AUSTEALIA AND POLYNESIA. 



49 



remarkable object was discovered as long since 

 as 1764. The available evidence is therefore 

 drawn from a century's records, including the 

 observations of Sir William and Sir John Her- 

 schel, Messrs. Mason, Smith, Lassell, and Trou- 

 velot, and Profs. Langley, Pickering, Winlock, 

 Holden, and Eastman. A detailed discussion 

 of the recorded facts justifies the conclusion, 

 according to Prof. Holden, that this nebula, 

 during the period from 1784 to 1877, has not 

 only moved from its first observed position, 

 but has likewise undergone perceptible changes 

 of brightness. 



The position of the Trifid Nebula at the be- 

 ginning of 1860 was R. A. 17"- 53 m - 51'.8, 

 N. P. D. 113 1'89".9. 



According to Dr. Tempel, the large nebula 

 known as No. 8 in Messier's catalogue has now 

 a very different appearance from that given in 

 Sir John Herschel's drawing made at the Cape 

 of Good Hope just forty years since. These 

 changes he thinks can only be accounted for 

 either by the nebula's change of position in re- 

 lation to the stars by reference to which it was 

 delineated, or by great changes in the consti- 

 tution of the nebula itself. The observations 

 of Dr. Tempel were made with the large Amici- 

 telescope, at Arcetri, near Florence. 



AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA. The 

 area and population of Australia and Polynesia 



were, according to the latest accounts, as fol- 

 lows: 



The estimated population of each of the colo- 

 nies comprising the continent of Australia was 

 as follows : 



COLONIES. Population. 



Victoria (December 81, 1 876) 840,841 



New South Wales (June 80, 1876) 617,166 



Queensland (May 1, 1876) 178,288 



South Australia (December, 1876) 225,477 



Western Australia (December 81, 1876) .... 27,821 



Northern Territory 748 



Natives 65,000 



Total i;989,881 



Some of the social statistics in the different 

 colonies were as follows: 



VOL. xvn. 4 A 



The following table shows the rate of taxa- 



