the north of Europe in general, are the principal consumers of port. The other exports are oil, oranges, and other fruits, wool, refined sugar, cream of tartar, shumac, leather, cork, &c. The imports are corn, rice, beef, salt fish, and other articles of provision; sugar, coffee, &c. from Brazil; cotton, and woollen goods, hardware, tin plates, &c. from England; hemp, flax, and deals, from the Baltic, &c.

Besides the British manufactured goods imported into Portugal for the use of the natives, a considerable quantity is destined for the consumption of Spain; being smuggled into that country through Braganza and other towns on the frontier.

Monies, Weights, and Measures same as those of Lisbon; which see.

We subjoin an account, obtained from the Portuguese Custom-house, of the wine shipped from Oporto during the 10 years ending with 1833.

Account of the Quantities of Wine exported from Oporto during the Ten Years down to 1833 inclusive, specifying the Countries to which they were sent, and the Quantities sent to each.

N. B. It was not till 1826, that the exclusive privilege possessed by the Oporto Wine Company, of shipping wine for Brazil, was put an end to, previously to which period the shipments for that country were not given.

It is hardly possible to form any estimate of the value of the wine shipped from Oporto; the price varying from 51. to 50l. per hogshead. The export duty on wine approved for exportation, (vinke d'embarque), is about 6 500rs. per pipe, or, at the present (January 1834) rate of exchange, 11. 9s. a pipe. Separated wine (vinho separado) is not generally allowed to be exported; but at present it may be shipped on paying 18 500rs. more, or 51. 98. 2d. a pipe. The other expenses are trifling. Freight to this country varies from 17. to 11. 11s. 6d. per pipe.-(For an account of the Oporto Wine Company, see WINE.)

Sometimes wine is purchased from the farmer in the wine country. In this case, the sks are sent about 60 miles up the river, in boats, to be filled. Owing to the miserable state of the roads, the expense of carriage is very considerable; the cartage from and to the river side frequently costing from 11. to 21. per pipe. The freight from the upper country down the river to Oporto is about equal to that from the latter to England. There is also an internal duty of about 11. 28. per pipe on all wine brought down the river. Inasmuch, however, as these charges are perpetually varying, it is not possible to lay before the reader any pro forma account of the cost of wine bought in the Upper Douro. The Oporto Wine Company have the monopoly of the brandy as well as of the wine trade of the Douro. The consequence is, that brandy costs at this moment, at Oporto, about 361. per pipe; while equally good brandy may be bought in Lisbon, and much better in Cognac, for about 181. per pipe! The abolition of this company would certainly be one of the most desirable reforms that could be accomplished, even in Portugal.—(Private information.)

ORANGES (Ger. Pomeranzen; Du. Orangen; Fr. Oranges; It. Melarance; Sp. Naranjas; Rus. Pomeranezii; Hind. Narunge; Malay, Simao-manis), the fruit of the orange tree. The common, or sweet orange (Citrus sinensis, or Citrus nobilis), and the Seville, or bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), are natives of China; and the Portuguese are entitled to the honour of having transferred the plant to other countries. Particular species of Citrus seem to be indigenous to various Eastern countries; but the birth-place of the proper orange may be distinctly traced to China. It is now to be found in our green-houses. Oranges are imported in chests and boxes, packed separately in paper. The best come from the Azores and Spain; very good ones are also brought from Portugal, Italy, Malta, and other places.

The orange trade carried on by this country is of considerable value and importance. Oranges are not much more expensive than most of our superior domestic fruits, while they are, perhaps, the most refreshing and wholesome of those of warmer climates. The entries for home consumption in 1531 and 1832 amounted, at an average, to 270,606 boxes a year; and assuming each box to contain 700 oranges and lemons, the number entered for consumption will have been 189,424,000! The duty produced, at an average of the above years, 61,0361. a year. The number of persons employed in the importation and sale of oranges must be very considerable. The policy of charging any duty on oranges seems questionable. They are very apt to spoil; and as no abatement is made from the duty on account of any damage, its influence on their price is much more considerable than might at first be supposed.

ORCHILLA WEED, ORCHELLA, OR ARCHIL (Ger. Orseille; Fr. Orseille; It. Oricello, Orcella; Sp. Orchilla), a whitish lichen (Lichen orcella) found in the Isle of Portland; but that which is used, is imported from the Canary and Cape de Verd Islands, Barbary, and the Levant. From it is obtained the archil, or orchal, of commerce, which

yields a rich purple tincture, fugitive, indeed, but extremely beautiful. The preparation of orchilla was long a secret, known only to the Florentines and Hollanders; but it is now extensively manufactured in this country. Archil is generally sold in the form of cakes, but sometimes in that of moist pulp; it is extensively used by dyers; and in times of scarcity, the weed or lichen has sold as high as 1,000l. per ton !--(Thomson's Dispensatory.) Åt this moment (January, 1834), Canary orchilla fetches, in the London market, 3207. a ton, while that which is brought from Madeira fetches only 2007., and Barbary not more than from 10% to 25%. The total quantity imported in 1829 amounted to 1,813 cwt., or 901

tons.

ORGOL. See ARGOL.

ORPIMENT (Ger. Operment; Fr. Orpiment; It. Orpimento; Sp. Oropimente; Lat. Auripigmentum), the name usually given to sulphuret of arsenic. When artificially prepared, it is in the form of a fine yellow-coloured powder; but it is found native in many parts of the world, particularly in Bohemia, Turkey, China, and Ava. It is exported from the last two in considerable quantities; and is know in the East by the name of hartal. Native orpiment is composed of thin plates of a lively gold colour, intermixed with pieces of a vermilion red, of a shattery foliaceous texture, flexible, soft to the touch like talc, and sparkling when broken. Specific gravity 3.45. The inferior kinds are of a dead yellow, inclining to green, and want the bright appearance of the best specimens. Its principal use is as a colouring drug among painters, bookbinders, &c.--(Thomson's Chemistry; Milburn's Orient. Com.)

ORSEDEW, ORSIDUE, MANHEIM OR DUTCH GOLD (Ger. Flittergold; Du. Klatergoud; Fr. Oripeau, Oliquant; It. Orpello; Sp. Oropel), an inferior sort of gold leaf, prepared of copper and zinc. It is sometimes called leaf brass. It is principally manufactured in Manheim.

OSTRICH FEATHERS. See FEATHERS.

OWNERS OF SHIPS. Property in ships is acquired, like other personal property, by fabricating them, or by inheritance, purchase, &c.

No ship is entitled to any of the privileges of a British ship until she be duly registered as such, and all the provisions in the Registry Act (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 55.) be complied with.-(See REGISTRY.)

A British ship may belong either to one individual or to several individuals. It is ordered by the act just cited, that the property of every vessel of which there are more owners than one, shall be divided into 64th shares; and that no person shall be entitled to be registered as an owner who does not, at least, hold one 64th share. It is further provided by the same statute, that not more than thirty-two persons shall be owners of any one ship at any one time. Companies or associations holding property in ships, may choose three of their members to act as trustees for them.

Neither the property of an entire ship, nor any share or shares in such ship, can be transferred from one individual to another, except by bill of sale or other instrument in writing; and before the sale is valid, such bill or instrument must be produced to the collector and comptroller, who are to enter the names, residences, &c. of the seller and buyer, the number of shares sold, &c. in the book of registry of such vessel, and to indorse the particulars on the certificate of registry.-(See the clause in the statute, art. REGISTRY.)

But, though compliance with the directions in the statute accomplishes a complete transference of the property, when the transaction is not in its nature illegal, it gives no sort of security to a transference that is otherwise bad. The purchaser should in all cases endeavour to get possession of the ship, or of his share in her, as soon as his title to her or it is acquired, by the registration of the particulars of the bill of sale; for though all the formalities of sale have been completed, yet, if the sellers continue as apparent owners in possession of the ship, their creditors may, in the event of their becoming bankrupt, acquire a right to it, to the exclusion of the purchasers. In the case of a sale or agreement for a part only, it is enough if, the sale being completed, the seller ceases to act as a part owner.(Lord Tenterden on the Law of Shipping, part i. c. 1.)

Property in ships is sometimes acquired by capture. During war, his Majesty's ships, and private ships having letters of marque, are entitled to make prizes. But before the captors acquire a legal title to such prizes, it is necessary that they should be condemned in the Admiralty or other court constituted for that purpose. When this is done, the captors are considered to be in the same situation, with respect to them, as if they had built or purchased them.

The act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 55. has ruled, that no person having the transfer of a ship, or a share of a ship, made over to him as a security for a debt, shall be deemed an owner, or part owner, of such ship. And when such transfer has been duly registered according to the provisions of the act, the right and interest of the mortgagee are not to be affected by the bankruptcy of the mortgagor, though he be the reputed owner, or part owner, of such ship.-(See REGISTRY.)

In the article MASTERS OF SHIPS is given an account of the liabilities incurred by the

owners of ships for the acts of the masters. But it has been attempted to encourage navigation by limiting the responsibility of the owners, without, however, depriving the freighter of a ship of an adequate security for the faithful performance of the contract. To effect this desirable object, it has been enacted, that the owner or owners shall not be liable to make good any loss or damage happening without their fault or privity, to any goods put on board any ship or vessel belonging to such owner or owners, further than the value of such 'ship or vessel, with all its appurtenances, and the freight due, or growing due, during the voyage that may be in prosecution, or contracted for, at the time when the loss or damage has taken place.-(53 Geo. 3. c. 159.)

This limitation was first introduced into our law by the 7 Geo. 2. c. 15. But it had previously been adopted in the law of Holland, and in the justly celebrated French Ordinance of 1681. In the Ordinance of Rotterdam, issued in 1721, it is expressly declared, that "the owners shall not be answerable for any act of the master, done without their order, any further than their part of the ship amounts to." Independently, however, of this general agreement, the expediency of the limitation appears, for the reasons already stated, sufficiently obvious. It was also enacted in 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 60.), that neither the master nor owners of any ship or vessel shall be liable to answer for or make good any gold or silver, diamonds, watches, jewels, or precious stones, lost or embezzled during the course of the voyage, unless the shipper thereof insert in his bill of lading, or declare in writing to the master or owners, the true nature, quality, and value of such articles.

The responsibility, at common law, of a master or mariner is not affected by the first mentioned limitation, even though such master or mariner be owner or part owner of the vessel; neither does the limitation extend to the owner or owners of any lighter, barge, boat, &c. used solely in rivers or inland navigation, nor to any ship or vessel not duly registered according to law.

When several freighters sustain losses exceeding in the whole the value of the ship and freight, they are to receive compensation thereout in proportion to their respective losses: and any one freighter, on behalf of himself and the other freighters, or any part owner, on behalf of himself and the other part owners, may file a bill in a court of equity for the discovery of the total amount of the losses, and of the value of the ship, and for an equal distribution and payment. If the bill be filed by or on behalf of the part owners, the plaintiff must make affidavit that he does not collude with the defendants, and must offer to pay the value of the ship and freight, as the court shall direct.

It is usual in most countries, where the part owners of a ship disagree as to her employment, to give those possessed of the greater number of shares power to bind the whole. But in this country, while the majority of the owners in value have authority to employ the ship as they please, the interests of the minority are secured from being prejudiced by having their property engaged in an adventure of which they disapprove. For this purpose the Court of Admiralty has been in the practice of taking a stipulation from those who desire to send the ship on a voyage, in a sum equal to the value of the shares of those who object to it, either to bring back and restore to them the ship, or to pay them the value of their shares. When this is done, the dissentient part owners bear no portion of the expenses of the outfit, are not entitled to a share in the profits of the voyage; the ship sails wholly at the charge and risk and for the profit, of the others.-(Abbott, part i. c. 3.)

For the statutory enactments as to the sale and transfer of ships, see REGISTRY. OYSTER, OYSTERS (Ger. Austern; Fr. Huîtres; It. Òstriche; Sp. Ostras; Lat. Ostrea). This well known shell-fish is very generally diffused, and is particularly plentiful on the British coasts, which were ransacked for the supply of ancient Rome with oysters. They differ in quality according to the different nature of the soil or bed. The best British oysters are found at Purfleet; the worst, near Liverpool. The nursing and feeding of oysters is almost exclusively carried on at Colchester, and other places in Essex. The oysters are brought from the coast of Hampshire, Dorset, and other maritime counties, even as far as Scotland, and laid on beds or layings in creeks along the shore, where they grow, in 2 or 3 years, to a considerable size, and have their flavour improved. There are said to be about 200 vessels, from 12 to 40 or 50 tons burden, immediately employed in dredging for oysters, having from 400 to 500 men and boys attached to them. The quantity of oysters bred and taken in Essex, and consumed mostly in London, is supposed to amount to 14,000 or 15,000 bushels a year. (Supp. to Ency. Brit. art. Fisheries.)

The imports of oysters fluctuate very much. From 1824 to 1828, both inclusive, none were imported. But, at an average of 1831 and 1832, the imports amounted to 52,095 bushels a year.

The stealing of oysters, or oyster brood, from any oyster bed, laying, or fishery, is larceny, and the offender, being convicted thereof, shall be punished accordingly; and if any person shall in lawfully and wiffully use any dredge, net, &c. for the purpose of taking oysters, or oyster brood, within the limits of an oyster bed or fishery, every such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon being convicted thereof, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment, or both, as the court ay award; such fine not to exceed 201., and such imprisonment not to exceed 3 calendar months. It is provided, that nothing in the act shall be construed as preventing any one from catching floating fish within the limits of any oyster fishery, with any net, instrument, or engine adapted to the catching of such fish.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. 36.)

P.

PACKAGE, SCAVAGE, BAILLAGE, AND PORTAGE, were duties charged in the port of London, on the goods imported and exported by aliens, or by denizens being the sons of aliens.

During the dark ages, it was usual to lay higher duties upon the goods imported or exported by aliens, whether in British or foreign ships, than were laid on similar goods when imported or exported by natives. But according as sounder and more enlarged principles prevailed, this illiberal distinction was gradually modified, and was at length wholly abolished, in so far at least as it was of a public character, by the 24 Geo. 3. c. 16. This act, after recit ing that "the several duties and restrictions imposed by various acts of parliament upon merchandise are, by the alterations of the trade now carried on between this kingdom and foreign states, in some cases become an unnecessary burden upon commerce, without producing any real advantage to the public revenue, and that it is expedient they should no longer continue," enacts, that the duty commonly called "the petty customs," imposed by the 12 Car. 2., and all other additional duties imposed by any act upon the goods of aliens above those payable by natural-born subjects, should be no longer payable. The act then goes on to provide, that nothing contained in it shall "alter the duties due and payable upon goods imported into or exported from this kingdom in any foreign ship, nor the duties of package, and scavage, or any duties granted by charter to the city of London ;" and then follow provisions to prevent the city being defrauded of such duties by false entries of aliens' goods in the name of a British subject.-(Chitty's Commercial Law, vol. i. p. 160.)

The duties thus preserved to the city were not very heavy: but the principle on which they were imposed was exceedingly objectionable, and their collection was attended with a great deal of trouble and inconvenience. Not being levied in other places, they operated to the prejudice of the trade of the metropolis. For these reasons, we observed, in the former edition of this work, that "if the funds of the corporation will not admit of their following the liberal example of the legislature, by voluntarily abandoning this vexatious impost, it would be good policy to give them a compensation for relinquishing it." And we are glad to have to state this suggestion has since been carried into effect. The act 3 & 4 Will. 4, c. 66. authorised the Lords of the Treasury to purchase up the duties in question from the city. This has been done, at an expense of about 140,000l., and the duties are now abolished. There is a Table of the duties in the former edition of this work.

PACKETS. See NEW YORK, PASSENGERS, and POST-OFFICE.

PALERMO (anciently PANORMUS), a large city and sea-port, the capital of the noble island of Sicily, on the north coast of which it is situated, the light-house being in lat. 38° 8' 15" N., lon. 13° 21′ 56′′ E. Population, 170,000.

The bay of Palermo is about 5 miles in depth, the city being situated on its south-west shore. A tine mole, fully of a mile in length, having a light-house and battery at its extremity, projects in a southerly direction from the arsenal into 9 or 10 fathoms water, forming a convenient port, capable of containing a great number of vessels. This immense work cost about 1,000,000Z. sterling in its construction; but the light-house, though a splendid structure, is said to be very ill lighted. There is an inner port, which is reserved for the use of the arsenal. Ships that do not mean to go within the mole may anchor about a mile from it, in from 16 to 23 fathoms, the mole light bearing N.W. W. A heavy sea sometimes rolls into the bay, but no danger need be apprehended by ships properly found in anchors and chain cables. In going into the bay, it is necessary to keep clear of the nets of the tunny fishery, for these are so strong and well moored, as to be capable of arresting a ship under sail.-(Smytk' Sicily, p. 70. and Appen. p. 4.)

Money. Since 1818, the coins of Sicily have been the same as those of Naples, their names only differing. (See NAPLES.) The ducat, 3s. 5 2d. sterling, is subdivided into 100 bojocchi and 10 piccioli: but accounts are still generally kept in oncie, tari, and grani: 20 grani=1 taro; 30 tari Ioncia. The oncia 3 ducats; and 1 carlino of Naples = 1 taro of Sicily. The Spanish dollar is current at 12 tari 8 grani.

Weights.-These are the cantaro grosso, subdivided into 100 rottoli grossi of 33 onzie, or into 110 rottoli sottili of 30 oncie; and the cantaro sottile, subdivided into 100 rottoli sottili of 30 oncie, or 250 lbs. of 12 oncie. The rottolo of 33 ounces 1.93 lbs. avoirdupois = 2·34 lbs. Troy = 8.73 hectogrammes= 1-77 lbs. of Amsterdam 18 lbs. of Hamburgh. The rottolo of 30 ounces 1.75 lbs. avoirdupois= 213 lbs. Troy 794 hectogrammes 16 lbs. of Amsterdam 164 lbs. of Hamburgh.

100 Sicilian pounds of 12 ounces = 70 lbs. avoirdupois = 85·11 lbs. Troy = 31-76 kilog. = 64-23 lbs of Amsterdam 65 58 lbs. of Hamburgh.

Measures. The salma grossa 948 Winch. bush.: the salma generale 7·62 Winch, bush. The principal liquid measure is the tonna, divided into 4 barili, each equivalent to 9 wine gallons. 1 barile 2 quartare; I quartara = 20 quartucci. The caffiso of oil = 44 Eng, gallons. The yard or canna=" palmi; 2 palms 1 yard Eng.-(Nelkenbrecher Smyth, p. 62 App.) Tares-Coffee, indigo, pepper, and dye woods, 2 per cent. and weight of package. Cinnamon, 6 rottoli per seron, with 1 wrapper, or 8 rottoli, with 2 wrappers; cocoa, 2 per cent., weight of package, and 3 per cent. for dust; cod-fish, 3 per cent.; herrings, 12 per cent.; tín, 13 rottoli per barrel; wax, weight of package, and 3 to 4 per cent. extra allowance; Havannah sugars, 16 per cent.; Brazil do., in short cases, 18 per cent., and in long cases, 20 per cent.; crushed sugar, weight of cask, and 5 per cent., or 13 per cent. in all, at the option of the buyer; East India do., in bags, 8 rot. to 10 rot. per bag. 1 rotolo taken as weight of bag, for coffee and cocoa in bags.

Charges on Goods.-The regular charges on the sale of goods consigned to Palermo, are-commis sion, 3 per cent.; brokerage, & per cent.; warehouse rent, per cent.; and porterage and boat hire; with 2 per cent. del credere,-imports being almost always sold on credit. The charges may occasior

ally vary to 1 per cent., and imports are frequently sold duty paid; the prices, however, so obtained, fully compensate for the trifling increase of charges.

The charges on goods exported are-3 per cent. commission; brokerage, so much per cantaro salme, &c., generally amounting to about per cent., except on fruit, on which it is equivalent to from 2 to 3 per cent.

Imports and Exports.-The great articles of export from Sicily are-grain, particularly wheat and barley; beans, wine, brandy, oil, barilla, lemons and oranges, lemon juice, almonds, salt, shumac, salt-fish, cheese, with brimstone, argol, manna, liquorice, pumice stone, rags, skins, honey, cotton wool, nuts, linseed, saffron, &c. Wheat is largely exported. It is of a mixed quality, hard, and is generally sold from the public magazines, or caricatori (see post), by measure, without weight. But the best hard wheat, grown in the neighbourhood of Palermo, is sold by the salma of 272 rottoli = 476 lbs. Eng.; the difference between weight and measure being made good by the seller or buyer, as the case may be. Wine is principally shipped from Marsala ; lemons, oranges, and lemon juice, from Messina ; salt, from Trapani; and barilla, from the southern coast. But all the articles to be found on the coast may, for the most part, be had at Palermo; unless, however, the quantity required be small, it is usually best to ship them from the outports, the expense of their conveyance to Palermo being very heavy. The crops of barilla and shumac come to market in August; but brimstone, salt, oil, wine, rage, &c. may generally be had all the year round. The first shipments of lemons and oranges may be made in the beginning of November. Purchases of produce are always paid for in cash, generally on making the purchase, and the other on delivery, when in Palermo, and on receiving order for delivery, on the coast.

The imports consist of sugar, coffee, cocoa, indigo, dye woods, spices, iron, tin, hides, Newfoundland cod, cotton and woollen stuffs, timber for building, &c. We have no means of forming any estimate either of the quantity or the value of the principal articles of import and export. Silk is a staple produce of the island; but its exportation in an unwrought state, except to Naples, is prohibited.(We have gleaned these details principally from private communications. The best account of the trade of Sicily, though now a little antiquated, that we have met with in any English work, is contained in Swinburne's Travels in the Two Sicilies, 4to ed. vol. ii. pp. 401–413. See also the article NAPLES in this work.)

Remarks on the Trade, &c. of Sicily.—This noble island contains about 10,500 square miles, being the largest in the Mediterranean, and one of the most fertile and best situated in the world. Its population is about 1,900,000. In ancient times, Sicily was celebrated for the number, magnitude, and opulence of its cities; and, notwithstanding its population was then, at least, treble its present amount, it obtained, from its furnishing vast supplies of corn and other articles of provision for the use of Rome, the appropriate epithet of horreum RomanWhen the Roman power had been overthrown, Sicily was occupied, first by the Saracens, then by the Normans, and after them by the French. The Sicilian Vespers put a fatal period to the dominion of the latter; and a prince of the house of Aragon having been called to the Sicilian throne, the island became, in course of time, a dependency, first of the crown of Spain, and more recently of that of Naples.

orum.

It is to this dependence that we are induced to ascribe the backward state of Sicily. The multipliei abuses which grew up in Spain, under Ferdinand the Catholic, and his successors of the Austrian line, flourished with equal luxuriance in Sicily, and have proved no less destructive of the industry and civilisation of its inhabitants than of those of Spain. The Bourbon or Neapolitan régime has been equally pernicious. "The government of this island," says a recent and most intelligent observer, "seems to unite in itself nearly all the defects, both theoretical and practical, of which political institutions are susceptible. It is a model in its way. We find here a system of laws quite barbarous, and the administration of them notoriously corrupt; high taxes, levied arbitrarily and unequally; the land generally held on such a tenure as makes it unalienable, so that few can ever be proprietors; and farming leases, for church land at least, are binding on the farmer only, and not on his landlord. For want of roads, produce cannot be exported from one part of the island to another; the consequence of which is, that a scarcity and a glut may and frequently do exist at the same time in different parts of the island, without the means of timely and effectual communication."-Simond's Italy and Sicily, p. 529.) But the grand curse of Sicilian, as well as of Sardinian, industry-(see CAGLIARI)-is the restriction on the exportation of corn. It is true that the difficulties in this respect are not so great now as formerly, but they are still such as to oppose an invincible obstacle to the spread of improvement, and to the developement of the national resources. No exportation of corn can take place without leave of the real patrimonio,-a tribunal that pretends to take a yearly account of the crop, and of the supply required to meet the home demand. When this body has determined that an exportation may take place, it issues (or rather, we believe, sells) its licences to export certain specific quantities, to a few favoured individuals*, who, in consequence, are able to regulate the price; so that they, and not the corn growers, reap all the advantage! Thus, says M. Simond, "neither scanty nor plentiful crops affording a chance of gain, farmers are discouraged, and corn is frequently scarce in a country once the granary of Imperial Rome, although its own population be now reduced to 1-6th of what it was at that period. Such is the system of minute and vexatious regulations, that a man cannot go in or out of town with a loaf of bread or a joint of meat without special permission. The revenue laws in England are sufficiently vexatious, but they at least answer their fiscal purpose. Here the The late Queen is said to have been a great dealer in corn on her own account!

We cannot help looking upon this as an exaggeration. There do not seem to be any good grounds or thinking that Sicily ever contained more than 6,000,000 inhabitants,-that is, a little more than 3 ars as many as at present.