140 
COMPARIN G GEOGRAPHICAL DISTANCES. 
in the neighbourhood of which stands Shanghai, is one unit; from 
there to the Gulf of Pechili and Moukden is also one unit. Thus from 
Canton to the northernmost part of the seat of the last war, is the 
same distance as from the north of the Mezen in the White Sea to 
Odessa. Prom Nagasaki to the Gulf of Pechili is also one unit; this 
represents the distance at which the Japanese fleets were working 
away from home waters. The length of Niphon the principal island 
in Japan, is also one unit. 
AFRICA. 
The coast of Algeria is one unit. The coast of Morocco one unit: 
from the north of Tunis to the Cameroons, at which the coast makes a 
bend to the southward, is three units. The mean breadth of the Sahara 
may be taken as one unit, though in many places it is rather more. 
The inhabited region in the south of this portion of Africa has also a 
mean breadth of about one unit. From Kumasi to Timbuctoo, that is 
to say, from the French centre of influence to our own, is one unit; 
from Sierra Leone to Kumasi one unit; from Kumasi to the Cameroons 
one unit. With reference to this region and the general state of the 
country, I may quote the reply of the Board School boy when he was 
asked what he knew about the west of Africa,—he said that “ the west of 
Africa was extremely prosperous and quite uninhabited until that 
wicked Mr. Stanley came and filled it full of towns and villages.” 
From the Cameroons to the mouth of the Congo is one unit; the 
length of Angola (Portuguese West Africa), one unit; the length of 
German West Africa (Damaraland and Namaqualand), one unit. The 
extent of Cape Colony is about half a unit from north to south; the 
northern measurement of Cape Colony and also distance from Cape¬ 
town to Natal (as the crows flies), is about one unit; the length of 
the Transvaal and of the Orange River Free State is rather less than one 
unit; this is the portion of Africa with which we were principally 
concerned until about 15 years ago. Taking the portion of Africa 
that is now springing into importance we observe that from Natal to 
Beira, whence the new railway into Mashonaland is being built, is one 
unit; to the mouth of the Zambesi is about 150 to 200 miles; from 
the mouth of the Zambesi to the Victoria Falls is one unit. From the 
Victoria Falls springs several distances of interest. From the Zambesi 
to the Orange River, that is to say from the Victoria Falls to Kimber¬ 
ley, one unit : from Victoria Falls to Walfish Bay, an English Port 
standing in German territory, one unit. You will thus observe that 
the diameter of Africa along the line of the Zambesi is about two 
units, and along the Orange River is rather more than one unit. 
From Capetown to Mafeking which stands opposite to Pretoria is one 
unit; from Mafeking to Salisbury, to which the Capetown-Mafeking 
railway will be run, is rather less than one unit; also from Mafeking 
to Walfish Bay is about one unit. From the south of Madagascar to 
