form part of the defensive system, and the English fleet, in conjunction with the Italian navy, will be able to guarantee the coasts and the ports of Italy against a French descent. Colonies. There have been taken recently under the protectorate of the Imperial Government the following territories in Africa: (1) The territory of Togo on the Slave Coast, with the districts of Porto Seguro and Little Popo; (2) the territory of Cameroon, bounded on the north by the right bank of the Rio del Rey and on the south by the Campo river; (3) the territory on the west coast of South Africa, bounded by the left bank of the Counene river on the north, and on the south the Orange river, with the exception of Whale Bay, and extending to territories in the interior acquired by treaty; (4) the territories of the negro chiefs of Usagara, Nguru, Use guha, and Ukami, described in the patent of protection issued on February 27, 1885; (5) the territory of Vitou.

On March 28, 1887, the territory of Victoria, which was under the protectorate of Great Britain, was formally handed over to the German authorities to be thenceforth incorporated in the colony of Cameroon, in accordance with an agreement between the two govern

ments.

In the Pacific ocean the protection of the Emperor has been extended over the Marshall Isles, which have an area of 110 square kilometres and 10,000 inhabitants, and over the regions acquired by the Company of New Guinea. The latter comprise King William's Land, situated on the northeast coast of New Guinea, with an area of 179,250 square kilometres, and 109,000 inhabitants; the Bismarck Archipelago, with 52,200 square kilometres of land surface, and 188,000 inhabitants; and the portion of the Solomon Islands that is situated north of the line of demarkation agreed on between Great Britain and Germany on April 6, 1886, having an area of 22,000 square kilometres, and about 80,000 inhabitants.

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. However objectionable secret societies may be on general principles, the fact of their wide-spread existence is an indisputable proof of their popularity. They are found in all nations and under all conditions of civilization and barbarism, and, after an ineffectual struggle to suppress them, even the most conservative of our universities and colleges have been forced to make the best of them and recognize their influence as one of the elements of social life that must be accepted, and, if possible, converted to good and useful ends. No combination of persons can exist, indeed, without some interior affairs of its own which it is not policy to give to the world at large.

It is not strange, therefore, that when the idea of a society of veteran soldiers was first conceived it should have been deemed wise to organize it with a system of signs, grips, and passwords, which may seem very unnecessary

to outsiders, but have their uses in strengthening the bond that unites its membership.

Springfield, Illinois, was the birthplace of the Grand Army of the Republic, better known by its initials as the G. A. R. During the winter of 1865-'66, a considerable number of soldiers who had served in the armies of the United States were gathered in the vicinity of Springfield, and Dr. B. F. Stephenson, late surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, was so prominent in perfecting the organization that to him belongs the credit of having founded the now powerful, prosperous, and well-organized association that numbers its members by the hundred thousand.

After much discussion among the original projectors, it was decided that the element of secrecy was best adapted to further the objects of the order, and at the first regular meeting a ritual was adopted, with prescribed oaths and ceremonies of initiation, and the association was launched with a purpose that has been most successfully carried out.

The first post was formed in Decatur, Illinois, on the night of April 6, 1866, and the entire staff of compositors of the Decatur "Tribune " being, as it happened, eligible to membership, was mustered in. This enabled the young fraternity to have its printing done with closed doors, and four hundred copies of the ritual were soon printed and bound for distribution. The town was placarded with notices like the following: "G. A. R., Post No. 1, Decatur, April 6, 1866," and in a short time a large proportion of the veterans in the neighborhood had applied for membership. The objects of the order, as publicly announced, were as follow:

First: To preserve and strengthen those kind and fraternal feelings which bind together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion, and to perpetuate the history and memory of the dead.

Second: To assist such former comrades-inarms as need help and protection, and to extend needful aid to the widows and orphans of those who have fallen.

Third: To maintain true allegiance to the United States of America, based upon a paramount respect for and fidelity to the national Constitution and laws; to discountenance whatever tends to weaken loyalty, incites to insurrection, treason, and rebellion, or in any manner impairs the efficiency or permanency of our free institutions; and to encourage the spread of universal liberty, equal rights, and justice to all men.

The organization of Post No. 1, at Springfield, was soon followed by that of Post No. 2 at the same place, and Dr. Stephenson was recognized as Provisional Commander-in-Chief. In the mean time, other associations having the same general end in view, seeing the advantage of united action, dissolved their organizations, and were duly received into the Grand Army of the Republic.

On October 31, 1866, a call was issued for a National Convention, which was held in Indianapolis November 20, with representatives present from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, and the District of Columbia. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Illinois, was elected Commander-in-Chief, with Dr. Stephenson as his Adjutant-General.

The second general meeting, which was the first officially named an "Encampment," met in the council chambers of Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Jan. 15, 1868, and Gen. John A. Logan was chosen Commander-in-Chief. At this time, owing to various dissensions, the order experienced a period of depression. It was charged with being a secret political organization, and, during the two or three years that followed, its membership was largely reduced by resignation, and the loss was hardly balanced by new recruits. The constitution and by-laws were revised and adapted to the requirements of the case, resulting eventually in renewed vitality, and in its establishment on a basis of assured prosperity. Under the present constitution the following named persons are eligible for membership: Soldiers and sailors of the United States army, navy, or marine corps, between April 12, 1861, and April 9. 1865, in the war for the suppression of the rebellion, and those having been honorably discharged therefrom after such service, and of such State regiments as were called into active service and subject to the orders of United States general officers between the dates mentioned, shall be eligible to membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. No person shall be eligible who has at any time borne arms against the United States.

The order has from the first taken a prominent part in the observance of Decoration Day, or, as it is now more appropriately known, Memorial Day. May 30 of each year has been set apart as a national holiday; banks and public offices are closed, and the survivors of the National armies meet at their respective posts and march together to decorate with flowers and appropriate devices the graves of their former comrades. A simple uniform has been adopted similar to that worn in the service, and the occasion is an impressive one in almost every considerable town and village in the Northern United States.

When on duty, or on occasions of state and ceremony, members of the Grand Army "comrades" as they are officially termed wear the badge designated as No. 1 in the illustration. No. 2 is the officers' badge, No. 3 the past or retired officers' badge, and No. 4 the button worn when off duty and in civilian's dress. The cross-bars designate the rank of the wearer according to the insignia of the United States Army, and all the metal-work is of bronze, made from cannon captured during the civil war. The commanders-in-chief of the Grand Army have been as follows, the

dates and places of their election corresponding with the annual encampments as indicated:

1. Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Illinois, Indianapolis, Nov. 20, 1866.

2. John A. Logan, of Illinois, Philadelphia, Jan. 15, 1868; re-elected (3) at Cincinnati, May 12, 1869; and again (4) at Washington, May 11, 1870 (died Dec. 26, 1886).

5. Ambrose E. Burnside, of Rhode Island, Boston, May 10, 1871; re-elected (6) at Cleveland, May 8, 1872 (died Sept. 3, 1881).

7. Charles Devins, Jr., of Massachusetts, New Пlaven, Conn., May 14, 1878; re-elected (8) at Harrisburg, Pa., May 13, 1874.

9. John F. Hartranft, of Pennsylvania, Chicago, May 12, 1875; re-elected (10) at Philadelphia, June 30, 1876.

11. John C. Robinson, of New York, Providence, R. I., June 26, 1877; re-elected (12) at Springfield, Mass., June 4, 1878.

13. William Earnshaw, of Ohio, Albany, N. Y.. June 17, 1879.

14. Louis Wagner, of Pennsylvania, Dayton, O., June 8, 1880.

15. George S. Merrill, of Massachusetts, Indianapolis, June 15, 1881.

16. Paul Vandervoort, of Nebraska, Baltimore, June 21, 1882.

17. Robert B. Beath, of Pennsylvania, Denver, July 25, 1883.

18. John S. Kountz, of Ohio, Minneapolis, July 23, 1884.

19. S. S. Burdette, of Washington, D. C., Portland. Me., June 24, 1885.

An organization so powerful in numbers and influence could not but excite animosities based upon supposed political sympathies, and as early in its history as 1869 it was deemed best at the annual encampment, held that year in Cincinnati, to adopt the following rule:

"No officer or comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic shall in any manner use this organization for partisan purposes, and no discussion of partisan questions shall be permitted at any of its meetings, nor shall any Dominations for political purposes be made." It is one thing to pass such a resolution, and quite another to carry it out in letter and in spirit. In the nature of things it was unavoidable that members should become candidates for office, and that members already holding public office should be prominent in the conduct of Grand Army affairs, but it is believed that in a remarkable degree unseemly partisanship has been avoided, and certainly no formal action has at any time been taken that can fairly be construed as a deliberate violation of the rule cited. Another charge that has been brought against the organization is that it tends to keep alive the bitter memories of the civil war, but such charges have never come from the soldiers of the Confederacy. Indeed, its relations with similar organizations among veterans of the Confederate service have ever been most friendly, and upon several occasions ex-soldiers

of both armies have met and fraternized on the most amicable terms.

The order is constantly active in aiding deserving applicants for pensions, and in exposing unworthy attempts-and they are many to defraud the Government through unjust claims. During the year more than $253,000 have been officially expended in the relief of families of deceased and dependent soldiers, and probably an equal amount has been contributed by members in a private way calling for no official record. During the sixteen years from 1871 to 1886, the sum of $1,173,688.60 has been disbursed for charitable purposes. These large sums have been distributed directly to those whose needs were personally known to the donors, and it is probable that very little has gone to unworthy pensioners. Twice within a few years, during the yellow-fever epidemic in the Mississippi Valley and immediately after the Charleston earthquake, it was deemed proper to issue a general call for aid to sufferers, a large majority of whom must have been on the side of the re

bellion during the civil war. In both instances the order has promptly and generously responded with pecuniary assistance. The latest accessible figures place the total present membership at 372,674, and the number of recruits during 1887 numbered about 47,000. The order is in fact a supplementary pension bureau. That it should take an active part in making known its sentiments in regard to the Government bureau, is to be expected. Its members are now too far advanced in life ever again to bear arms in defense of the republic, but their influence is still potent for loyalty and good government. (Sec LOYAL LEGION and MEDAL OF HONOR.)

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, a monarchy in western Europe. The supreme legislative power is exercised by Parliament. Parliaments hold their sessions annually, meeting about the middle of February. The session is usually closed by prorogation about the middle of August. Parliament is divided into two houses. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary peers; peers created by the sovereign, English bishops, who have seats ex officio, Irish peers, who are elected for life, and Scottish representative peers, who are chosen anew for each Parliament. In 1886 the House of Lords consisted of 549 members, of whom 5 were peers of the blood royal, 2 archbishops, 22 dukes, 20 marquises. 118 earls, 29 viscounts, 24 bishops, 285 barons, 16 Scottish peers, and 28 Irish representative peers. There are 20 Scotch and 65 Irish peers who have no seats in the House of Lords. The House of Commons consists of 670 members, of whom 283 represent county constituencies; 360. boroughs; and 9, universities. For England there are 253 county. 237 borough, and 5 university members; in Scotland, 39 county, 31 borough, and 2 university members; in Ireland, 85 county, 16 borough, and 2 university members.

The elections of 1886 resulted in the return to Parliament of 318 Conservatives, 73 Liberal Unionists, 194 Gladstonian Liberals, and 85 Irish Home Rulers, giving a normal majority to the Conservative government, which was formed in opposition to Mr. Gladstone's scheme of home rule for Ireland, of 112 in a house of 670 members. The metropolis sent 48 Conservatives, 11 Gladstonians, and 3 Liberal Unionists; the rest of England elected 237 Conservatives, 116 Gladstonian Liberals, 49 Liberal Unionists, and 1 Irish Home Ruler, who was returned for one of the divisions of the city of Liverpool; Wales returned 4 Conservatives, 24 Gladstonians, and 2 Liberal Unionists; Scotland returned 12 Conservatives, 43 Gladstonians, and 17 Union Liberals; and in Ireland 17 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Unionists, and 84 Home Rulers were elected. Of the 285 Conservatives elected in England the boroughs returned 98, besides the 48 London members, the county districts 135, and the universities 4. Of the Welsh Conservatives 3 represent boroughs and 1 a county constituency. In Scotland 1 borough, 9 county districts, and both the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are represented by Conservatives. In Ireland the universities, 4 boroughs, and 11 county constituencies sent Conservative members to Parliament. Liberal Unionists were elected by 2 of the districts of London, 16 other boroughs, 33 county districts, and 1 university; by 1 borough and 1 county constituency in Wales; by 8 boroughs and 9 county districts in Scotland; and by 2 county divisions in Ireland. Gladstonian Liberals were returned from 11 of the divisions of the metropolis, 50 other borough constituencies, and 66 county constituencies in England; from 7 boroughs and 17 county districts in Wales; and from 22 boroughs and 21 county districts in Scotland. The Irish members were returned from 12 Irish boroughs, 1 English borough, and 72 Irish county districts.

The representation act of 1884, with the redistribution act of 1885, increased the number of voters from 3,152,919 to 5,707,531. The number of county electors was increased in England from 966,719 to 2,536,580; in Scotland, from 99,652 to 325,529; in Ireland, from 165,997 to 631,649. The number entitled to the borough franchise was increased in England from 1,651,732 to 1,840,044; in Scotland, from 210,789 to 235,051; in Ireland, from 58,021 to 106,109. The 32,569 electors who choose the 9 university representatives under the act of 1885 were formerly included in the borough electors. The total number of voters was increased in England from 2,618,451 to 4,391,260; in Scotland, from 310,441 to 574,358; and in Ireland, from 224,018 to 741,913. An act passed in 1872, requiring parliamentary elections to be by secret vote and by ballot expired in 1880, but has since been continued from year to year. The Parliament which was opened in August, 1886, is the 24th of