es a population of 182,650
inhabitants; while the importance of its trade is demonstrated by the
fact that more than three million tons of shipping entered the port in
the year 1889. In connection with the growing recognition of the
necessity for an organized system of naval defence for the empire, the
strategical value of Singapore has of late years been greatly
emphasized, and the defences of the port have been strengthened and
improved. Batteries have been constructed by the colony at a cost of
L100,000, which have been furnished with guns at the expense of the
Imperial Government. At the same time a new harbour, including the
Tanjong Pagar wharf and docks, has been added three miles to the
westward, where the largest ocean-going steamships can find ample space.

The original "fort" is still conspicuous in the centre of the town, and
behind it are the gently rising hills on which the bungalows of the
English residents are for the most part built. At evening the blinds are
drawn up to welcome the reviving breath of the sea, and from the open
windows of these bungalows appears a panoramic scene of singular extent
and beauty, and one which forms a fitting background to the Eastern
viands and Chinese servants which give a Singapore dinner-party a
character of its own.

[Illustration: THE CAVANAGH BRIDGE, SINGAPORE. _Page_ 282.]

The ricsha furnishes the streets with an additional element of
picturesqueness. These charming vehicles are not used, however, by
Europeans during the day. Then the Anglo-Saxon instinct for
respectability (or some more subtle reason) prescribes the use of the
ghari, which is practically a four-wheeled cab with Venetian blinds
substituted for windows. The ricsha is especially used by the Chinese,
who, as in Java, have contrived to get most of the retail trade into
their hands, and many of whom are extremely wealthy and greatly attached
to the British connection. In addition to the public offices, the most
noticeable buildings are the Government House, which stands on a slight
elevation and is surrounded by a park, the cathedral, and the Raffles
Museum. Near the Cavanagh Bridge--a handsome iron suspension bridge
which spans the river--is the hospitable and commodious Singapore club;
and just outside the town there is a fine race-course. The esplanade
together with this latter provide the English residents with the means
of outdoor recreation which are so essential in the tropics. I have
already