THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

Thames Star, Volume LX, Issue 16960, 6 December 1926, Page 6

THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

SOME OF ITS WONDERS.

The Rev. Alexander Sharpe, in his periodica], “The Wonderful British Empire,” gives many important facts, some of which are as follows: The British Empire is the greatest political fact in the world. It is the most extensive Empire the world has ever seen. Its area is about 14,000,000 square miles, or a quarter of the earth’s land surface. It is seven times as large as the Roman Empire at the time of its greatest extent, under Trajan. It has increased by about 4,000,000 square miles during the last 50 years. The Empire includes: The ancient United Kingdom, the mighty Dominion of Canada, the giant Commonwealth of Australia, the vast Union of South Africa and the splendid Empire of India among its provinces.

It is really an Empire of Empires. Its State and provinces are found on every continent and in every ocean. Of the Empire’s area, about 8,000,000 square miles are new countries; the bulk of the world’s new countries are British. These new lands have now about 20,000,000 inhabitants; they could hold 300,000,000. It possesses more of the coast-line ,of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans than any other Power.

It has in its charge many of the oldest countries known to history, e.g., Chaldea, Mesopotamia, Maofo, Edom. Palestine, the Holy Land, is under its sway—Judea, Samaria, Galilee. It includes the old capital of Queen Candace now in the Sudan, with the greater part of her old kingdom of Ethiopia. It has within its boundaries large parts of the once mighty Empire of Assyria, Babylona, Persia; that of Alexander, those of Rome, and of the Great Mogul.

It contains most of the newest States of the world, e.g., New Zealand, Queensland, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Rhodesia, Kenya. So while being amongst the oldest Empires of the world, it is the newest of all new countries. Canada has half the fresh water of the earth. The Empire has one of. the world’s chief oceanic wonders —the Great Barrier eef, off the coast of Australia; there is nothing like it in the world. British Columbia has one of the longest and most beautiful land-locked ocean routes in the world, about 1000 miles, between the islands and the mainland. GATES OF THE WORLD.

The -Empire holds most of the great gates of the world —Gibraltar, Suez, Aden, Singapore, Quebec. It possesses many of the chief keys of the world: Malta, of the Mediterranean;. Mauritius, of the Indian Ocean; Hong Kong, of the China Sea; Bermuda, of the North Atlantic; Falkland Islands, of the South Atlantic. It possesses far greater mineral wealth than any other country. Transvaal alone produces about 50 per cent, of the world’s output of gold, surpassing every other country. Transvaal surpasses every province or State of every country in the world in the production of precious metals. Ontario surpasses every province or State of every country in the Western Hemisphere in the production of precious metals.

The Empire’s coal resources are the greatest in the world.

British Columbia has the largest coalfields on the Pacific Coast of America. The Empire has the largest known natural gas field in the world in Alberta . It has the world’s richest iron mines in Newfoundland.

An important authority has stated that Canada is likely to become the leading producer of minerals in the world.

The Empire lias the world’s greatest forest areas.

The Empire is the world’s greatest rubber producer, in Malaya and Ceylon It possesses the vastest wheat areas, and is the world’s chief wheat producer.

Canada is the chief wheat exporting country in the world. The Empire has the world’s greatest wheat market—Winnjpeg. •Newfoundland has the richest fishing grounds in the world.

The Australian wildernesses abound in subterranean rivers which may ho tapped by artesian wells. Queensland already raises 600,000,000 per day.' The artesian belt of Australia is larger than all .’.Argentina, The Empire has on hand the greatest irrigation scheme the world has ever seen, that of the Sutlej River, India. It covers an area larger than Switzerland, or as large as Massachusetts and New Hampshire combined.