1888 All rights reserved Fürsten prägen so oft auf kaum versilbertes Kupfer Ihr bedeutendes Bild: lange betrügt sich das Volk Schwärmer prägen den Stempel des Geist's auf Lügen und Unsinn: Wem der Probirstein fehlt, hält sie für redliches Gold. Goethe. My purpose in writing this book is so fully explained in the book itself that a Preface is unnecessary. I visited the West India Islands in order to increase my acquaintance with the condition of the British Colonies. I have related what I saw and

Colonial policy—Union or separation—Self-government—Varieties of condition—The Pacific colonies—The West Indies—Proposals for a West Indian federation—Nature of the population—American union and British plantations—Original conquest of the West Indies. The Colonial Exhibition has come and gone. Delegates from our great self-governed dependencies have met and consulted together, and have determined upon a common course of action for Imperial defence. The British race dispersed over the world have