PROCEEDINGS, JUNE. xxix 



of suits between chiefs, which frequently led to the final arbitrament of 

 the sword. The young Icelanders of the early days, in the spirit of the 

 sagas travelled to other parts of the world in the combined characters 

 of traders, soldiers, lawyers, and, not unfrequently, poets. The closest 

 parallel to the Icelanders of the tenth and twelfth centuries were the 

 English adventurers of the sixteenth century, who were the terror of 

 the Spanish main, and were warmly appreciated by Elizabeth. In 

 tke year 1,000 the Christian religion was first introduced into Iceland, 

 and the Roman alphabet took the place of the old characters. After a 

 warm debate in the Althing, the Christian religion was established as 

 the national religion. It soon took root, and piracy disappeared, while 

 the young Icelanders began to leave home for the purpose of visiting 

 European universities. The national literature was then soon born, and 

 the chief literary glory of the country was that it is the only European 

 country that could boast of a prose literature dating from the twelfth 

 century. The commerce of the country extended to many southern 

 lands, and one of their ships returning from Dublin was driven over 

 the western seas till a country was touched which they called 

 Vinland, This was North America, where a colony was founded in 

 1007. A colony was also established by Eric the Red in Greenland, 

 but it died out in 1418. In discovery and colonisation the Icelanders 

 were before all other nations, and might be said to have been 300 years 

 before their time. In 1262-4, after a series of warm political debates 

 the Althing determined to unite with Norway, and bitter opposition 

 was afterwards raised to this course. The reader of the paper knew 

 that there were people in this colony who thought they should do as 

 Iceland did by a union with Victoria, Victoria would gain by this, and 

 the loss would be ours, and we would find, as the Icelanders had found, 

 that without local self-government there would be nothing to foster 

 local energy and interest in public affairs. From the date of this union 

 Iceland fell into obscurity compared with the brilliancy of its past 

 history. In the 14th century Iceland was transferred with Norway to 

 Denmark, under which Government it remained. The Lutheran 

 form of faith was adopted in 1578, and the first printing press set up. 

 In the 16th century the people suffered much from the Algerine 

 pirates, and subsequently was visited by smallpox, which carried off no 

 less than 16,000 of the inhabitants. Since then it had suffered much 

 from nature and from man, and the highest testimony of the great 

 qualities of this people was that, though one-fourth, and afterwards 

 one-third, of their numbers were suddenly carried off, and immense 

 areas of pasture land burned under streams of lava, their indomitable 

 perseverance kept them there. Towards the end of the last century the 

 Althing considered the question of abandoning the colony, but patriotism 

 and hope, and energy kept the people there. The writer advocated 

 inducing the people of this interesting country to emigrate to Tasmania, 

 as we would find in them people with some money, good education and 

 a native power of struggling against difficulty which would make them 

 admirable colonists. In 1874 Christian IX. visited his subjects in Iceland, 

 and granted them a constitution, under which a Governor was appointed 

 who received his orders from a Ministry for Iceland. The Parliament 

 established was composed of two chambers elected for six years, and 

 meeting for six weeks every second year. During the last few years 

 the country had been passing through a political crisis, for a great 

 meeting of all the male inhabitants over 21 years had commanded the 

 Althing to sit and demand Home Rule. This was done, but the King 

 would not consent, and it had again been demanded. The Danes 

 were contemptuously kind to Iceland. They had set aside their 

 wishes, crippled their trade, and established a national bank wkich had 

 many evil results. There was practically no crime in Iceland, sheep 



