Chapter C: S. Hopper

_Answer._—This is a very interesting question, or series of questions, but the full answer would fill a volume. The coast of the State of Michigan alone is gemmed with no fewer than 179 islands of all sizes, from Isle Royale, which forms an entire county of more than fifty miles in length by ten in breadth, to islets of less than an acre in surface. Their total area aggregates 404,730 acres. In “Rand & McNally’s Atlas of the World” all the islands of noticeable magnitude are laid down, and by this authority it appears that Maine has 40 such islands; Massachusetts, 39; Rhode Island, 24; Connecticut, 9; New York, 22; New Jersey, 2; Delaware, 6; Maryland, 16; Virginia, 7; North Carolina, 10; South Carolina, 10; Georgia, 11; Florida, 79; Alabama, 4; Mississippi, 7: Louisiana, 24; Texas, 8; Ohio, 13; Michigan, 179; Wisconsin, 31, California, 14; Washington Territory, 26. Alaska Territory embraces more than 200 islands, many of which are of great value as fishing stations. There are hundreds of petty islets not located except in the charts of the United States Coast Survey. Many of them, like the islands in the Western rivers, are not known by names but only by numbers. But a small number of the more important islands in the above list are inhabited; less than 100 in all. The soil is of all varieties, from the fertile fields of Port Royal, Hilton Head, and Edisto, South Carolina, the home of the famous “sea island cotton,” and the rich dark loam of Long Island, New York, to the bleak rocks and barren sands of Mt. Desert, and the arid isles on the coast of California.

PRE-EMPTION CLAIM QUERIES.

ST. LAWRENCE, Dak.

1. What is necessary to constitute “continuous residence” on a
pre-emption claim? 2. What more does the law require of a single
man to “prove up” than of the head or a family?

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—1. The courts have repeatedly decided that “the sufficiency of residence and improvement is a question of fact to be decided from the circumstances of each case.” In the case of _Copley_ versus _Rell_ it was ruled that “where, from the nature of the land entered under the pre-emption law, it would appear that the claimant has selected it for speculative purposes rather than for purposes of improvement and cultivation, the evidences of good faith and _occupation_ should be of the most satisfactory character.” And again, in the case of _Porter_ versus _Johnson_, it was held that what constitutes residence within the meaning of the law “is simply a question of good faith, and each case must be considered upon its own merits.” In the case of _Boyse_ versus _Goss_, it was held that “the statute requires inhabitancy on the land pre-empted and this means actual residence or a home.” In case of _Southern Pacific Railroad_ versus _Newton_, it was held that “occupation and use of land for purposes other than cultivation, etc., do not constitute a pre-emption claim.” While the above rulings distinctly reveal the intent of the government to exact all that is essential to actual settlement and the maintenance of a home upon the land, there are other rulings which indicate that the law will be construed liberally so long as the above essentials are preserved. For example, it has been decided that “a party while having an actual residence on his claims, may work elsewhere for other people a few weeks at a time.” Again, “where a party is very poor, a dug-out in the side of a hill or a sod-house is a satisfactory residence, and four pre-emptors may combine to erect and occupy a house on the corner common to their claims, provided each pre-emptor resides in his own part of the house. Should one of them be unmarried he may board in the family of a married pre-emptor.” 2. The law makes no difference between married and unmarried pre-emptors. In construing it, as regards what constitutes residence, the last ruling above quoted indicates that the government is disposed to make some allowance for the unfortunate circumstances of a young man who has not found any girl willing to share his dug-out sod-house or tepee and cook his corn-dodgers and potatoes for the privileges of wifehood, including a dower interest in the estate. Married and unmarried pre-emptors must each make a final affidavit, declaring that they have complied with the law in every particular, are not disqualified by owning 320 acres of land elsewhere in any State or Territory of the United States, or by other reasons specified, and must file pre-emptor’s proofs in the form of sworn answers to questions furnished them on printed blanks, which must be accompanied by sworn testimony of two witnesses, taken separately, in the form of answers to questions stated in another set of printed blanks prepared by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, all designed to attest that the law as to continuous residence, cultivation, etc., has been complied with in good faith.

A FATAL FEINT.

PRINCETON, Ill.

Who was the young man who when walking on the brink of Niagara
River, some years ago, in company with his intended bride and her
little sister, accidentally tossed the latter into the rapids, and
perished in the effort to save her? What was the child’s name, and
how did it all happen?

JAMES.

_Answer._—It is related of a Mr. Addington, a son of Judge Addington, of Buffalo, that when standing on Luna Island, just above the Falls of Niagara, with a Miss De Forrest and her little sister, he seized the latter playfully, and, holding her over the brink, threatened to toss her into the river. The child, in a spasm of terror, sprang from his arms and fell into the edge of the fatal current. Instantly young Addington bounded after her, succeeded in seizing her, and caught a frail bush for support. Had this held they might both have been saved, but it gave way, and man and child were carried over the falls. The common traditions represent that Mr. Addington and Miss De Forrest, who was a very lovely young lady, were engaged to be married, and that in consequence of the terrible fate of her lover and sister she became insane. This was in 1844, or thereabouts.

TARANTULAS.

KINGMAN, Kan.

To settle a dispute, please give a description of the tarantula,
and tell where it is found.

A READER.

_Answer._—There are several varieties of tarantulas. The one from which they all take this name, the “lycosa tarantula,” is the largest of European spiders, named from Taranto, Italy, where they are very numerous. Its body is from one and a half to two inches long, ashy brown above, thorax marked with gray and abdomen with three-cornered spots and curved streaks bordered with white, with a patch of saffron-color below all, crossed by a black band. It has one spiracle, or breathing aperture, on each side, one pulmonary sac, and eight eyes. It does not spin a web to snare its prey, but captures it by running it down, and it lives in holes lined with a silk-like substance. Its bite is no more severe than that of some kinds of wasps, and is certainly not nearly so dangerous to life as it is fabled to be. The notion that its bite produced a sort of delirium and was curable only by dancing to lively music until the sufferer fell from sheer exhaustion was a superstition. For a good illustration of this ugly insect see the cut accompanying the word “tarantula” in Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary.

There is a variety of tarantula in our Southern States, called “lycosa Carolinensis” by naturalists, which is even larger than its European namesake, being about two inches long, and having legs spreading at least four inches. It has whitish legs, white sides, whitish dots and lines on the belly, and is of a mouse color on top and black or dark colored underneath. Like the Italian tarantula, it spins no web, takes its prey by pursuit, and lives in holes lined with a sort of silk. It is peculiar in carrying its young on its back, and it seldom bites.

There are certain spiders of the genus mygale in the Southwestern States, which are sometimes improperly called tarantulas.

PERRY’S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE.

EVANSTON, Ill.

Can you give us the old American naval song of 1812, in which
perry, pear cider, is made to pun with the name of Perry, the hero
of Lake Erie.

A READER.

_Answer._—A correspondent, the Rev. W. P. Jones, of Mt. Morris, Ill., a boy at the time of that victory, recalls so much of the song as is given below. It must be remembered that Captain Barclay commanded the British squadron and General Proctor the British land forces in Canada.

Bold Barclay one day
To Proctor did say,
“I’m tired of Jamaica and sherry;
Come, let us go down
To this new floating town,
And get some American Perry.”

Finding that the liquor flowed more freely than it was wanted, and was too hot to suit his taste, he cries out, in the last stanza, in his vain attempt to fly:

“Your liquor’s too hot;
Keep it still in the pot!
Oh, cork your American Perry!”

But there was no such thing as corking Perry until he had captured the entire British squadron, consisting of two ships, two schooners, a brig, and a sloop, with all on board, including forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded.

THE TWO U. S. CONSTITUTIONS.

BELMONT, Iowa.

Please point out the difference between the first Constitution of
the United States, under which the Revolutionary war was fought,
and the present Constitution.

O. T. K.

_Answer._—The Articles of Confederation conferred upon Congress none but delegated powers and recognized the absolute sovereignty of the States. Aside from the right to make war and peace, regulate foreign intercourse, receive and send embassadors, control the coinage of money, and settle disputed boundaries, Congress had no power to act without the consent of nine of the States, each casting one ballot. It could not levy taxes, and before 1787 the war debt had destroyed the financial reputation of the United States abroad. The States were divided in their interests, and at the last Colonial Congress but eight of the States sent delegates. Not the least of the weaknesses of the confederation was the non-provision for a chief magistrate, or for a national judiciary. To meet these needs it was found necessary to frame a new constitution, systematically organizing a permanent form of government. This document arranges the powers of government under three heads—legislative, executive, and judicial—and places the supreme power in the people of the whole country, instead of vainly endeavoring to maintain a multitude of independent States. It replaced a disjointed confederacy of jealous States with a Nation.

CHAPLAINS IN ARMY AND NAVY.

GIBSON, Ill.

How old must a man be to be ineligible to the office of chaplain in
the United States navy? How old to be ineligible to a chaplaincy in
the army? How many chaplaincies are there in the army and navy and
what is the rank and pay?

CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—A chaplain in the navy cannot be less than 21 nor more than 35 years of age at the time of his appointment. Limits of age of new appointees in the army are not specified in the statute. The President may retire a chaplain unconditionally after forty years’ service, or after he is 62 years of age. The President is authorized, by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint thirty post chaplains and a chaplain for each of the cavalry and two infantry regiments of colored troops in the army, and not to exceed twenty-four chaplains in the navy. The rank and pay of chaplains in the navy are stated on page 88 of Curiosity Shop for 1882. Chaplains in the army have the rank of captain of infantry, without command, and are on the same footing with other officers of the army as to terms of office, retirement, and pensions. The pay of an army chaplain is $1,500 a year for the first five years’ service, $1,650 for the next five years, $1,800 for the next five, $1,950 for the next five, and $2,100 after twenty years’ service. It should be borne in mind that the duty of chaplains of colored troops and of post chaplains includes instruction of the enlisted men in the common English branches of education.

POSTAL-LAW QUERIES.

NEPONSET, Ill.

1. When were the salaries of postmasters changed from a percentage
on stamps sold to a percentage on stamps canceled? 2. What is the
postage on newspapers to Great Britain? 3. Can a supplement be sent
without extra charge?

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—1. Under the postal law approved Jan. 23, 1874, the compensation of postmasters of the first, second, and third classes consisted of annual salaries, assigned in even hundreds of dollars, to be ascertained and fixed by the Postmaster General from their respective quarterly returns for four quarters immediately preceding the adjustment or readjustment, by adding to the whole amount of box rents, not exceeding $2,000 per annum, commissions, also not to exceed $2,000 per annum, on the postal revenues of the office. All postmasters whose salaries, computed by this law, did not amount to $1,000, constituted a fourth class, whose compensation was the box rents collected at their offices and commissions on other postal revenues of their offices at the rate of 60 per cent on the first $100 or less per quarter, 50 per cent on the next $300 or less, and 40 per cent on the excess above $400 per quarter. To swell the revenues of their offices, postmasters of the fourth-class, and some of those of the third and second-classes, went into the large cities and sold stamps to mercantile firms and other heavy dealers, in some cases even sharing commissions with them. This abuse led to a revision of the law in the act of June 17, 1878, so that commissions should be allowed only “on stamps canceled as postages on matter actually mailed” at the offices in question. 2. The postage on newspapers to Great Britain and most of her colonies, the world over, is 1 cent for every two ounces or fraction thereof. Better inquire at postoffice for postal rates, or consult the United States Postal Guide, which can be seen at every postoffice. 3. That depends on the weight.

FARM AREAS AND VALUES.

ORD, Neb.

Oblige some of your readers by giving the cultivated area of the
United States; the number and value of farms, farm implements,
stock, etc. Also specify the States and Territories having over
500,000 acres each under cultivation.

HENRY P. MAIDEN.

_Answer._—The total number of improved acres in the United States, according to the census of 1880, was 284,771,042, embraced in 4,008,907 farms. The value of farms, including lands, fences, and buildings, was $10,197,096,776; value of live stock, $1,500,464,609; cost of building and repairing fences, $77,763,473; cost of fertilizers purchased, $28,586,397. Estimated value of all farm productions (sold, consumed, or on hand), $2,213,402,564.

The following States and Territories had each more than 500,000 acres under cultivation;

Alabama 6,375,706
Arkansas 3,595,603
California 10,669,698
Colorado 616,169
Connecticut 1,642,188
Dakota 1,150,413
Delaware 746,958
Florida 947,640
Georgia 8,204,720
Illinois 26,115,154
Indiana 13,933,738
Iowa 19,866,541
Kansas 10,739,566
Kentucky 10,731,683
Louisiana 2,739,972
Maine 3,484,908
Maryland 3,342,700
Mass’ch’setts 2,128,311
Michigan 8,296,862
Minnesota 7,246,693
Mississippi 5,216,937
Missouri 16,745,031
Nebraska 5,504,702
N. Hampshire 2,308,112
New Jersey 2,096,297
New York 17,717,862
N. Carolina 6,481,151
Ohio 18,081,091
Oregon 2,198,645
Pennsylvan’a 13,423,007
S. Carolina 4,132,000
Tennessee 8,496,556
Texas 12,650,314
Vermont 3,286,461
Virginia 8,510,113
W. Virginia 3,792,327
Wisconsin 9,162,528

Illinois leads the column with nearly double the cultivated area of the Keystone State; Iowa comes next, and Ohio, New York, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas, in the order here given, come trudging after. The next census will make marked changes in the above list.

THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH.

BLUFFDALE, Ill.—Some one asks in Our Curiosity Shop as to the origin of the saying, “All things are lovely, and the goose hangs high.” This is it: In the autumn, during the warm, hazy days of Indian summer the wild geese fly very high, so high that they cannot be seen, but their cry, which is a “haunk,” is plainly heard. Therefore it was, and is, a saying in the West, “All things are lovely, and the goose ‘haunks’ high,” a sure indication of continued fine weather. It is not “the goose hangs high,” which is a corruption of language, and is, moreover, nonsense.

S. G. R.

ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

SHERWOOD, Wis.

Mention all the attempts made to explore the arctic regions, and
tell where we can find a full account of these expeditions.

WILLIAM R. BISHOP.

_Answer._—No one work contains a full account of all the toils and sufferings, the thrilling scenes and exciting experiences of arctic exploration. The books and charts on this subject would make a good-sized library. As respects the northeast passage, they include narratives of the expeditions of Willoughby and Chancellor (English, 1553), Burroughs (English, 1556), Pet and Jackman (English, 1580), William Barentz (Dutch, 1594-96), Henry Hudson (English, 1608, and Dutch, 1609), Wood (Dutch, 1676). Behring (Russian, 1741), Shalaroff (Russian), who with his crew perished of starvation, Wiggans (English, 1784), Billings (Russian, 1787), and finally, Professor Adolf Eric Nordenskjold (Swedish), who, after two other expeditions (severally in 1875 and 1876), in 1878-9 succeeded in sailing from the North Atlantic eastward, through the Arctic Ocean and Behring Straits, into the Pacific, thus triumphantly completing the discovery of the “northeast passage.”

The search for the “northwest passage” has engaged nearly two hundred and fifty expeditions, of various nationalities. It would be useless to enumerate them all. The first attempts were made by Sebastian Cabot (English, 1498), and Martin Frobisher (English, 1576); Captain John Davis, after whom Davis’ Strait is named (English, 1585-88); Henry Hudson, after whom Hudson’s Bay is named (English, 1610); Button (English, 1615), and Bylot and Baffin, after the latter of whom Baffin’s Bay takes its name (English, 1615-16). Little more in the way of discovery in this direction was realized, although occasional attempts were made by Jens Munk, a Danish navigator, Fox, James, and others, until 1818, when Ross and Parry, under direction and support of the British Admiralty, entered upon a series of expeditions extending over more than a decade, by which a large addition was made to the knowledge of the geography of this region as far west as long 110 deg west, in Melville Sound, and north to latitude 82 deg. 45 min., and the magnetic pole was discovered. Dease, Simpson, Dr. John Rae, and other explorers followed. Then in 1845, came the memorable expedition of Sir John Franklin, whose party perished to the last man, but not until they had left records, since recovered, of discoveries showing that Sir John, had he been spared to return, was prepared to claim the honor of discovering the northwest passage. But as these records were not discovered by McClintock’s expedition (English) until 1859, and McClure (English), who went out via Behring’s Straits in search of Franklin in 1850, returned in 1852, after having brought his ship to Melville Island and his ship’s crew through from Behring’s Straits to Baffin’s Bay, had already received the award for the discovery of this long-sought passage. Besides the above, which are only the principal British expeditions, there are the American ones, under Dr. De Haven, 1850; Dr. Kane, 1853; Dr. Hayes, 1861; and Captain Hall, 1860, 1864, and 1870, full of interest, and resulting in important geographical and scientific discoveries; the Austrian Arctic Expedition of 1872-74, resulting in the discovery of Franz Joseph Land; the British Expedition, under Captain Nares, 1875-76; the Jeannette Expedition of 1879-80, which resulted in the melancholy death of Captain De Long and so many of his companions by starvation. Written and illustrated accounts of nearly all the above explorations have been published, and many of them can be found in the catalogues of the leading American publishing houses.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio.

When was the Declaration of Independence first proposed, and when
was it finally adopted? Give the hour in the day as nearly as you
can, the order of proceedings, and the scenes that followed.

GEORGE M. HOFFMAN.

_Answer._—That enthusiastic little rebel, Rhode Island, was the first of the colonies to declare itself “free from all dependence on the crown of Great Britain.” This she did on May 4, 1776. The Assembly of Virginia in the same month instructed her delegates to the Continental Congress to present to that body a proposition “affirming the independence of the colonies from Great Britain.” In compliance with these instructions Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, on June 7, 1776, introduced his famous resolutions: “That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies for their consideration and approbation.” John Adams seconded these resolutions, and an animated discussion ensued. On June 8 a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to draw up a declaration of independence embodying the sense of Lee’s resolutions. On July 2 Lee’s resolutions were passed by the vote of twelve of the thirteen colonies, the New York delegates refraining from voting for want of instructions from their province. On July 3 the formal declaration, almost precisely as written by Thomas Jefferson, was presented by the committee above named, and was debated with great spirit, John Adams being the chief speaker on the part of the committee. The discussion was resumed on the morning of the 4th, and at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, after one or two slight modifications, it was adopted. The announcement was hailed with the liveliest enthusiasm. “Ring! ring!” shouted the lad stationed below to give the signal to the old bellman in the State House tower; and he did ring until the whole city shouted for joy. The King’s arms were wrenched from the Court House and burned in the streets; bonfires were lighted, the city illuminated, and the exultation was prolonged far into the night. In New York City the populace hurled the leaden statue of George III. from its pedestal and molded it into bullets, and in all the great cities similar demonstrations of enthusiasm were exhibited. Washington had the declaration read at the head of every brigade of the army, and the soldiers pledged fealty to the cause of independence.

INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT.

JOLIET, Ill.

Who invented the life-boat, and when did he do it?

JAMES.

_Answer._—It is not easy to determine this question. Many writers give the credit to Mr. Henry Greathead, of Shields, Eng.; others give it to Lionel Lukin, a coach-builder, of London; others to William Wouldhave, parish clerk of St. Hilda’s Church, South Shields, Eng. Now that the Royal National Life-boat Institution of Great Britain alone has 271 life-boats in its service, and more than 900 lives annually, on the average, are saved, mainly by these boats, when the life-saving institutions of other countries are using them with most gratifying results, it is not strange that the honor of this invention is zealously contested. The facts seem to be these: The first patent for a life-boat was granted in England, in 1785, to Lionel Lukin. It was not satisfactory for several reasons, but was improved by Admiral Graves, of the Royal Navy, and Henry Greathead, a boatbuilder of Shields. This was improved by George Palmer, a member of the National Life-boat Institution, and remained the favorite boat in the service until 1851, when in response to the offer by the Duke of Northumberland of a prize of 100 guineas, about 100 models of improved life-boats were exhibited, and the prize was awarded to Mr. James Beeching, of Yarmouth. This boat, improved by Mr. R. Peake, of the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, was adopted by the National Life-boat Institution, and is still its favorite model. Undoubtedly Greathead has received more credit for this invention than any one else. He received the gold medals of the Society of Arts and the Royal Humane Society. He received £1,200 from Parliament in 1802, and a purse of 100 guineas from Lloyd’s. He obtained patents and honorable awards in foreign countries and made large sums by furnishing boats for life-saving service for Great Britain and other lands. Nevertheless, the honor of inventing the self-righting life-boat is strenuously claimed for William Wouldhave, particularly by his fellow-townsmen and parishioners of South Shields. The story is that soon after a wreck, accompanied with a terrible loss of life, which occurred at Tynemouth in September, 1789, Mr. Wouldhave noticed a wooden dish floating on the surface of a well, which, on being accidentally struck by his finger, when he was assisting a woman to raise a skeel of water, turned bottom upward, and instantly righted itself again. Capsizing it again several times, he noted that it always righted itself. He discovered the self-righting principle then and there, and soon after made a model life-boat of tin, which he offered to exhibit to the ship-owners and mariners of South Shields as a suitable boat for rescuing persons from wrecks. The affair was greatly talked about, and a committee consisting of gentlemen connected with the merchant marine was appointed to test the model and any others that might be offered for inspection. Greathead, the boatbuilder above mentioned, exhibited a model at this time, and upon testing the merits of the boats Wouldhave’s proved to be self-righting and unsinkable by any water it might ship. Greathead’s model failed in these respects, though in others it was pronounced a good sea-boat. Mr. Greathead, however, was what Mr. Wouldhave was not, a shrewd business man. He made improvements in his model, adopting some of the features of Lukin’s patent above mentioned and some of Wouldhave’s, and it was not long before he had introduced it into actual service, not only in Great Britain, but elsewhere. Hence his name has become famous as the inventor of the life-boat, while Wouldhave’s name was known to few but his townsmen as the actual and original inventor. The first model made by Wouldhave is now in the Free Library Museum at South Shields. His tombstone, in St. Hilda’s Church-yard, bears a life-boat carved on it, and above the gaselier in the church a model life-boat is suspended in memory of him.

“BULLS” AND “BEARS.”

JONESBORO, Ark.

Explain how “bulls” and “bears” operate to affect the prices of
stocks and provisions.

S. W. MOREHEAD.

_Answer._—The means used to “bull” and “bear,” or raise and depress, the prices of stocks, grain, provisions, etc., are innumerable, varying with the needs of the times, but influenced much more by the combinations of capitalists and brokers. The “bulls” magnify every circumstance favorable to the appreciation of the stocks they hold or have agreed to take at a given time, while those who have contracted to deliver such stocks, or who for any reason wish to buy, do all in their power to depreciate them, and are therefore nicknamed “bears.” Any one who has ever witnessed a bull and bear fight will not question the appropriateness of these terms as applied to the combatants in the exciting wars among the kings of the stock board. The bulls struggle to toss the stocks higher; the bears squeeze and tug to force the prices down. The former resort to all kinds of expedients to induce small holders to cling fast to their stocks instead of putting them on the market. They persuade them by direct appeals, or by circulating encouraging reports, that these stocks are bound to rise rapidly in value; and they often combine to buy up the stock of the few who persist in selling, so as to “corner” the market. Not content with fair means, they sometimes enter into combinations with one another, and employ third parties to buy and sell stocks of the same description on ’Change, in such a way as to create the impression that there is a greater demand for them than there really is, when in fact the sales are never consummated, or merely amount to an exchange among themselves. Often, when neither the foreign nor home news was favorable to their purposes, false reports have been telegraphed through the country by interested parties, to affect the stock board. Similar methods are pursued on boards of trade.

ORIGIN OF POSTOFFICES.

WAUKESHA, Wis.

What country first established a postal system for transmitting the
mail? When was postal communication established in America? Give us
a few facts on this subject.

J. J. S.

_Answer._—Couriers for carrying royal or government dispatches are mentioned in histories of the earliest times. Royal posts existed in Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The name postoffice originated in the posts, or stations, at intervals along the roads of the Roman Empire, where couriers were kept in readiness to start on the instant. But such posts were not used for transmitting private letters. The first postal system for commercial and private correspondence appears to have been established between the Hanse Towns early in the thirteenth century. In the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I., of Germany, letter posts were established by the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, connecting the chief cities of Austria and Lombardy, and later, 1516, the same princes connected Vienna and Brussels in the same way. Maximilian’s successor, Charles V., encouraged still further extension of this private postal system by repeated enfeoffments or special franchises, until all the great commercial centers of his vast empire, from Vienna to Madrid, from the Adriatic to the North Sea, and intervening places, were brought into regular postal communication. Far back in the twelfth century the University of Paris, whose students, gathered from all civilized nations, numbered not long after this over 25,000, employed foot-runners to carry letters for its members to all parts of Europe. But not until 1524 was permission granted to the royal French posts to carry other letters than those for the government and the nobility. London merchants established a postal communication of their own with France and other continental countries as early as the fifteenth century, and it is evident that, although the royal post of England established in the thirteenth century was intended and long restricted to the transmission of government dispatches only, it had gradually become a vehicle for private correspondence. In 1581 Thomas Randolph was appointed the “Chief Postmaster” for England, with authority to establish and supervise post-houses and regulate the fees charged by postmen, but apparently without authority to receive and handle mail matter, which was left largely to the discretion of the postmen themselves. Not until the time of James I. of England was a postmaster for foreign parts appointed, and steps taken by the government to establish regular running posts, going day and night, for the transmission of letters for the general public. In 1635 such a mail was established to run weekly between London and Edinburgh, and soon eight other lines were instituted.

In this country, Massachusetts provided by legislation for the postal system as early as 1639, and Virginia in 1657. A monthly post between Boston and New York was instituted in 1672. In the beginning, letters arriving in this country from beyond the seas were delivered on board the ship. Letters not called for were left by the captain at a coffee-house near the wharf, where they were spread on a table or shelf, awaiting call. Persons calling not only took charge of their own letters, but of those of acquaintances in their neighborhood, either delivering them in person or leaving them at the minister’s or some magistrate’s office to be inquired for, or announced in church. These coffee-houses gradually grew into common use for letters between cities and the interiors, until regular posts were instituted. One of the first acts of the Continental Congress was the establishment of a general postoffice department, and the appointment of Benjamin Franklin, who had enjoyed large experience in the British colonial postal service, as the first Postmaster General.

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF FRANCE.

HAMILTON, N. M.

What is the financial condition of France as compared with other
European countries? Is she prepared to cope with Great Britain in
case of a war between them?

E. L. EASDALE.

_Answer._—France is carrying a larger national debt than any other nation. It amounted at the close of the fiscal year 1882 to $4,683,840,000—nearly a billion dollars more than that of Great Britain. Besides this, like our own States and minor political divisions, the departments and municipalities of France are carrying local debts amounting in the aggregate to an immense sum. The debt of Paris in September, 1880, was 2,295,000,000 francs, or about $450,000,000. The national debt is well distributed among the people, there being in 1881 as many as 4,617,900 holders, receiving 851,909,901 francs annually for interest. So long as this interest, or “rente,” is paid promptly these holders are, for the most part, content with the government; but should the latter plunge the country into a costly war, rendering it necessary to suspend payment of the interest, and jeopardizing resumption of such payments, a popular revolution would in all probability ensue. This enormous national debt will indisputably prove a source of weakness to the government and the nation In the event of a foreign war. The imperial debt of Germany in 1882 was only $120,197,528. Add to this the debt proper of Prussia, $493,821,812, and that of the other constituent states of the empire, $735,608,892, and the total was $1,349,728,232. The imperial debt of Austro-Hungary the same year was $1,107,978,118, which, added to the Austrian debt proper, $176,914,016, and the Hungarian debt proper, $400,532,142, made a total of $1,685,424,276. The public debt of Italy in 1882 was $2,042,000,000; of Spain, $1,826,613,093; of Great Britain, $3,814,500,000; of Russia, $4,314,607,500; of the United States, $1,918,312,294.

Undoubtedly the industrial condition of France is better than that of any other European country, except Great Britain, Belgium, and Holland. The French people have been accumulating wealth at a remarkable rate since the Franco-German war, and in this respect France is stronger than her great continental neighbors.

The following table, compiled from Mulhall’s “Balance Sheet of the World,” shows the estimated capital or wealth of a few of the principal nations of Europe in 1880:

Nations— Total wealth.

Great Britain $44,800,000,000
France 37,085,000,000
Germany 30,375,000,000
Russia 17,700,000,000
Austria 15,250,000,000
Italy 9,300,000,000
Spain 6,865,000,000
Holland 5,650,000,000

The next table gives the per capita, or rate of wealth for each inhabitant, less the per capita of the public debt:

Per capita of
Nations— wealth.

Great Britain $1,185
France 900
Germany 650
Russia 180
Austria 335
Italy 235
Spain 255
Holland 1,310

So much for the financial condition of France. As regards her ability to cope with England in the event of war, it is largely a matter of opinion. One hazards little in predicting that, if her people stand united, France is almost impregnable at home to any assault from Great Britain. So is the latter against any attack from the former, except in Ireland. On the sea England’s navy is far more than a match for that of France, whom she would easily strip of all her colonial possessions; but France, with a few Alabamas, could quite as easily drive Great Britain’s merchant marine from the high seas, and injure her commerce even more than the Confederates did ours during the recent rebellion.

BAROMETRICAL QUERIES.

WILBER, Kan.

1. What causes the mercury to sink in a barometer before a
storm? 2. How do persons foretell the state of the weather from
the movements of the barometer? 3. How far ahead can storms be
predicted?

F. J. ELLIOTT.

_Answer._—The sinking of the mercury in the tube of a barometer is due to the lightness of the atmosphere, which is indicative, in most cases, of humidity, or aqueous vapor, in the air. The construction of a mercurial barometer may be stated in a few words. A glass tube, about 33 inches in length, open at one end, is filled with mercury, and while the unsealed end is covered, is inverted in a basin of mercury. As soon as the cover is removed the mercury in the tube will flow out until it stands about thirty inches above the mercury in the basin. At that point the pressure of the air upon the liquid in the basin is equal to the pressure of the liquid in the tube (the space in the upper part of the tube being a vacuum) and the flow ceases. When the air becomes heavier its pressure upon the basin will be greater and force the mercury in the tube higher; if the air becomes lighter the mercury in the tube will sink. The barometer therefore shows directly only the weight of the atmosphere, but thereby indirectly the future state of the weather is indicated. 2. This is explained in “Our Curiosity Shop” for 1881, pages 144-5. 3. How far ahead the changes of weather can be predicted depends upon so many other considerations besides that of the mere weight of the atmosphere, varying in different seasons of the year and different localities, that no answer suited to all can be given. In some instances storms have been predicted from observations of the barometer alone as much as thirty-six to forty hours before their arrival. The United States Signal Service bases its weather predictions not only on barometric phenomena, but on telegraphic reports from a multitude of stations of the temperature, humidity, clouds, direction, force and rate of motion of the winds, etc. In some cases it has given notice of storms starting in the Rocky Mountains and traveling eastward sixty hours before their arrival on the Atlantic seaboard.

EXEMPTIONS OF PRE-EMPTIONS AND HOMESTEADS.

PLANKINGTON, D. T.

Can a judgment rendered in Iowa eight or ten years ago attach to
a pre-emption after the latter is proved and title taken from the
government?