the Cape ministry, disliking his conciliatory proposals, interfered to modify the terms, and General Gordon resigned in October, 1882. He was about to start for Central Africa, at the invitation of the King of the Belgians, to carry on and extend the work begun on the Congo by Stanley, when, after the destruction of the army of Hicks Pasha, the English and Egyptian Governments urged him to undertake a mission to the Soudan as plenipotentiary to conclude the transfer of the western provinces of the Soudan to the native rulers, and arrange a peace with the Mahdi and the revolted provinces, on the basis of the retirement of the Egyptian officials and military, and the abandonment of sovereign rights. In the winter of 1883-'84 he crossed the Nubian Desert without escort, and on his arrival at Khartoum issued a proclamation announcing the terms of peace, and promising that the institution of slavery would not be interfered with.

GORTCHAKOFF, Alexander Mikhailowitch, Prince, a Russian statesman, born July 16, 1798; died March 11, 1883. He came of a princely family, and was educated at the celebrated Lyceum of Tzarskoye-Selo. The famous poet, Pushkin, whose widow he subsequently married, was one of his fellow-pupils. Immediately after his graduation he became private secretary to Count Nesselrode, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was present at the Congress of Laybach and that of Verona. In 1824 he was appointed secretary to the Russian legation in London; in 1830 chargé d'affaires at Florence; and in 1833 first secretary to the Russian legation in Vienna, where the illness and death of his chief left him as acting head. In 1841, as embassador extraordinary at Stuttgart, he negotiated a marriage between the Crown Prince of Würtemberg and the Princess Olga, sister of the Emperor Nicholas. This was a very considerable diplomatic triumph, and he was rewarded with the dignity of privy councilor. In 1850 he was appointed minister at the German Diet, where he became the friend of Bismarck, the Prussian representative, and where he was the center of all opposition to revolution.

Hitherto Russia had represented the policy of conservatism in Europe, and had been ready to crush the spirit of progress wherever it might appear. Though Gortchakoff was not in full accord with his master's ambitions, he was supposed to be more ductile than some of the older statesmen. Accordingly, in 1854, during the Crimean War, he succeeded Meyerdorff as embassador in Vienna, discharged his difficult duties with skill and courage, and played an important part in the negotiations which preceded the Treaty of Paris. He ceded only positions which were irrevocably lost, such as the exclusive protectorate of the Danubian provinces and the oversight of the mouths of the Danube, and inspired his adversaries with a high idea of Russia's powers of resistance even in the face of defeat.

In 1856 he was chosen by the new Emperor, Alexander, to succeed Nesselrode as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and this post he held for more than twenty-five years. Heretofore the Russian foreign ministers had been little known at home, and were considered as mere clerks of the Emperor, but Gortchakoff was highly popular as the inveterate enemy of Austria. From this time his one object was the aggrandizement of Russia, and his policy non-interference in the affairs of other countries. In 1856 he issued a circular denouncing France and England if they attempted to interfere with the administration of government in the Two Sicilies. An expression in this circular has become historical: "Russia does not poutshe meditates." For the most part she kept this attitude of meditation and recuperation many years. Gortelakoff rejoiced in the overthrow of his enemy, Austria, at Magenta and Solferino; and he acquiesced in French intervention in Syria in 1861 as a blow struck at Ottoman independence. A year later he energetically opposed any interference by France and England with the civil war in the United States. He was at that time engaged in repressing the Polish insurrection, and in replying haughtily to the notes addressed to him by the various European powers, remonstrating with him for his severities. He had been appointed vicechancellor in 1862, and in 1863, to the delight of the Russian people, he became chancellor. Gortchakoff kept his attitude of absolute neutrality during the struggle of 1866 between Prussia and Austria; but in 1870, when Paris was besieged and Victor Emmanuel was entering Rome, he seized the opportunity to propose a revision of the treaty of 1856. In the London Conference that followed, he secured for Russia the right of having her war-ships in the Black sea-which was a great victory for Russian policy-and he was rewarded by the Emperor with the hereditary title of Serene Highness.

From this time until the Turko-Russian War, Gortchakoff was occupied in strengthening Russian influence in the East and bringing about an alliance between the Emperors of Russia, Germany, and Austria, and stood at the height of his power and influence. But after the Russian army crossed the Danube he was conpelled to yield in importance to generals and engineers. When Europe refused to sanction the Treaty of San Stefano, Gortchakoff was discredited, as well as Gen. Ignatieff. At the Berlin Congress Schouvaloff played a more important part than he. He never forgave Bismarck and Beaconsfield for thwarting all his designs at this congress, and his resentment toward Bismarck led to a coldness between Berlin and St. Petersburg. He had ceased to be a prime factor in European or even Russian politics before Alexander II was assassinated, and long before he was superseded by M. de Giers as Minister for Foreign Affairs. He lived to a time when Russia could no longer play off

one state against another, and the theory of a balance of power became untenable; yet he could not adapt himself to a new policy. Russia came to need a great Minister of the Interior more than the most skillful of foreign diplomatists; but Gortchakoff had studied Europe more closely than his own country, took no interest in the problems of finance, of industry, or of Nihilism, and even bore no part whatever in the great revolution by which the serfs were freed.

He was a classical scholar, a master of the French language, and an enlightened patron of the arts. His diplomatic circulars were models of clear diction, ingenious argument, and a logic which always seemed to attain its object by putting his adversary in the wrong. He left two sons, Prince Michel and Prince Constantin, both of whom are in the diplomatic service.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (UNITED KINGDOM OF), a constitutional monarchy of Western Europe. The supreme legislative power resides in Parliament, which must be convoked annually, as supplies are only voted, and the mutiny act renewed, from year to year. During the past three reigns little has remained of the royal authority but the forms. During the same period the hereditary senate of the Peers has been driven to relinquish practically its share of the legislative authority, while the basis of representation in the House of Commons, or elective assembly, has been extended. By the Reform Bill of 1867-'68 the franchise was conferred upon all rate-payers and occupants of real estate of £10 annual value in the towns and cities, and £12 in the country. The executive authority and the initiative in legislation are, practically, concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister, who is appointed as the leader of the dominant party, and who selects his associates to preside over the departments and to prepare with him the schemes of legislation to be brought forward in Parliament. Prorogation is the legal death of Parliament; and legislation which is not finally enacted at the close therefore goes for naught. There are no constitutional limits to the power of Parliament. Victoria I, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India, was born May 24, 1819, and succeeded her uncle, William IV, June 20, 1837. The heir-apparent is Albert Edward, born in 1841. The present House of Commons first met in April, 1880. It is the twenty-second since the union, and the tenth of the reign of Victoria. Unless previously dissolved it will last until 1887. The House of Commons consists of 652 members. In 1882 writs were suspended in thirteen constituencies, so that the number of representatives was 639. At the beginning of the term the House was divided as to parties between 203 Conservatives and 286 Liberals from England, 8 Conservatives and 52 liberals from Scotland, and 24 Conservatives, 19 Liberals, and 60 Home-Rulers from Ireland; together, VOL. XXIII.26 A

235 Conservatives, 357 Liberals, and 60 HomeRulers.

The House of Lords is composed of the hereditary nobles of England, new English peers created by royal patent, the English bishops who are peers ex officio, 23 Irish peers elected for life, and 16 Scottish representative peers elected for each succeeding Parliament. No new peerage can be created in Scotland, and in Ireland none until three existing peerages have become extinct; but in England peerages can be created for life or in perpetuity in any number. The House of Peers consisted in 1882 of 516 members, of whom 5 were peers of the blood royal, 2 archbishops, 22 dukes, 19 marquesses, 117 earls, 26 viscounts, 24 bishops, 257 barons, 16 Scottish representative peers, and 28 Irish representative peers. Only 37 of the peerages are older than the seventeenth century, and 315 are not older than the present century, no fewer than 166 having been created during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The Government.-The Prime Minister, W. E. Gladstone, on forming his ministry in 1880, took the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer in addition to his regular duties as First Lord of the Treasury. After the close of the extra session in the autumn of 1882, the Cabinet was reconstituted. Lord Derby entered the Cabinet as Secretary for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley taking Lord Hartington's place in the India Office, and the latter Mr. Childers's place as Secretary of War, while Childers received the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, relinquished by Gladstone. Sir Charles Dilke obtained a seat in the Cabinet as President of the Local Government Board, Mr. Dodson becoming Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Cabinet consisted in 1883 of the following fourteen members:

William Ewart Gladstone, First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Selborne, Lord High Chancellor; Earl Spencer, Lord President of the Council; Baron Carlingford, Lord Privy Seal; Hugh C. E. Childers, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir William Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Home Department; Earl Granville, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Earl of Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies; Early Kimberley, Secretary of State for India; the Marquis of Hartington, Secretary of State for War; Lord Northbrook, First Lord of the Admiralty; Joseph G. Dodson, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; Joseph Chamberlain, President of the Board of Trade; Sir Charles W. Dilke, President of the Local Government Board.

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland is Earl Spencer, who succeeded Earl Cowper May 3, 1882. The Secretary of State for Ireland is G. O. Trevelyan, who has not a seat in the Cabinet, as the Viceroy holds a Cabinet office.

The Committee of the Privy Council for Education has Anthony J. Mundella for vicepresident. A new department of the Govern

Total...... 814,628

2,641,559 5,174,836

26,291 40,321 47,381 87,702

147,540

17,184,896 17,988,080 85,172,976

The increase in England and Wales between 1871 and 1881 was 14:36 per cent., which was higher than in any decennium since 1831-'41; the increase in fifty years was 86.9 per cent. The natural movement of population in the three kingdoms in 1882 was as follows:

UNITED KINGDOM.

England. Scotland Ireland

208,907 888,940 516,783 872,157 26,574 126,182 72,966 58,216 22,058 122,715 88,787 88,978

The natural increment of the population of England is about 1.45 per cent. per annum.

The total number of males returned by the census of 1881 as engaged in some definite occupation was 7,783,646, or 71.5 per cent. of all aged five years and upward; of females, 3,403,918, or 29-4 per cent. The civil service employed 50,245 persons, and the police 32,508. The number of soldiers in England and Wales at the date of the census (including yeomanry and militia) was 87,168, and of men in the Royal Navy (excluding 8,910 pensioners) 20,732. The number in the clerical profession was 35,823, including nearly 24,000 clergy of the Established Church; in the legal profession, 17,386; the medical profession, 22,936; engaged in educational work, 72 per cent., of whom were women, 171,831; actors and actresses, 4,565. The number of photographers increased from 4,715 in 1871 to 6,661 in 1881.

The population of Ireland was divided in respect to religion, according to the census of 1881, as follows: Roman Catholics, 3,960,891; Anglicans, 639,574; Presbyterians, 470,734; Methodists, 48,839; other denominations, 54,268; not determined, 530. The number of adherents to the different creeds in England was estimated in 1871 as follows: Anglicans, 17,781,000; Dissenters, 3,971,000; Roman Catholics, 1,058,000; Israelites, 39,000. In Scotland: Church of Scotland, 1,473,000; Dis

The immigration into the United Kingdom was 78,268 in 1882, 77,105 in 1881, 68,316 in 1880, and 53,973 in 1879.

The emigration from Ireland from 1856 to 1860 was at the average rate of about 100,000 persons a year; in the next five years, from 1860 to 1865, about 140,000 annually; from 1866 to 1870 about 130,000; from 1870 to 1875 about 70,000. In the year 1880 the number was about 93,000; in 1881 about 100,000. Nearly all the emigrants were furnished the means for the voyage to the United States or other points of destination by friends who had preceded them. In all, about £1,500,000 was remitted to Ireland in this way. This emigration did not proceed from the congested districts in the west of Ireland as much as from some other parts of the country.

The population of British cities of over 100,000 inhabitants was returned in 1881 as follows:

The number of municipal boroughs in England and Wales in 1881 was 243, with an aggregate population of 8,412,121, or 32.4 per cent. of the total population of the kingdom. The population of London increased in the decade 1871-'81 17.3 per cent.; that of nineteen other large towns 16.5 per cent.

Postal Savings Banks.-The deposits in the

4,764,312 inhabitants. The Metropolitan District. The Police District contains + The Metropolitan Police District contains 349,648 inhabitants.

The towns of West Ham, Croydon, and Tottenham form part of the London Police District.

Post-Office savings-banks on Dec. 31, 1882, amounted to £39,037,821, an increase of £2,843,326 over the amount of the previous year. In the Irish banks there was an increase of £90,503, which was more than the average increase of ten years. The number of depositors in the postal-banks was 2,858,976.

Education. The act of 1870 provided that there shall be established in every school district public elementary schools with sufficient accommodation for all children whose education is not otherwise provided for. Children whose parents are unable to pay the schoolfees have their expenses defrayed from the local rates. The public schools are under the supervision of district school boards, who, with their other powers, have authority to compel parents to provide for the education of their children between the ages of five and thirteen. The percentage of persons who were unable to sign their names to the marriage register in the five years from 1875 to 1880 was 14.8 among the men and 20 among the women. In 1879 14 per cent. of the men and 20 of the women married signed with marks in England, 9 per cent. of the men and 18 of the women in Scotland, and 31 per cent. of the men and 38 of the women in Ireland. The parliamentary grants to primary schools amounted to only £40,000 in 1840. Since the school act they have been increased from £914,721 in 1870 to £2,749,863 in 1882 and £2,938,930 in 1883. The number of schools inspected in Great Britain was 13,954 in 1873 and 21,136 in 1881. The average attendance increased from 1,783,730 to 3,273,501. In the vote for public education in 1883 allowance was made for 3,245,046 children.

Pauperism and Crime.-The number of paupers, exclusive of vagrants and casual poor, relieved in the poor-law unions and parishes of England and Wales in 1882 was 797,614, against 803,126 in 1881, 837,940 in 1880, 800,426 in 1879, 815,587 in 1875, and 1,079,391 in 1870. The number of able-bodied adult paupers included in the above was 106,280 in 1882, 111,169 in 1881, and 126,228 in 1880. The number of registered paupers and their dependents in Scotland in 1881 was 97,787, against 98,608 in 1880. The number of in-door and out-door paupers in Ireland, and the total, including others in asylums, was, for the five years, 1878-'82, as follows:

der the efforts of scientific prison reformers, has been attended with a gradual diminution of crime. In the ten or fifteen years previous to 1872 the practice of deporting convicts was gradually abandoned in obedience to the wishes of the colonists, who preferred a scarcity of labor to having it supplied by the criminal outcasts of the mother-country. In the five years ending in 1874 the number of sentences to penal servitude in England and Wales averaged 1,622 per annum; in the five years ending in 1879 it was 1,633; in the year 1881 the number was 1,525. As compared with the five years ending 1859, when the population was 20 per cent. less, the convictions in 1881 showed a decrease of almost one half. The number of convictions for short terms showed a corresponding improvement, being 9,266 in 1881, against an average of 9,848 in the five years ending in 1874, and of 12,058 in the five years ending in 1869. The average length of the terms to which convicts were sentenced has increased, and the population of the prisons has remained almost stationary, being 10,221 on March 31, 1882, against 10,160 at the end of 1871. Under the British prison system the convict is kept in solitary confinement, but at hard labor, during the first nine months of his imprisonment. During a second period he sleeps and eats in his cell, but works in company with his fellow-prisoners. At the end of this period, which is of variable duration, he is conditionally released on ticket-of-leave, under police supervision. The dread of the term of isolation, of the spare diet and the severe labor, has a greater deterrent effect than the prison discipline had in the times when it was less inflexible. The system of marks enables a prisoner to shorten his term of imprisonment by one fourth, and to earn money to be paid on his release. The illiterate are taught reading and writing, and trades are taught to those who have none. Of 9,107 prisoners in custody on July 1, 1882, 3,235 learned their trades in prison. The estimated value of convict-labor, exclusive of the portion utilized in the service of the prison, was, for the year ending with March, 1882, £217,274. There are a number of Prisoners' Aid Societies which encourage discharged convicts to lead honest lives. Of 1,582 male prisoners liberated in the year ending March 31, 1882, 954 were assisted by these benevolent societies; of 249 female prisoners, 34 received aid of this kind, and 144 were received in refuges. An important reform in prison management is the separation of prisoners hardened in crime from the rest. This was adopted in 1877-'78, and two years later the idea was further developed by the separation of novices in crime from the body of the prisoners. Cruelty on the part of jailers is not likely to occur, but the persecution of exconvicts by the police under the system of surveillance has sometimes been complained of.

Commerce. The total values of imports and exports in 1882 and the six preceding years