ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES. THE MOON is near Saturn during the night of the 5th. She is near Jupiter during the night of the 6th, and Mars during the night of the 10th; and she is near Venus and Mercury during the morning hours of the 20th. Her phases or times of change are: 99 99 11 99 99 0 99 Full Moon on the 6th at 3 minutes after 2h. in the morning. Last Quarter 13th,, 1 afternoon. Ne Moon 21st 21 4 ,, afternoon. First Quarter 28th 1 afternoon. She is nearest the Earth on the 25th, and most distant from it on the 13th. MERCURY transits or crosses the Sun's disc on the 7th and 8th: the first contact will be at 10h. 16m. p.m. on the 7th, and the last at 3h. 38m. a.m. on the 8th, invisible from England. He sets at sunset on the 7th, and after this day sets in daylight. He rises at sunrise on the 6th, 58 minutes before sunrise on the 12th; at 5h. 40m. a.m., or 1h. 43m. before sunrise, on the 17th; at 5h. 32m. a.m., or 2h. before sunrise, on the 22nd; and at 5h. 42m. a.m., or 1h. 57m. before the Sun, on the 27th. He is in inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 8th, and in his ascending node on the same day, at his least distance from the Sun on the 12th, stationary among the stars on the 16th, near the Moon on the 20th, and at his greatest western elongation (19 deg. 52 min.) on the 24th. VENUS is a morning star, rising at 4h. 38m. a.m. on the 7th, at 5h. 9m. a.m. on the 17th, and at 5h. 41m. a m. on the 27th, being respectively 2h. 28m., 2h. 14m., and 1h. 58m. before sunrise on those mornings. She is near the Moon on the 20th. MARS rises on the 6th at 7h. 38m. p.m., or 3h. 14m. after sunset; on the 16th at 7h. Om. p.m., or 2h. 50m. after sunset; and on the 26th at 6h. 13m. p.m., or 2h. 16m. after sunset. He is due south on the 1st at 4h. 18m. a.m., on the 15th at 3h. 31m. a.m., and on the last day at 2h. 28m. a.m. He is near the Moon on the 10th, and stationary among the stars on the 17th. JUPITER rises on the 6th at 4h. 40m. p.m., or 15 minutes after sunset; on the 11th he rises at about the time of sunset, and after this day he rises in daylight. He sets at sunrise on the 14th, and at 6h. 12m. a.m., or nearly 1h. 80m. before sunrise, on the 28th. He is due south on the 1st at Oh. 41m. a.m, on the 15th at 11h. 34m. p.m., and on the last day at 10h. 27m. p.m. He is near the Moon on the 6th, and in opposition to the Sun on the 13th. SATURN rises on the 3rd at about the time of sunset, and after this day he rises in daylight. He sets at sunrise on the 2nd; at 6h. 24m. a.m., or 43 minutes before sunrise, on the 8th; at 5h. 39m. a.m., or 1h. 46m. before sunrise, on the 18th ; and at 4h. 56m. a.m., or 2h. 45m. before sunrise on the 28th. He is due south on the 1st at 11h. 44m. p.m., on the 15th at 10h. 45m. p.m., and on the last day at 9h. 42m. p.m. He is in opposition to the Sun on the 1st, and near the Moon on the 5th. SAVINGS BANKS. The total area of British possessions in India, including Burmah, is 899,341 square miles, and of tributary States, 557,903 square miles; popuCom-lation of former, 191,095,445; of latter, 49,203,053; total British possessions, 1,457,244 square miles, population 240,298,500. The French possessions in India have an area of 508 square kilomètres, and a population (1877) of 280,381; the Portuguese an area of 3855 square kilomètres and a population of 444,987. Ceylon has an area of 24,702 square miles, and a population in 1877 of 2,755,557. The following table shows the areas and populations of the various subdivisions of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, according to the latest attainable data of any value: The following return shows the amount_held_by the National Debt Reduced Threes £14,637,710 8 per Cents, 1726 14,637,710 at 102 £ 14,930,464 9,021,322 at 100 9,021,322 99 French Cochin-China Cambodia 29,000 at 99 28,710 Independent Malacca Straits Settlements The new bill lays down a sounder principle of valuation, by directing that the Funded Securities held by the National Debt Commissioners on account of Savings Banks should be valued at £92 3077 per cent, being a fraction over £92 68., and representing the price which would give to the purchaser interest at the rate of 34 per cent. Mr. Gladstone bad adopted this principle of valuation in order to measure with correctness the progress year by year of Trustee Savings Bank Finance so far as concerns the National Debt Commissioners. Table showing the result, on Nov. 20, 1879, if the National Debt Commissioners had started at par on Nov. 20, 1844, their securities being valued on the principle adopted in the Savings Bank Bill (1880), and had received no aid from the Government in the meantime. The first commercial intercourse of the English with the East Indies was a Loan of 1828-9 of 78. per Rs. 100. 4 per cent 4 per cent £ 1,835,790 44 4 4 221,900 2,199,080 15,262,547 24,420 31,626 4 6,400 4 1,057,365 |