Spain.

Spain was the first colonizing nation in the Pacific, but the attempts of the Spaniards have met with very poor results. They were compelled to abandon many of then-settlements. That Government now possesses only the Ladrone and Bonin groups. (The Phillipine Islands belong rather to Malaysia than Polynesia.) The aboriginal inhabitants of the Ladrone Islands have simply been exterminated. We have to congratulate ourselves upon the fact that the Spaniards confined their colonizing efforts to so small a number of islands. Angas' "Polynesia" ^† supplies the following information:—"It is said that Americans and Sandwich Islanders have been allowed to settle themselves of late years on the island of Agrigan (Ladrone), on condition of acknowledging allegiance to Spain; also, that the island is being peopled with natives kidnapped from other parts of Polynesia. The Bonin Islands have no native population. Japanese junks occasionally visit the group. A few Japanese have established themselves on the northern islands. On some of the others there are British subjects located, for the purpose, it is supposed, of carrying on a contraband trade with Japan." Spain also claims dominion over some of the neighbouring islands in the Pelew and Caroline groups, yet hardly a dozen of her subjects are settled upon them. ^‡