the largest of the windward West India Islands, is separated from the province of Venezuela by the Gulf of Paria, and at one point is not more than twenty miles from the American continent. It is situated between 10° and 11° north latitude, and 61° and 62° west longitude. The island is nearly square, being generally about fifty miles long by thirty broad; but from the furthest point (Hicacos) on the south-west to the furthest point on the north-west (Point Galera), it reaches to above ninety miles, and contains an area of 2020 square miles. It was discovered by Columbus on the 31st July 1498, and taken possession of by the Spaniards in 1583. Sir Walter Raleigh visited it in 1595, and committed some outrages in the capital. In 1797 it was captured by Sir Ralph Abercromby, and has remained a British settlement ever since. The richness of its soil, the luxuriance of its vegetation, its finely wooded hills, beautiful rivers, and magnificent landscapes, have distinguished Trinidad as the Indian Paradise. This island is evidently a section of the opposite continent, disjoined either by a volcanic or oceanic eruption. The same strata of earth, the same rocks and fossils, are common to both. Besides several craters and volcanoes in the island, there are two submarine volcanoes, one south of Cape de la Brea, and the other in the Bay of Meyaro. But the most remarkable phenomenon in the island is the asphaltum or pitch lake, situated on a small peninsula, and occupying the highest part of the point of land. It is nearly circular, and more than a mile and a half in length. It is remarkable for the extraordinary mutability of its surface; the small islet of the evening being often found a gulf in the morning, and this again is succeeded by another islet, adorned with the most luxuriant vegetation. The usual appearance and consistence of the asphaltum is that of pit-coal, but of a greyish colour, melting like sealing-wax, and in hot weather it is actually liquid an inch deep. It is rendered ductile by a gentle heat, and when mixed with grease or pitch, acquires fluidity. The highest mountain-range is on the north, near the coast, some parts of which reach an elevation of nearly 3000 feet. There are also chains of hills, but of TRI

as elevation, in the centre and on the south coast. They run from east to west. The island has the advantage of numerous streams, some of them navigable by small vessels.

The exports amounted in 1832 to L235,657, of which L220,168 was for sugar and molasses. The imports for the same period amounted to L229,697. Port of Spain, the capital, contains a population of 9850, of whom 1489 are whites. The population of the island in 1832 consisted of whites, 3685; free blacks, 16,302; slaves, 20,265; total, 39,250. In the island there are eight free schools with 373 scholars, and twenty-two private schools with 412 scholars.