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366 General Notes. [April, 
Prejevalsky reports discontent at Chinese rule among the Moham- 
‘medan natives, and asserts that they long for a change of masters. 
Asiatic News.—The Russians have commenced the Trans- 
with the English road from Quetta, through Afghanistan. The 
other branch will run north-east, crossing the Amu Daria and 
running through Bokhara to Samarcand. Merv, Samarcand and 
Bokhara are already connected by telegraph with St. Petersburg. 
The population of British Burmah in 1883 was 3,736,771. 
r. Needham and Capt. Molesworth have recently followed 
the Brahmaputra the whole way from Sadiya to Rima and state 
authoritatively that a river corresponding in size to the Sanpo falls 
into it, and that therefore the identity of the Sanpo with the 
Dijong may be considered as finally settled——The Marshall 
archipelago, now under German protection, includes thirty lagoon 
islands, none of which rise ten feet above the sea. Coco-paims, 
pandanus and breadfruit form the vegetation, and a small lizard is 
the only native quadruped. The group consists of two chains, 
the eastern, or Ratack, and the western, or Ralick. In the latter 
series is situated the largest island of the group, Jaluit, which 
has an area of about thirty-five square miles, and contains a g00 
harbor. A recent eruption in the neighborhood of Tonga has 
upheaved an island of nine square miles in extent in the space of 
four days. A party who visited the island in a schooner on Oc- 
tober 17th, report that a submarine volcano upon the shore of the 
new island was throwing up an enormous quantity of steam and 
water. The island has already been named Takaogo, is sixteen 
to twenty miles north-west of Henga-Hapai, and rises 200 to a 
feet above the ocean surface. 
Arrica—British and German Protectorates.—-The Kalahari 
desert and the whole of Berlmana land were, on March 23, 1885, 
proclaimed to be under British protectorate. This protectorate 
includes all the territory lying east of 20° E. long., west of the 
Transvaal and Orange river republics, and south of 22° S. lat. 
The Boer republics of Goshon and Stellaland are embraced with- 
in this area. ; 
The British protectorate of the Niger districts comprises the 
territories between Lagos and the right or western river-bank of 
the mouth of the Rio del Rey. It also includes the territories 08 
both banks of the Niger as far as its confluence with the Benue : 
Lokoja, as well as the territories on both banks of the Benue, up 
to and including Ibi. Ibi is about 230 miles above the confluence 
of the Niger and Benue. Great Britain has agreed not to acquire 
_ territory, accept protectorates, or interfere with the extension F 
German influence to the eastward of a line following the ng% 
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