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There are other lights in nature besides those emitted in any process that can be identified with combustion. Humboldt, in his "Cosmos," remarks of the aurora borealis:

ter dispersed from the tails of comets. been dark bodies, like vast planets, It is common to speak of the height of which, from some conflagration or other our atmosphere; but, in fact, on the convulsion of nature, became luminous supposition of the infinite divisibility of for a time; and such phenomena sugmatter, every atmosphere must be in- gest that the prophecies of the Scripfinitely extended, * each stratum being tures about the surface of our globe thinner than the one below it. And being destroyed, or perhaps renovated, meteors have been heard to explode at by fire, may be fulfilled literally. We estimated heights of fifty and seventy cannot know where the oxygen is to miles; heights at which the air is so come from to support such a conflagrarare, that it does not appear to refract tion-perhaps from the atmosphere of the sun's light, as the lower strata of some comet. the atmosphere do, producing twilight; yet there must be air to transmit sound. The hypothesis of a rare atmosphere filling space derives still more plausibility from the remark of Olbers, that there is reason to suppose the celestial spaces not to be perfectly transparent. The starry heavens are, in all probability, infinite, because the Creator inhabits infinity, and is of infinite power. Were the number of stars, however, infinite in every direction, and the celestial spaces perfectly transparent, the eye would meet a star at every point of the heavens, and the whole sky would be a blaze of light. But air is not perfectly transparent; and if an almost infinitely rare atmosphere fills all space, the number of stars may be infinite without our being able to see any except some mil

lions of the nearest.

"This phenomenon derives the greater the earth becomes self-luminous, and that, part of its importance from the fact, that as a planet, besides the light which it receives from the central body, the sun, it shows itself capable in itself of developing light. The intensity of the terrestrial light, or rather the luminosity which is diffused, exceeds, in cases of the brightest coloured radiation towards the zenith, the light of the moon in its first quarter. Occasionally, as on the 7th of January 1831, printed This almost uninterrupted development of characters could be read without difficulty. light in the earth leads us by analogy to the remarkable process exhibited in Venus. The portion of this planet which is not illumined by the sun often shines with a phosphorescent light of its own. It is not improbable that the moon, Jupiter, and the comets, shine with an independent light, besides the reflected solar light visible through the polariscope. Without speaking of the problematical, but yet ordinary mode in which the sky is illuminated, when a low cloud may be seen to shine with an uninterrupted flickering light for many minutes together, we still meet with many other instances of terrestrial development of light in our atmosphere. In this category we may reckon the celebrated luminous mists seen in 1783 and 1831; the steady luminous appearance exhibited without any flickering in great clouds observed by Rosier and Beccaria; and lastly, as Arago well remarks, the faint, diffused light which guides the steps of the traveller in cloudy,

There are no more wonderful phenomena in nature than those of variable, new, and extinguished stars. Some stars alternately appear and disappear. When these variations are at short and regular periods, we may suppose that the light is intercepted by some dark revolving body during the periods of obscuration; or that the star rotates, as all celestial bodies appear to do, alternately presenting a bright and a dark side to us. But when the appearance and disappearance of a star occurs at long or uncertain periods, neither of these suppositions will account for the fact: we can only conclude that some extraordinary and vast changes are at work, at the nature of which we cannot even guess. Many stars have disappeared from their place in the firmament, and there are several instances of new ones having burst forth, shone The aurora borealis brings us back brightly for a few months, and vanished to the subject of magnetism again; for into darkness again. These must have it is well known to be accompanied by

starless, and moonless nights, in autumn and winter."

* This does not imply that every atmosphere must contain an infinite quantity of air. The sum of an infinite but constantly diminishing series may be finite.

shooting star appears is often immediately lit up by the aurora. This may perhaps be accounted for by the electricity which a meteor must excite by its friction against the air, for electricity

those disturbances of the magnetic aurora is brightest when meteors are needle technically called "magnetic falling. The part of the sky where a storms," though we know nothing of the manner in which the light is produced. It is even debateable whether the magnetic disturbance is the cause, or the effect, of the atmospheric disturbance that takes place where the light is most closely connected with magof the aurora is emitted. It is a very general belief that storms of wind follow the aurora; and it is accompanied and followed by peculiar dense clouds on the horizon, and light ones at a higher elevation. We quote again from Humboldt's "Cosmos:"

*

"The connexion of polar light with the most delicate cirrous clouds deserves special attention, because it shows that the electro-magnetic evolution of light is a part of a meteorological process. Terrestrial magnetism here manifests its influence on the atmosphere and on the condensation of aqueous vapour. The fleecy clouds seen in Iceland by Thienemann, and which he considered to be the northern light, have been seen in recent times by Franklin and Richardson near the American north pole,† and by Admiral Wrangell on the Siberian coast of the Polar Sea. All remarked that the aurora flashed forth in the most vivid beams when masses of cirrous strata were hovering in the upper regions of the air, and when these were so thin that their presence could only be recognised by the formation of a halo round the moon.' These clouds range themselves, even by day, in a similar manner to the beams of the aurora, and then disturb the course of the magnetic

needle in the same manner as the latter. On the morning after every distinct nocturnal aurora, the same superimposed strata of clouds have still been observed that had previously been luminous. The apparently converging polar zones (streaks of clouds in the magnetic meridian), which constantly occupied my attention during my journeys on the elevated plateaux of Mexico, and in Northern Asia, belong, probably, to the same group of diurnal phenomena."

netism. And the fact, which the passage we have given from Humboldt establishes, that the earth's magnetism has an influence on the clouds, is rendered less unaccountable by Faraday's discovery, that almost all bodies are affected by the magnet in one way or the other-by attraction or repulsion. Now, when we know that magnetism has an atmospheric influence, and when it is highly probable that the sun and moon influence our planet's magnetism, it seems likely that some connexion may yet be proved between the motions of those bodies and the changes that go on in our atmosphere. Arago is of opinion "that the barometrical variations, corresponding to the phases of the moon, are the effects of some special cause, totally different from [universal] attraction, of which the nature and mode of action are unknown."§ And we have been assured by a scientific friend of ours, whom we believe to be free from both superstition and credulity, that the air is generally more free from clouds and mists when the moon is at the full than at other times. All these circumstances make us think it probable that the idea of the moon's influence on the weather may yet be elevated from a popular notion to a scientific fact. Many laugh at this opinion, but they ought to recollect for how long men of science laughed at a far more extraordinary fact the existence of meteoric stones.

We intend to glance at some more of the unsolved problems of science in a Humboldt also mentions that the future number.

*They must be in the zenith somewhere, but we have met with no mention of them, except at the horizon. It is probable that they have often been seen overhead, but not identified.

The magnetic pole appears to be meant.

The repulsive action of the magnet on most non-magnetic bodies is called diamagnetism.

§ Mrs. Somerville's "Connexion of the Physical Sciences."

NORTHERN MAGAZINE.

No. IX.

NOVEMBER, 1852.

VOL. I.

AUSTRALIA,

THE world proves to be much richer in minerals than we thought it was. The coal mines of England, invaluable as they are, are far surpassed, in extent and facility of working, by those of the United States. The copper mines of Australia were the wonder of the world for the abundance and richness of their ore, until we were startled by hearing of great discoveries of copper-not ore at all, but pure metal-on the shores of Lake Superior. And now the gold mines of California, astonishingly productive though we know them to be, are far surpassed by those of Australia. It is not our intention at present to speak of the effect which the influx of gold must have on the value of commodities, and the rate of interest, and, through them, on our whole mercantile and social system. This is only one class of results which the gold discoveries will produce. We intend to speak of the results which those discoveries will produce in Australia itself, and of the duty of the parent State towards the colony.

The first effect of the news from the Australian mines has been to attract a vast crowd of emigrants in that direction; for nothing excites men's imaginations like the notion of gathering gold out of the ground. A certainty of equal rewards to labour in copper-mining, or any other branch of industry, would not have produced anything like the excitement which the Australian gold mines are causing in this country. This emigration will continue, and perhaps increase. The people of England are rapidly becoming thoroughly familiar with the idea of seeking a home in another hemisphere, and there is not the slightest danger of

the gold mines being soon exhausted; on the contrary, it is probable that, in a country so richly stored with minerals of every kind, every day may reveal some new treasure. We have alluded to the copper mines of Adelaide, and the eastern part of Australia is known to be very rich in coal and iron.

It is not to be supposed that goldmining can long continue to absorb all the attention of the people of such a country. When the present wild excitement has subsided, the colonists will begin to turn the varied resources of their country to account; and a great proportion of the emigrants will be desirous of abandoning so laborious an occupation as gold-mining, and turning to some easier, though perhaps less lucrative, pursuit. We have no doubt that the ultimate effect of the gold discoveries will be to increase the supply of labour available for other employments than gold-mining, although at first they drew labour off from all other employments. There is, however, not the slightest danger that such a country as Australia can be overstocked with a labouring population. Emigration is beneficial to all: to the emigrant, who brings his labour to a better market; to the colony, which requires hands to cultivate its soil, and work its miues; and to the mother country, where emigration has the effect of raising wages, and improving the position of the labouring class.

Since emigration has increased so enormously of its own accord, we have heard but little of" systematic colonisation;" that is to say, colonisation under government direction. It is the same with colonisation as with commerce; the best that a government can do to aid

either, is by giving the most unrestricted facility to private enterprise. The expense of the emigration that is now going on from Ireland to America-the vastest emigration which has yet been known in the history of mankind-is defrayed either by the emigrants themselves, or, in perhaps the majority of cases, by their relatives who have gone before them; and, in comparison with this unassisted and spontaneous emigration, the "systematic colonisation" of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners appears perfectly insigficant in its results. But Mrs. Chisholm, who is probably the best authority in the empire on such a subject, says, her intercourse with emigrants has convinced her that the English, who chiefly colonise Australia, would be willing to do as much as the Irish emigrants in America towards assisting their friends at home, if equal facilities were afforded them. At present it is difficult and expensive to make small remittances (that is, under £5) from Australia to England, as the banks do not seek for that kind of business; and it seems to us that scarcely anything would be so use ful to emigrants, and their relatives and friends at home, as the organisation of a post-office order system between Australia and the mother country. This would have no tendency to supersede or interfere with private exertions in emigration, but would greatly facilitate them, and would probably do more good in one year than any emigration commissioners could do in ten.

There is another measure, of the benefit of which we do not speak with the same confidence, but it is certainly worthy of consideration as a means of enabling emigrants to assist themselves and their relatives. A society is at present in operation, called the "Family Colonisation Loan Society," which owes its existence to the admirable Mrs. Chisholm. Its manner of working is to advance money to emigrants in order to take them out, to be repaid after their arrival in Australia. No interest is charged, and the emigrant, on making the repayment, is allowed to name some other person to whom the same sum is to be advanced on the same terms. There is, perhaps, no way in which more good could be done with a comparatively small sum of money. But this is a charitable application of

money, not an investment; the society's fund is not reproductive, as no interest is charged, and there is a risk of loss from emigrants dying, or absconding without making repayment; and nothing of this sort can be done on a great scale, unless it, at least, pays its own expenses. We have seen it suggested that the legislature should facilitate the extension of the system of loans to emigrants, by authorising contracts by which emigrants should bind themselves to repay their passage-money, with interest, in instalments, payment to be recoverable by a summary process before the colonial magistrates. In consequence of the certainty of a percentage of loss from emigrants dying or absconding, it would be necessary, in order to render the making of such advances a safe and profitable investment, to charge an additional amount as premium of insurance against such risk; or, what would perhaps be better, as tending more to enlist the feelings of emigrants on the side of honesty, to unite a party of them into a group, as is done, though for different purposes, by the " Family Colonisation Loan Society," and hold all the members of a group answerable for the debt of each. There is nothing unjust or new in such a system of insurance against fraud ; it is merely an application of the principle of the Guarantee Society, the members of which association hold themselves jointly responsible for fraud committed by any one of them on his employer. Neither is there anything new in the proposal to authorise such contracts for repayment of money advanced, and to grant summary powers for their enforcement; such a system exists in the United States, and is said to work well, and to facilitate emigration, an emigrant in that country sometimes borrows money, even before he sets to work, for the purpose of remitting home to bring out a wife or brother.

Whether or not it is desirable to introduce such a system of loans into our colonies, we have no doubt that colonisation can proceed on a great and successful scale only when the expense of emigration is paid by the emigrants themselves, or their relatives-that is to say, when it is spontaneous. The "systematic colonisation" of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners

was based on a different principle-that of paying for emigration with the proceeds of the sale of land in the colonies. We do not say that such a system never can succeed, though we have not much faith in any system that requires Government regulation, and the setting of an arbitrary price on land. The right way of dealing with national lands for the purpose of colonisation is, in our opinion, to sell them at only such a price as will pay the expense of survey and sale. The notion of selling Australian lands at a higher price-in other words, levying a tax on colonisation-for the purpose of bringing out labouring emigrants, was based on the perfectly true theory that colonisation ought to pay its own expenses. But setting an artificially high price on wild land is a most objectionable and oppressive way to attain this end; for it deprives the agricultural colonist of part of his capital at the very time that he needs it most, and it tends to prevent the population from dispersing themselves as much as circumstances may demand. This last was one of the recommendations of the scheme in the eyes of its propounder, Gibbon Wakefield, who, with strange inconsistency in a disciple of Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, thought that settlers in a new country have a tendency to disperse themselves too much, and that Government regulations are desirable to keep them concentrated. In colonisation, however, as in commerce, the less interference with the free action of individuals the better. It is, perhaps, possible that, in the case of a purely agricultural colony, the system of paying for emigration by the sale of land might succeed; but Australia was till lately a pastoral country, and now it is chiefly a mining one. The Colonial Office attempted to introduce that system many years ago, but it broke down in the pastoral times; and no one can think of carrying it out now, when tens of thousands of emigrants are flocking out at their own expense. It is a much better, simpler, and more universally applicable plan of making colonisation pay its own expenses, to require emigrants to pay their own passages, and, if thought desirable, to assist them by advancing the passage money in the way described.

The artificial system of land sales and emigration of which we have spoken was so completely inapplicable to a pas toral country, that even the officials of Downing Street did not endeavour to enforce it in the case of pasture; they evaded their own regulation by granting grazing licenses at very low rates, but required payment of the full price of a guinea an acre for cultivated land. This was imposing a differential tax on agriculture, as distinguished from pasture; and it was a complete surrender of the principle of the system, for it made an exception which was almost as extensive as the rule. We cannot guess how much injury has been done by this most absurd tax on agriculture; for, owing, no doubt, partly to its operation, we know comparatively little as yet of the agricultural resources of Australia.

The colonists are well aware of the mischief done by their public lands being under the ignorant management of the Colonial Office; and this subject held a prominent place in the "Grand Remonstrance," as we have seen it called, from the Legislature of New South Wales, which was laid before the Imperial Parliament during the recent session. The Australians do not ask for this or that administrative reform they demand that the management of colonial land be handed over to themselves. We know the argument against this claim-that colonial lands are not colonial but imperial property, and are to be administered for the benefit, not of the colonies only, but of the whole empire. This is true. But, whatever administration of colonial lands is most for the advantage of Australia, is also most for our advantage; and Australian lands will certainly be better administered by a commission at Sydney than by a knot of functionaries in London. We have no doubt that the public lands of the United States are more useful to us than if they were administered by our own Government. It would, no doubt, be quite reasonable, and might be desirable, to require, in any arrangement made with the colonists, that the land revenue should be kept distinct from the ordinary revenue, and that it should be administered by a commission appointed half by the home Government "Our American Empire."

* Sce the article (in Nos. II., III., and IV.) on

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