only. to one or two heirs immediately succeeding the original grantees, whilst those for civil and judicial services are for life only. The pensions for naval and