NEW

[s. 551] : NEW CALEDONIA: An island in Me lanes i a which, together with its dependency, the Loyalty Islands, is a French colonv, lying about 720 miles northeast of Australia, in latitude 20°-22° 30’ south and longitude 164°-167° east. It is 200 miles long, 30 broad, with an area of 6,000 square miles, and a population (1901) of 51,000: 29,000 natives, the remainder colonists, soldiers, and convicts. The natives resemble the Papuans. The Roman Catholics have established mi ions at various points on the island, but so far little Protestant work has been undertaken beyond that which Christian natives of the Loyalty Islands are able to do. It was occupied by the French in 1853, and has been a penal settlement since 1872. 551