The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-11 00:00:00

LITERATI:Mr.

Maunder's' Treasury of Geography. Continued,
and completed by William Hughes. 1. Vol.
Longman and Company.
A wonderful compilation. A marvellous bock
—compacting together within the compass of 1,000
pages an unexampled store of geographic knowledge
—Physical, Historical, Political, and Descriptive.
Commenced by the original designer of these cele-
brated works ofreference, the late Samuel Maunder,
the laborious and indefatigable compiler of so many
inestimable Treasuries—the " Treasury of Know-
ledge," the " Treasury of Natural History," the
" Biographical Treasury," the "Historical Trea-
sury," the "Scientific and Literary Treasury "
those portable and accessible repertories of Infor-
mation—this " Treasury, of Geography," the
crowning work of the series, the key stone of the
arch, as it were, of Maunder's classic and authori-
tative compilations—has at length been, as far as any
such work can, be—perfected. It has been continued
and completed, as the title-page intimates, by Wm.
Hughes, F.R.G.S., author of a " Manual of Geo-
graphy," and recently Professor of Geogtaphy in
the College for Civil Engineers. A gentleman of
whom we might safely have predicated what the
book before us positively and substantially testifies
—namely, that he of all men is about the, very one
most singularly well calculated to prove in a labour
of this remarkable kind, Samuel Maunder's not
unworthy collaborateur. The " Treasury "as it
now stands may take rank with the very best of
its predecessors. It is as complete in every
way —as lucid in treatment —as admirable
and 'symmetrical in the manner of its genera'
arrangement. After a few "Introductory Re-
marks" explanatory of the precise uses and of the
proper character of .a popular and practical digest
of Geography—comes a succinct and rapid " Out-
line of. the History of Geography." Thereupon
follows an ethnological chapter upon the " Varie
ties of Races and Languages," and an account of
the successive peopling of the world's chief conti-
nents—the three great continents of the old or east-
ern hemisphere. Subsequently, we have a beautiful
treatise, delineative, of " The Earth," its, form
and magnitude ! Followed, in due course,
by an exquisitely graphic account of the
diurnal and annual motions of this our
globe, as well as of those ,of her sister
planets. Afterwards the reader, or more strictly
speaking the consulter of " Maunder's Treasury of
Knowledge "—for productions of this particular
class are designed to be dipped into rather than to
be perused consecutively page after page from
Preface to Appendix—afterwards, we say, the
consulter of the " Treasury of Knowledge" has
unfolded to him in the form of a separate section
the astonishing " Principles of Physical Geo-
graphy," as regards the Land, the Water, and the
Atmosphere. Then come the aix grand divisions
of the book as a work of reference—.complete, and
therefore comprehensive. I. EUROPE—embracing
under that head Great Britainwith its subdivisions
of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland: France
viewed in regard both to its Provinces and its De-,
partments ; Belgium with its 4,500,000 inhabitants;
Holland with its standing army of 20,000 ; Switzer-
land with its burghs and cantons ; Austria with all
her vast foreign provinces, including Northern Italy,
a huge portion of Poland, the whole of Bohemia,
and the whole of Hungary ; _Prussia beginning
with Brandenburg and ending with Pomerania ;
besides the smaller states of Germany, including
the minorprincipalities (not here worth mentioning),
and with them Bavaria, Baden, Saxony, Hanover,
and Wurtemburg ; Denmark, and with Denmark
the twin provinces of Schleswiz-Holstein ; Sweden,
and _Norway, the Ching and Chang of Geographi-
cal Europe, to adopt Sir Edward Lytton's nomen-
clature ; ussia with her sixty millions of serfs
under the heel of one irresponsible Despot ; Turkey
on the northern side of the Bosphorus; Greece
with her "faineant" King and her degenerate
people ; Italy, that mere geographical expres-
sion, according to Prince Metternich, embrac-
ing, within the compass of the expression, Lom-
bardy, Sardinia, Tuscany, Naples, Sicily, Parma,
Modena, and the States of the Church ; Spean,
with her mockery of a Constitution, and Portugal,
with her stripling sovereign. 11. ASIA follows, as
a matter of course, next in order to us Europeans.
Asia subdivided into-,-the Asiatic portion of Tur-
key • the Asiatic portion of Russia • Japan—China
—Arabia Turkestan,—Persia—hindostan_q=
ghanistan Beloochistan—Burmah—Siam—An-
nam—and the East Indian Archipcelago. India
reticulating, so to speak, into Ceylon, the Protected
States, the Independent States, and the three Lreat
Presidencies—those of Bengal, Madras, and Cal-
cutta. 111. AFRlCA—besides the Coasts to the
West and the East ; besides the impenetrable Cen-
tral part of it ; besides the Islands ; besides the
Sahara, and Egypt, and Aubia, and Abyssinia—
treats of South Africa, meaning the Cape Colony,
Natal, and Caffraria, and of North Africa, or, as
it is otherwise termed, Barbary, signifying Mo-
rocco, Algeria, Tripoli, and Tunis. IV. AMERICA
—in reference to the North and the South—
" North America" embracing Canada, the United
States, and Mexico, together with the West
Indies, and such minor sections of that
vast continent as IVewfoundland and • the
_Hudson's Bay Territory—" South America," in-
cluding Venezuela—New Granada—La Plata—
Ecuador Guiana Brazil Perk Bolivia—
Ohili —and Patagonia. V. AUSTRALlA—relating
to both South Australia and is, esierre Australia to
.1‘ ew South Wales —Victoria and Tasmania.
Finally, VI. POLYNESIA—with its congeries or
ganglion of Islands, great and small, barren and
fruitful, inhabited and uninhabited, savage and
civilised. As in a very marked manner illustra-
tive of the boldness and distinctness of the politi-
cal opinions enunciated in this masterly com-
pilation, we may refer to those expressed un-
der the head of " France, " in relation to its
present government. Due mention having
been made of the transformation of the Repub-
lican fasces into the Imperial sceptre while
grasped in the strong right hand of Napoleon
111. "If there be evil," says the " Treasury,"
"in the present position of a great people, subject
to the strictness of military rule, and dependent in
great measure upon the will of a single individual,
with restrictions upon the 'free expression of
opinion, whether by writing or by word of mouth,
still there can be no doubt that they are of less
moment than the opposite evils of democratic
excess, and the certain results which would follow
the triumph of Socialism." A copious and compre-
hensive "Index," alphabetically arranged, com-
pletes the value of this noble and unrivalld " Trea-
sury of Geography"—diminishing the labour of
research to the student by rendering almost every
separate atom otinformation comPacted together in
the volume under notice—instantaneously acces-
sible. A wonderful compilation, we repeat—one
that can be perused with pleasure and consulted
with confidence. •

RUSSIAN BORTIFICATIOM IN THE

BA ',TIC.

FRONTIERS OF FINLAND, Nov. I.—The experi-
ence of the late war has opened the eyes of Russia
to the inadequacy of her coast defences, and shown
linty exposed are her frontiers in Finland, and how
open., to any attack on the seaboard V:om hostile
fleets. During the war the Governor-General of
Finland, Count von Berg, was ordered to do his
utmost to strengthen the existing coast. defences,
and sending in plans for constructing new naval
fortresses in the province under his command.
The subject engrossed the attention of the late
Emperor of Russia, and his repeated visits of in-
spection to the north are matters well known.
Soon afterwards orders were given to build a strong
fort on the island of Lasko, in the Gulf of Bothnia,
commanding the entrance to a deep and spacious
harbour, and destined to make good the loss ex-
perienced by the fall of Bomarsund.
All along this line of coast for a distance of four
hundred miles there were no fortified places. Brahe-
dad, Uleaborg, Christinenstad, Lowisa, \Yam, and
Carleby were only commercial ports, and it is only
at Hango Head and the neighbouring Gustav -
vaern that any fortified works aro to be found.
In order to protect the coast for the future Russia,
has now decided on constructing five new fortresses,
the preliminary arrangements for which have been
made this summer, and the ground marked out.
s
One of these is situated in the extreme northernly
corner of the Gulf of Bothnia, a very port distant©
from the frontier town of Tornea. The selection
purpose for which it is intended.
ol* the localityh
t e appears to be well made and likely
to answer
promontory of Sanclo-Saari, when the
The river Limielf flows into the golf at this spot,
and the
proposed batteries are erected, will sufficiently pro-
tect the entrance to .a, beautiful and spacious har-
bour. As the soil all about the place is favourable
for agriculture, and there are roads communicating
with all parts of the interior, it is proposed to lay
out
anaeciwlittieoNisrilit aidis ebxypgercata
netingcertain privileges
and f
that many settlrs
will be be attracted.

Major-General William J. Butterworth, of the East
India Company's service, expired at his residence, Mill.
mead House, in Guildford, on Tuesday last, the 4.h
inst., after a lingering illness. The deceased gentleman
had very recently resigned the post of Governor of
Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore, and Malacca, Whichhe held from the year 1843 to 1855, on account of the
declining state of his health.