Papua are the Admiralty group, about thirty in number, with something over 1,000 square miles of area, and a population of 25,000.

They are not a prominent group in a topographical sense, lying but a hundred feet or so above the sea level; although for fertility and indigenous tropical products, they rival some of the more famed islands. The inhabitants are very similar to those of New Guinea.

Basko, or Admiralty Island, is the principal in the group, having an area of about 450 square miles.

They were first discovered by the Dutch navigator Cornelius Schooten, in 1616, and were afterwards re-discovered by Phillip Carteret, in 1767, who located them definitely on the charts, and gave them the name they bear to-day.

NEW IRELAND,

South by east from the Admiralty group, anď northeast from Papua, we have New Ireland and New Britain.

There are some six islands in the former group, New Ireland being the only one requiring any description here. It is about two hundred miles long by fifteen wide, with some hilly ranges rising to a height of 2,000 feet. The island is well wooded and watered, and said to be healthy in the extreme. Tropical fruits are to be found in great abundance; while the forests that cover the sloping hills from valley to summit, abound in fancy woods of great commercial value. There are great numbers of tortoise taken here, whose shell is of the most beautiful and valued kind. The inhabitants, like all the islands around New Guinea, excepting always Great Australia, are of the woolly

headed negro type, and may be set down at 16,000 in number, the whole group giving an area of 4,300 square miles.

NEW BRITAIN.

Southwest from New Ireland, not many miles away, lies the New Britain group, inhabited by 20,000 people, and having an area of 10,500 square miles, within the limits of the eight islands. They have the same physical features as New Ireland, with a richness of tropical vegetation unsurpassed in these latitudes. The natives are of the Papuan type, uncivilized and treacherous in the extreme. The products are like those of the islands in the surrounding seas. This group, like many others, needs but to be touched by the magic wand of enterprise and civilization to place them among the important islands of the world.

LOUISADE ARCHIPELAGO.

Southeast from Papua, stretched over 350 miles of the sea, the Louisade Archipelago lies, a long, low group, with scarcely any prominence in the way of hills and mountains. Little is known of the value of the products of these islands, the fierce and treacherous disposition of the natives preventing close commercial relations. As far as known, the area of the group does not exceed 1,500 square miles; while it is safe to estimate the population at 5,000. The islands have every appearance of being very fertile, tropical verdure spreading over the cluster on every hand. The natives are negritos of the worst type.

PHILLIPPINE ISLANDS.

This remarkable group of islands, numbering over 1,200, with an area of about 150,000 square miles, and

a population of 5,000,000, is said to have been discovered by Magellan in 1521. This, like many of the modern discoveries, and credited to particular discoverers, will not bear the test of research; as Marco Polo sailed through the group as early as the thirteenth century.

For a description of this great island cluster, with some of their products, I am indebted to "Adams' Eastern Archigelago," and the writings of that great navigator and bold buccaneer, William Dampier.

These islands present so many interesting and attractive features, that we shall attempt a somewhat detailed account, beginning with a general view of their prominent characteristics, glancing at the history of their discovery by Europeans, and concluding with some sketches of their scenery, and leading forms of animal and vegetable life.

The principal islands are Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Samar, Panay, Leyte, Zebu, Negros, Bohol and Alawan. The whole cluster is divided into groups; the Sooloos, Bissayas, Pasay, Bashu and Babwyan being the most important.

TOPOGRAPHICAL.

The larger islands of the group appear to produce a powerful impression on the imagination of the voyager, to judge from the many glowing pictures contained in various narratives. Their coast line is bold and irregular, broken up by numerous romantic headlands, the declivities of which are green with abundant foliage; by long, narrow tongues of land, with forest growth extending to the very margin of the sea; by broad bays, each capable of accommodating an imperial

fleet; and narrow inlets and creeks, so embowered in shade that large ships might harbor in them and not be discovered by a passing enemy. Then, from the bright and picturesque shore, the ground rises inland with a continual ascent, until the undulating plains are succeeded by low ranges of wooded hills, and these by lofty ranges, which here and there culminate in magnificent mountain peaks. In and among these ranges, which are irregular in their direction, and throw off numerous short chains and spurs, lie slopes of perennial verdure, and valleys so gifted with the bounties of nature that they surpass the dreams of the Arcadian poets. Here, too, are broad, deep lakes, in their general features reminding the traveler of the charming basins of the Scottish Highlands; while many streams flow through the verdurous glens to unite in ample rivers, which, with full channels, descend to the

sea.

The vegetation of the Phillippines is among the richest of tropical climes. A fertile soil is assisted by a genial climate. Droughts are unknown; the tropical heats are tempered by abundant moisture and by the constant alternation of the land and sea breezes. In the western portions of the group, the rainy season begins in June and ends in September; in the east it begins in October and ends in January; and the rains are then so heavy and so continuous that the low grounds are converted into extensive lakes.

This inundation, however, increases the fertility of the soil and favors the growth of exuberant crops. It may almost be said that the only misfortune to which the islands are liable-the only shade on a picture which astonishes us by its splendor-is the frequency and severity of their earthquakes. They form a part

of the great volcanic chain to which, in describing the Eastern Archipelago, we have so often found it necessary to allude; and they possess several volcanoes, both active and extinct-among the most important of which is that of Taal. Manilla, the capital of Luzon, and the chief town of the group, was ruined by a convulsion which broke out on the evening of the 3d of June, 1863. The cathedral, with its noble dome, was shattered into ruins by a shock which occurred while the priests were chanting vespers. The Viceroy's pal

was destroyed, and the British consulate. Not one of the churches escaped, and the only one left standing (that of Binondo) was rent from roof to basement. Nearly two thousand persons perished.

MINERALS.

The Phillippines are not only rich in vegetation, but abound in subterranean treasures. The sands of their rivers yield no inconsiderable quantities of golddust. All the palaces of earth might be rebuilt from their extensive quarries of marble and limestone. The coal fields cover a wide area and produce an excellent fuel. Iron--the wealth of strong and powerful nations -and copper of the best quality, are found in all the mountain ranges. Sulphur, magnesia, quicksilver, vermillion, saltpetre and alum are also plentiful. So vast, indeed, are the resources of the Phillippines, that only an able government is needed to give them the position of a wealthy, influential and prosperous commercial state. But the colonial administration of Spain has never been marked by either vigor or sagacity; and though the recent development of commerce has been considerable, it is by no means proportionate to the capabilities of these beautiful islands.