VOLUME VI SLICE II Chicago, University of to Chiton (continued 4)

The organization of the revolutionary forces went on slowly. Much difficulty was experienced in obtaining the necessary arms and ammunition. A supply of rifles was bought in the United States, and embarked on board the “Itata,” a Chilean vessel in the service of the rebels. The United States authorities refused to allow this steamer to leave San Diego, and a guard was stationed on the ship. The “Itata,” however, slipped away and made for the Chilean coast, carrying with her the representatives of the United States. A fast cruiser was immediately sent in pursuit, but only succeeded in overhauling the rebel ship after she was at her destination. The “Itata” was then forced to return to San Diego without landing her cargo for the insurgents. The necessary arms and ammunition were arranged for in Europe; they were shipped in a British vessel, and transferred to a Chilean steamer at Fortune Bay, in Tierra del Fuego, close to the Straits of Magellan and the Falkland Islands, and thence carried to Iquique, where they were safely disembarked early in July 1891. A force of 10,000 men was now raised by the junta of the revolution, and preparations were rapidly pushed forward for a move to the south with the object of attacking Valparaiso and Santiago. Early in April a portion of the revolutionary squadron, comprising the “Blanco Encalada” and other ships, was sent to the southward for reconnoitring purposes and put into the port of Caldera. During the night of the 23rd of April, and whilst the “Blanco Encalada” was lying quietly at anchor, a torpedo boat called the “Almirante Lynch,” belonging to the Balmaceda faction, steamed into the bay of Caldera and discharged a torpedo at the rebel ship. The “Blanco Encalada” sank in a few minutes and 300 of her crew perished.

In the middle of August 1891 the rebel forces were embarked at Iquique (where a provisional government under Captain Jorje Montt had been set up), numbering in all about 9000 men, and sailed for the south. On the 20th of August the congressist army was disembarked at Quinteros, about 20 m. north of Valparaiso, and marched to Concon, where the Balmacedists were entrenched. A severe fight ensued, in which the troops of President Balmaceda were defeated with heavy loss. This reverse roused the worst passions of the president, and he ordered the arrest and imprisonment of all persons suspected of sympathy with the revolutionary cause. The population generally were, however, distinctly antagonistic to Balmaceda; and this feeling had become accentuated since the 17th of August 1891, on which date he had ordered the execution of a number of youths belonging to the military college at San Lorenzo on a charge of seditious practices. The shooting of these boys created a feeling of horror throughout the country, and a sensation of uncertainty as to what measures of severity might not be practised in the future if Balmaceda won the day. After the victory at Concon the insurgent army, under command of General Campos, marched in a southerly direction towards Viña del Mar, and thence to Placilla, where the final struggle in the conflict took place. Balmaceda’s generals Barbosa and Alcérrica had here massed their troops in a strong position. The battle, on the 28th of August, resulted in victory for the rebels. Both the Balmacedist generals were killed and Valparaiso was at once occupied. Defeat and suicide of Balmaceda. Three days later the victorious insurgents entered Santiago and assumed the government of the republic. After the batile of Placilla it was clear to President Balmaceda that he could no longer hope to find a sufficient strength amongst his adherents to maintain himself in power, and in view of the rapid approach of the rebel army he abandoned his official duties to seek an asylum in the Argentine legation. The president remained concealed in this retreat until the 18th of September. On the evening of that date, when the term for which he had been elected president of the republic terminated, he committed suicide by shooting himself. The excuse for this act, put forward in letters written shortly before his end, was that he did not believe the conquerors would give him an impartial trial. The death of Balmaceda finished all cause of contention in Chile, and was the closing act of the most severe and bloodiest struggle that country had ever witnessed. In the various engagements throughout the conflict more than 10,000 lives were lost, and the joint expenditure of the two governments on military preparations and the purchase of war material exceeded £10,000,000 sterling.

An unfortunate occurrence soon after the close of the revolution brought strained relations for a short period between the governments of the United States and Chile. A number of men of the U.S.S. “Baltimore” having been given liberty on shore, an argument arose between some of them and a group of Chilean sailors in a drinking den in Valparaiso. Words led to blows. The Americans were badly handled, one of their number being killed and others severely hurt. The United States government characterized the affair as an outrage, demanding an indemnity as satisfaction. The Chilean authorities demurred at this attitude, and attempted to argue the matter. James G. Elaine, then secretary of state, refused peremptorily to listen to any explanations. In the end Chile paid an indemnity of $75,000 as asked, but the affair left bad feeling in its train.

The close of the revolution against Balmaceda left the government of Chile in the hands of the junta under whose guidance the military and naval operations had been organized. Admiral Jorje Montt had been the head of this President Jorje Montt. revolutionary committee, and he acted as president of the provisional government when the administration of the country changed hands after the victory of the Congressional party. An election was now immediately ordered for the choice of a president of the republic and for representatives in the senate and chamber of deputies. Admiral Montt, as head of the executive power, stanchly refused to allow official influence to be brought to bear in any way in the presidential campaign. The great majority of the voters, however, required no pressure to decide who was in their opinion the man most fitted to administer the affairs of the republic. For the first time in the history of Chile a perfectly free election was held, and Admiral Montt was duly chosen by a nearly unanimous vote to be chief magistrate for the constitutional term of five years. The senate and chamber of deputies were formally constituted in due course, and the government of the republic resumed normal conditions of existence. The new president showed admirable tact in dealing with the difficult problem he was called upon to face. Party feeling still ran high between the partisans of the two sides of the recent conflict. Admiral Montt took the view that it was politic and just to let bygones be bygones, and he acted conscientiously by this principle in all administrative measures in connexion with the supporters of the late President Balmaceda. Early in 1892 an amnesty was granted to the officers of the Balmaceda régime, and they were freely permitted to return to Chile without any attempt being made to molest them. The first political act of national importance of the new government was the grant of control to the municipalities, which hitherto had possessed little power to direct local affairs, and were not even permitted to dispose of the municipal revenues to any important amount without first obtaining the consent of the central government. Almost absolute power was now given these corporations to manage their own concerns, and the organization of the police was placed in their hands; at a later period, however, it was found necessary to modify this latter condition.

President Montt next turned his attention towards the question of how best to repair the damage occasioned to the country by eight months of civil warfare. The plan of public works authorized in 1887 was reconsidered, and the construction of portions of the various undertakings recommenced. The army and navy were reorganized. Additional instructors were brought from Germany, and all arms of the military service were placed on a thoroughly efficient footing in matters of drill and discipline. Several new and powerful cruisers were added to the navy, and the internal economy of this branch of the national defence was thoroughly inspected and many defects were remedied. President Montt then took in hand the question of a reform of the currency, the abolition of inconvertible paper money, and the re-establishment of a gold basis as the monetary standard of the republic. This reform of the currency became the keynote of the president’s policy during the remainder of his term of office. Great opposition was raised by the representatives of the debtor class in congress to the suppression of the inconvertible paper money, but in the end President Montt carried the day, and on the 11th of February 1895 a measure finally became law establishing a gold currency as the only legal tender in Chile. In July 1896 the Conversion Act was put in force, a dollar of 18d. being the monetary unit adopted. In 1895 relations with the neighbouring republic of Argentina began to become somewhat strained in regard to the interpretation of the treaty concerning the boundary between the two countries. The treaties of 1881, 1893 and 1895 left doubts in the minds of both Chileans and Argentines as to the position of the frontier line. On the 17th of April 1896 another protocol was drawn up, by which the contending parties agreed to submit any differences to the arbitration of Great Britain, at the instance of one or both governments. President Montt had now fulfilled his term of office, and on the 18th of September 1896 he handed over the presidential power to his successor, Señor Federico Errázuriz, who had been duly elected in the month of June previously.

The election for the position of president of the republic was closely contested in 1896 between Señor Errázuriz and Señor Reyes, and ended in the triumph of the former candidate by the narrow majority of one vote. The father President Errázuriz. of the new president had been chief magistrate of Chile from 1871 to 1876, and his administration had been one of the best the country had ever enjoyed; his son had therefore traditions to uphold in the post he was now called upon to fill. At the beginning of 1897 the public attention was absorbed by foreign political questions. The problems to be solved were the frontier difficulty with Argentina, the question of the possession of Tacna and Arica with Peru, and the necessity of fulfilling the obligation contracted with Bolivia to give that country a seaport on the Pacific coast. The treaty made in 1896 with the Argentine government, referring to the arbitration of disputed points concerning the boundary, became practically for the moment a dead letter, and both Argentines and Chileans began to talk openly of an appeal to arms to settle the matter once for all. The governments of both countries began to purchase large supplies of war material, and generally to make preparations for a possible conflict. In these circumstances no final settlement with Peru and Bolivia was possible, the authorities of those republics holding back to see the issue of the Chile-Argentine dispute, and Chile being in no position at the time to insist on any terms being arranged. So matters drifted until the beginning of 1898. In July of that year the crisis reached an acute stage. Both Chile and Argentina put forward certain pretensions to territory in the Atacama district to the north, and also to a section of Patagonia in the south. Neither side would give way, nor was any disposition exhibited to refer the matter to arbitration under the protocol of 1896. The cry of an acute financial crisis emanating from the fear of war with Argentina was now raised in Chile. The president was advised that the only way of averting the financial ruin of the banking institutions of the republic was to suspend the conversion law and lend from the national treasury inconvertible notes to the banks. Señor Errázuriz weakly gave way, and a decree was promulgated placing the Crisis with Argentina. currency once more on an inconvertible paper money basis until 1902. In August of 1898 the Chilean government determined to insist upon the terms of the protocol of 1896 being acted upon, and intimated to Argentina that they demanded the fulfilment of the clause relating to arbitration on disputed points. This was practically an ultimatum, and a refusal on the part of the Argentine government to comply with the terms of the 1896 agreement meant a declaration of war by Chile. For a few days the issue hung in the balance, and then the Argentine government accepted the provisions made in 1896 for arbitration. The dispute concerning the Atacama district was submitted to an arbitration tribunal, consisting of the representative of the United States in Argentina, assisted by one Argentine and one Chilean commissioner. This tribunal, after due investigation, gave their decision in April 1899, and the verdict was accepted unreservedly by both governments. The dispute regarding the Patagonian territory was submitted to the arbitration of Great Britain, and a commission—consisting of Lord Macnaghten, Sir John Ardagh and Sir T.H. Holdich—was appointed in 1899 to hear the case.

The Argentine difficulty was ended, but Chile still had to find a settlement with Peru and Bolivia. The treaty made with the former country in 1893 was not ratified, as it was thought to concede too much to Peru, and the subsequent ad referendum treaty was rejected on account of Peru claiming that only Peruvians, and not all residents, should have the right to vote in the plebiscite to be taken by the terms of the treaty of 1883 for the possession of Tacna and Arica. By the terms of the armistice of 1883 between Chile and Bolivia, a three years’ notice had to be given by either government wishing to denounce that agreement. By the protocol of 1895 Chile agreed to give to Bolivia the port of Arica, or some other suitable position on the seaboard. On these lines a settlement was proposed. Vitor, a landing-place a little to the south of Arica, was offered by the Chilean government to Bolivia, but refused as not complying with the conditions stated in the protocol of 1895; the Bolivians furthermore preferred to wait and see if Arica was finally ceded by Peru to Chile, and if so to claim the fulfilment of the terms of the protocol.

After the accession to office of President Errázuriz there was no stability of any ministry. Political parties in congress were so evenly balanced and so subdivided into groups that a vote against the ministry was easy to obtain, and the resignation of the cabinet immediately followed in accordance with the so-called parliamentary system in vogue in Chile. The president of the republic has no power to dissolve the chambers, to endeavour to remedy the evil by one or another political party obtaining a substantial working majority, but must wait to see the results of the triennial elections. As a consequence of these conditions Conservative, Liberal and coalition ministries held office at short intervals. These unsettled political circumstances checked any continuity of policy, and tended to block the passage of all useful legislation to help forward the economic development of the country and inhabitants; on the other hand, the financial situation was better by the end of 1899 than in the previous year, since all proposals for a fresh paper issue had been vetoed; and the elections for congress and municipal office at the opening of 1900 returned a majority favourable to a stable currency policy.

In September 1900 a fresh outburst of hostile feeling against Chile was created in Argentina by a note addressed by the Chilean government to Bolivia, intimating that Chile was no longer inclined to hand over the port of Arica or any other port on the Pacific, but considered the time ripe for a final settlement of the questions connected with the Chilean occupation of Bolivian territory, which had now been outstanding for sixteen years. The foreign policy of Chile, as indicated by this note, was considered by Argentina to be grasping and unconciliatory, and there were rumours of an anti-Chilean South American federation. Chile disclaimed any aggressive intentions; but in December the Bolivian congress declined to relinquish their claim to a port, and refused to conclude a definite treaty of peace. The year closed with a frontier incident between Chile and Argentina in the disputed territory of Ultima Esperanza, where some Argentine colonists were ejected by Chilean police; but both governments signed protocols agreeing not to take aggressive action in consequence.

At the opening of 1901 the country was chiefly interested in the forthcoming presidential election, for which the candidates were Don Pedro Montt (Conservative and Clerical) and Señor German Riesco (Liberal). The relations President Riesco. between President Errázuriz and congress became rather strained, owing to the former’s inclination to retain in office a ministry on which congress had passed a vote of censure; but Errázuriz had been in ill-health for more than a year, and on the 1st of May he resigned, and died in July. At the ensuing election Riesco was elected president. The attitude of Chile towards the Pan-American Congress at Mexico became a matter of interest in the autumn, particularly in connexion with the proposal for compulsory arbitration between all American governments. The Chilean government made it quite clear that they would withdraw from the congress if this proposal was meant to be retroactive; and their unyielding attitude testified to the apprehensions felt by Chile concerning United States interference. In October the Chilean government announced that the contemplated conversion scheme, for which gold had been accumulated, would be postponed for two years (till October 1903), the gold being held as a reserve fund pending the result of the arbitration over the Argentine frontier. This was generally considered to be a reasonable and statesmanlike course. Unfortunately, a recrudescence of the excitement over the boundary dispute was occasioned by the irritation created in Argentina by the fact that, pending a decision, Chile was constructing roads in the disputed territory. During December 1901 relations were exceedingly strained, and troops were called out on both sides. But at the end of the month it was agreed to leave the question to the British arbitrators, and the latter decided to send one of their number, Sir T.H. Holdich, to examine the territory.

The survey occupied some eight months, and it was not until the autumn that Sir T.H. Holdich returned to England to make his report. The difficulty of ascertaining the true line watershed had been very great, but the result Argentine boundary award. was eminently successful. The award of King Edward was signed on the 20th of November 1902, and both parties to the litigation were satisfied. In order that future disputes might be amicably settled, a treaty was signed by which it was agreed that any question that might arise should be submitted to the arbitration of Great Britain or in default of that power to the Swiss Confederation. The removal of this source of irritation and the restoration of friendly relations between the two republics was a great relief to the finance of Chile. Had it not been for the political instability of the country, the effects of the diminution of expenditure on military and naval preparations would have effected a rapid improvement in its financial position. The constant change of ministry (there being no stable majority in the congress) prevented during 1903 any settled policy, or that confidence in the government which is the basis of commercial prosperity. In 1904, however, both trade and revenue showed signs of improvement, and the sale of the warships “Esmeralda” and “Chambuco” for £1,000,000 furnished a surplus, which was devoted to the improvement of the port of Valparaiso. This was the beginning of a period of steady industrial growth and development. The settlement of the long outstanding dispute with Bolivia in a treaty of peace signed on the 17th of October 1905 was very advantageous to both countries. By this treaty Bolivia ceded all claims to a seaport and strip of the coast, on condition that Chile constructed at her own charges a railway to Lapaz from the port of Arica, giving at the same time to Bolivia free transit across Chilean territory to the sea. A cash indemnity of £300,000 was also paid, and certain stipulations were made with regard to the construction of other railways giving access from Chile to the Bolivian interior.

The prosperity of Chile was to suffer a rude shock. On the 17th of August 1906 a terrible earthquake visited Valparaiso and the surrounding district. The town of Valparaiso was almost entirely destroyed, while Santiago and Valparaiso earthquake. other towns were severely shaken and suffered much damage. It was estimated that about 3000 persons were killed, a still larger number injured, and at least 100,000 rendered homeless. The loss of property was enormous. The fire which broke out after the earthquake shock had subsided added to the horror of the catastrophe. Measures were, however, promptly taken for succouring the people, who had been driven from their homes, and the task of restoration was vigorously taken in hand. Before the end of the year the rebuilding of the city was rapidly progressing.

In 1906 Señor Pedro Montt was elected president and entered upon his office on the 17th of September. The personality of the president, however, had become of much less importance in modern Chile than in earlier days. Up to 1870 the government was in the hands of a small oligarchy of Santiago President Pedro Montt. families, but the president enjoyed large powers of initiative. Nowadays the congress has virtually absorbed the executive power, with the result that the cabinet is often changed many times in one year. This prevents indeed any continuity of policy, for the majority in congress is perpetually fluctuating, and ministerial crises rapidly follow one another. Chile, however, except in the Balmacedist civil war, is happily distinguished by its freedom from revolution and serious political unrest. Its history in this respect is in marked contrast to that of the neighbouring South American states. The completion of the Trans-Andean railway between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires was bound to be of immense commercial and industrial value; and eventually the making of a longitudinal railway route uniting the nitrate province of the north with Santiago, and Santiago with Puerto Montt in the distant south, opened up further important prospects. Such a line of through communication, binding together the different provinces forming the long narrow strip of territory stretching along more than 2000 m. of the Pacific littoral, could only be looked forward to, both politically and economically, as an inestimable benefit to the country.

Bibliography.—General History.—The most valuable authority is D. Barros Arana’s Historia jeneral de Chile (15 vols., Santiago, 1884), from the earliest days up to 1830. Smaller handbooks covering the whole period are: A.U. Hancock, a History of Chile (Chicago, 1893), the only general history in English, and containing a bibliography; Gaspar Toro, Compendio de la historia de Chile (Santiago, 1879), a good clear abstract of Chilean history; and F. Valdes Vergara, Historia de Chile (Valparaiso, 1898), written primarily for schools, but containing useful sketches of leading figures in Chilean history.

Works on Special Periods.—Colonial Period: M.L. Amunátequi, Descubri miento y conquista de Chile (Santiago, 1885), a valuable detailed account of the Spanish conquest; by same author, Los Precursores de la independencia de Chile (Santiago, 1870), a clear useful description of the evils of the Spanish colonial system; Horacio Lara, Cronica de la Araucania (Santiago, 1889), a history of the Araucanian Indians right up to recent dates; Abbé Eyzaguirre, Histoire du Chili (Lille, 1855), mainly dealing with the position of the Church during the colonial period. Perez Garcia’s Historia del reino de Chile (Santiago, 1900), an old history by a Spanish officer written about 1780, and Molina’s History of Chili in the English translation (London, 1809), will also be found useful. Useful material for research exists in J.T. Medina’s Coleccion de documentos para la historia de Chile (Santiago, 1888), a collection of despatches and official documents; his Cosas de la colonia (Santiago, 1889), an accumulation of undigested information about life in the colonial period; and Historiadores de Chile (21 vols., Santiago, 1861), a collection of ancient chronicles and official documents up to the early part of the 17th century.

Revolutionary Period.—A. Roldan, Las Primeras Asambleas nacionales (Santiago, 1890), an account of the struggles in the first national assemblies; A. Valdes, Revolucion Chilena y campañas de la independencia (Santiago, 1888), an account of the early fighting and rivalry of the revolutionary leaders; W. Pilling, Emancipation of South America (London, 1893), a translation of B. Mitre’s life of San Martin, describing the fighting in the wars of independence; Lord Cochrane, Narrative of Services in Chile, Peru and Brazil (London, 1859), an autobiography describing the naval exploits that helped to secure the expulsion of the Spaniards; B. Vicuña Machenna, Vida de O’Higgins (Santiago, 1882), giving a useful account of the revolutionary struggle and the main actors; and the same author’s Historia jeneral de la republica de Chile, a collection of essays on the early republican history by various writers.

Later History.—R. Sotomayor Valdes, Historia de Chili, 1831-1871, a detailed account of the period (Santiago, 1875); the same author’s Campaña del ejercito Chileno en 1837 (Santiago, 1896), describing the fighting of the first Peruvian War; B. Vicuña Machenna, D. Diego Portales (Valparaiso, 1863), a good account of the life and time of Portales, the famous minister of the Conservative party; P.B. Fiqueroa, Historia de la revolution constituyente 1858-59 (Santiago, 1889), an account of the revolution at the end of Montt’s presidency; F. Fonch, Chile in der Gegenwart (Berlin, 1870), a description of Chile at the time; Statement on Behalf of Chile (in the Chilean-Argentine Boundary Arbitration) (6 vols., London, 1901-1902); Sir Thomas Holdich, Countries of the King’s Award (1904); Beltran y Rospido, Los Pueblos hispano-americanos en el siglo XX. (Madrid, 1904); P.F. Martin, Through Five Republics of South America (London, 1906); Wright, The Republic of Chile (London, 1905); G.F. Scott Elliot, Chilé (London, 1907); Sir W.M. Conway, Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego (London, 1902); “Chile-Argentine Arbitration” in the Geog. Journal (January 1903); C.M. Pepper, Panama to Patagonia (London, 1907); C.E. Akers, History of South America, 1854-1904 (London, 1904); M. Hume, Lecture on the Republic of Chile (London, 1902).

(E. G. J. M.; C. E. A.; G. E.)

CHILEAN CIVIL WAR (1891). The Chilean civil war grew out of political dissensions between the president of Chile, J.M. Balmaceda, and his congress (see Chile: History), and began in January 1891. On the 6th, at Valparaiso, the political leaders of the Congressional party went on board the ironclad “Blanco Encalada,” and Captain Jorje Montt of that vessel hoisted a broad pennant as commodore of the Congressional fleet. Preparations had long been made for the naval pronunciamento, and in the end but few vessels of the Chilean navy adhered to the cause of the “dictator” Balmaceda. But amongst these were two new and fast torpedo gunboats, “Almirante Condell” and “Almirante Lynch,” and in European dockyards (incomplete) lay the most powerful vessel of the navy, the “Arturo Prat,” and two fast cruisers. If these were secured by the Balmacedists the naval supremacy of the congress would be seriously challenged. For the present, and without prejudice to the future, command of the sea was held by Montt’s squadron (January). The rank and file of the army remained faithful to the executive, and thus in the early part of the war the “Gobernistas,” speaking broadly, possessed an army without a fleet, the congress a fleet without an army. Balmaceda hoped to create a navy; the congress took steps to recruit an army by taking its sympathizers on board the fleet. The first shot was fired, on the 16th of January, by the “Blanco” at the Valparaiso batteries, and landing parties from the warships engaged small parties of government troops at various places during January and February. The dictator’s principal forces were stationed in and about Iquique, Coquirabo, Valparaiso, Santiago and Concepción. The troops at Iquique and Coquimbo were necessarily isolated from the rest and from each other, and military operations began, as in the campaign of 1879 in this quarter, with a naval descent upon Pisagua followed by an advance inland to Dolores. The Congressional forces failed at first to make good their footing (16th-23rd of January), but, though defeated in two or three actions, they brought off many recruits and a quantity of munitions of war. On the 26th they retook Pisagua, and on the 15th of February the Balmacedist commander, Eulojio Robles, who offered battle in the expectation of receiving reinforcements from Tacna, was completely defeated on the old battlefield of San Francisco. Robles fell back along the railway, called up troops from Iquique, and beat the invaders at Haura on the 17th, but Iquique in the meanwhile fell to the Congressional fleet on the 16th. The Pisagua line of operations was at once abandoned, and the military forces of the congress were moved by sea to Iquique, whence, under the command of Colonel Estanislao Del Canto, they started inland. The battle of Pozo Almonte, fought on the 7th of March, was desperately contested, but Del Canto was superior in numbers, and Robles was himself killed and his army dispersed. After this the other Balmacedist troops in the north gave up the struggle. Some were driven into Peru, others into Bolivia, and one column made a laborious retreat from Calama to Santiago, in the course of which it twice crossed the main chain of the Andes.

The Congressional Junta de Gobierno now established in Iquique prosecuted the war vigorously, and by the end of April the whole country was in the hands of the “rebels” from the Peruvian border to the outposts of the Balmacedists at Coquimbo and La Serena. The Junta now began the formation of a properly organized army for the next campaign, which, it was believed universally on both sides, would be directed against Coquimbo. But in a few months the arrival of the new ships from Europe would reopen the struggle for command of the sea; the torpederas “Condell” and “Lynch” had already weakened the Congressional squadron severely by sinking the “Blanco Encalada” in Caldera Bay (23rd of April), and the Congressional party could no longer aim at a methodical conquest of successive provinces, but was compelled to attempt to crush the dictator at a blow. Where this blow was to fall was not decided up to the last moment, but the instrument which was to deliver it was prepared with all the care possible under the circumstances. Del Canto was made commander-in-chief, and an ex-Prussian officer, Emil Körner, chief of staff. The army was organized in three brigades of all arms, at Iquique, Caldera and Vallenar. Körner superintended the training of the men, gave instruction in tactics to the officers, caused maps to be prepared, and in general took every precaution that his experience could suggest to ensure success. Del Canto was himself no mere figurehead, but a thoroughly capable leader who had distinguished himself at Tacna (1880) and Miraflores (1881), as well as in the present war. The men were enthusiastic, and the officers unusually numerous. The artillery was fair, the cavalry good, and the train and auxiliary services well organized. About one-third of the infantry were armed with the (Männlicher) magazine rifle, which now made its first appearance in war, the remainder had the Gras and other breech-loaders, which were also the armament of the dictator’s infantry. Balmaceda could only wait upon events, but he prepared his forces as best he was able, and his torpederas constantly harried the Congressional navy. By the end of July Del Canto and Körner had done their work as well as time permitted, and early in August the troops prepared to embark, not for Coquimbo, but for Valparaiso itself.

The expedition by sea was admirably managed, and Quinteros, N. of Valparaiso and not many miles out of range of its batteries, was occupied on the 20th of August 1891. Balmaceda was surprised, but acted promptly. The first battle was fought on the Aconcagua at Concon on the 21st. The eager infantry of the Congressional army forced the passage of the river and stormed the heights held by the Gobernistas, capturing 36 guns. The killed and wounded of the Balmacedists numbered 1600, and nearly all the prisoners, about 1500 men, enrolled themselves in the rebel army, which thus more than made good its loss of 1000 killed and wounded. The victors pressed on towards Valparaiso, but were soon brought up by the strong fortified position of the Balmacedist general Barbosa at Viña del Mar, whither Balmaceda hurried up all available troops from Valparaiso and Santiago, and even from Concepción. Del Canto and Körner now resolved on a daring step. Supplies of all kinds were brought up from Quinteros to the front, and on the 24th of August the army abandoned its line of communications and marched inland. The flank march was conducted with great skill, little opposition was encountered, and the rebels finally appeared to the south-east of Valparaiso. Here, on the 28th, took place the decisive battle of La Placilla. Concon had been perhaps little more than the destruction of an isolated corps; the second battle was a fair trial of strength, for Barbosa was well prepared, and had under his command the greater part of the existing forces of the dictator. But the splendid fighting qualities of the Congressional troops and the superior generalship of their leaders prevailed in the end over every obstacle. The government army was practically annihilated, 941 men were killed, including Barbosa and his second in command, and 2402 wounded. The Congressional army lost over 1800 men. Valparaiso was occupied the same evening and Santiago soon afterwards. There was no further fighting, for so great was the effect of the battles of Concon and La Placella that even the Coquimbo troops surrendered without firing a shot.

Bibliography.—Lieut. Sears and Ensign Wells, U.S.N., The Chilian Revolution of 1891 (Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, 1893); The Capture of Valparaiso, 1891 (Intelligence Department, War Office, London, 1892); Hermann Kunz, Taktische Beispiele aus den Kriegen der neuesten Zeit; der Bürgerkrieg in Chile (Berlin, 1901); Revista militar de Chile (February-March 1892); Hugo Kunz, Der Bürgerkrieg in Chile (Vienna, 1892); Militär Wochenblatt (5th supplement, 1892); Sir W. Laird Clowes, Four Modern Naval Campaigns (London, 1902); Proceedings of U.S. Naval Institute (1894) (for La Placilla); and the military and naval periodicals of 1892.

CHILE-PERUVIAN WAR (1879-1882). The proximate cause of this war was the seizure, by the authorities of Bolivia, of the effects of the Chilean Nitrate Company at Antofagasta, then part of the Bolivian province of Atacama. The first act of hostility was the despatch of 500 soldiers to protect Chilean interests at Antofagasta. This force, under Colonel Sotomayor, landed and marched inland; the only resistance encountered was at Calama on the river Loa, where a handful of newly raised militia was routed (23rd March 1879). About the same time Chilean warships occupied Cobija and Tocapilla, and Sotomayor, after his victory at Calama, marched to the latter port. Bolivia had declared war on the 1st of March, but Peru not till the 5th of April: this delay gave the Chileans time to occupy every port on the Bolivian coast. Thus the Chilean admiral was able to proceed at once to the blockade of the southern ports of Peru, and in particular Iquique, where there took place the first naval action of the war. On the 21st of April the Chilean sloop “Esmeralda” and the gunboat “Covadonga”—both small and weak ships—engaged the Peruvian heavy ironclads “Huascar” and “Independencia”; after a hot fight the “Huascar” under Miguel Grau sank the “Esmeralda” under Arturo Piat, who was killed, but Carlos Condell in the “Covadonga” manoeuvred the “Independencia” aground and shelled her into a complete wreck. The Chileans now gave up the blockade and concentrated all their efforts on the destruction of the “Huascar,” while the allies organized a field army in the neighbourhood of Tacna and a large Chilean force assembled at Antofagasta.

On the 8th of October 1879 the “Huascar” was brought to action off Angamos by the “Blanco Encalada,” and the “Almirante Cochrane.” Grau was outmatched as hopelessly and made as brave a fight as Prat at Iquique. Early in the action a shot destroyed the Peruvian’s conning tower, killing Grau and his staff, and another entered her turret, killing the flag captain and nearly all the crew of the turret guns. When the “Huascar” finally surrendered she had but one gun left in action, her fourth commander and three-quarters of her crew were killed and wounded, and the steering-gear had been shot away. The Peruvian navy had now ceased to exist. The Chileans resumed the blockade, and more active operations were soon undertaken. The whole force of the allies was about 20,000 men, scattered along the seaboard of Peru. The Chileans on the other hand had a striking force of 16,000 men in the neighbourhood of Antofagasta, and of this nearly half was embarked for Pisagua on the 26th of October. The expeditionary force landed, in the face of considerable opposition, on the 2nd of November, and captured Pisagua. From Pisagua the Peruvians and Bolivians fell back along the railway to their reinforcements, and when some 10,000 men had been collected they moved forward to attack the Chilean position of San Francisco near Dolores station (19th November). In the end the Chileans were victorious, but their only material gain was the possession of Iquique and the retreat of the allies, who fell back inland towards Tarapacá. The tardy pursuit of the Chileans ended in the battle of Tarapacá on the 27th. In this the allies were at first surprised, but, rapidly recovering themselves, took the offensive, and after a murderous fight, in which more men were killed than were wounded, the Chileans suffered a complete defeat. For some inexplicable reason the allies made no use of their victory, continued to retreat and left the Chileans in complete possession of the Tarapacá region. With this the campaign of 1879 ended. Chile had taken possession of the Bolivian seaboard and of the Peruvian province of Tarapacá, and had destroyed the hostile navy.

The objective of the Chileans in the second campaign was the province of Tacna and the field force of the allies at Tacna and Arica. The invasion was again carried out by sea, and 12,000 Chileans were landed at Pacocha (Ylo), far to the N. of Arica. Careful preparations were made for a desert march, and on the 12th of March 1880 the advanced corps started inland for Moquegua, which was occupied on the 20th. Near Moquegua the Peruvians, some 2000 strong, took up an unusually strong position in the defile of Cuesta de los Angeles. But the great numerical superiority of the assailants enabled them to turn the flanks and press the front of the Peruvian position, and after a severe struggle the defence collapsed (March 22nd), In April the army began its advance southward from Moquegua to Tacna, while the Chilean warships engaged in a series of minor naval operations in and about the bay of Callao. Arica was also watched, and the blockade was extended north of Lima. The land campaign had ere this culminated in the battle of Tacna (May 26th), in which the Chileans attacked at first in several disconnected bodies, and suffered severely until all their forces came on the field. Then a combined advance carried all before it. The allies engaged under General Narciso Campero, the new president of Bolivia, lost nearly 3000 men, and the Chileans, commanded by Manuel Baquedano, lost 2000 out of 8500 on the field. The defeated army was completely dissolved, and it only remained for the Chileans to march on Arica from the land side. The navy co-operated with its long-range guns, on the 7th of June a general assault was made, and before nightfall the whole of the defences were in the hands of the Chileans. Their second campaign had given them entire possession of another strip of Peru (from Pisagua to Ylo), and they had shown themselves greatly superior, both in courage and leadership, to their opponents. While the army prepared for the next campaign, the Chilean navy was active; the blockade became more stringent and several fights took place, in one of which the “Covadonga” was sunk; an expeditionary force about 3000 strong, commanded by Patricio Lynch, a captain in the Chilean navy, carried out successful raids at various places on the coast and inland.

The Chilean army was reorganized during the summer, and prepared for its next operation, this time against Lima itself. General Baquedano was in command. The leading troops disembarked at Pisco on the 18th of November 1880, and the whole army was ready to move against the defences of Lima six weeks later. These defences consisted of two distinct positions, Chorrillos and Miraflores, the latter being about 4000 yds. outside Lima. The first line of defence was attacked by Baquedano on the 13th of January 1881. Reconnaissances proved that the Peruvian lines could not be turned, and the battle was a pure frontal attack. The defenders had 22,000 men in the lines, the Chileans engaged about 24,000. The battle of Chorrillos ended in the complete defeat of the Peruvians, less than a quarter of whose army rallied behind the Miraflores defences. The Chileans lost over 3000 men. Two days later took place the battle of Miraflores (January 15th). Here the defences were very strong, and the action began with a daring counter-attack by some Peruvians. Neither party had intended to fight a battle, for negotiations were in progress, but the action quickly became general. Its result was, as before, the complete dissolution of the defending army. Lima, incapable of defence, was occupied by the invaders on the 17th, and on the 18th Callao surrendered. The resistance of the Peruvians was so far broken that Chile left only a small army of occupation to deal with the remnants of their army. The last engagement took place at Caxacamara in September 1882, when the Peruvians won an unimportant success.

See T. B. M. Mason, The War on the Pacific Coast, 1879-1881 (U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, 1883); Captain Châteauminois (transl.), Mémoire du Ministre de la Guerre du Chili sur la guerre Chilo-Péruvienne (1882); Barros Arana, Hist. de la guerre du Pacifique (1884); Sir W. Laird Clowes, Four Modern Naval Campaigns (London, 1902); Anon., Précis de la guerre du Pacifique (Paris, 1886); Clements R. Markham, The War between Peru and Chile.

CHILIASM (from Gr. χιλιασμός, χίλιοι, a thousand), the belief that Christ will return to reign in the body for a thousand years, the doctrine of the Millennium (q.v.).

CHILLÁN, a city and the capital of the province of Ñuble, in the southern part of central Chile, 35° 56′ S., 71° 37′ W., 246 m. by rail S.S.W. of Santiago and about 56 m. direct (108 by rail) N.E. of Concepción. Pop. (1895) 28,738; (1902, official estimate) 36,382. Chillán is one of the most active commercial cities of central Chile, and is surrounded by a rich agricultural and grazing country. Chillán was founded by Ruiz de Gambôa in 1594. Its present site was chosen in 1836. The original site, known as Chillán Viejo, forms a suburb of the new city. The hot sulphur springs of Chillán, which were discovered in 1795, are about 45 m. E.S.E. They issue from the flanks of the “Volcan Viejo,” about 7000 ft. above sea-level. The highest temperature of the water issuing from these springs is a little over 135°. The principal volcanoes of the Chillán group are the Nevado (9528 ft.) and the Viejo. After a repose of about two centuries the Nevado de Chillán broke out in eruption early in 1861 and caused great destruction. The eruption ceased in 1863, but broke out again in 1864.

CHILLIANWALLA, a village of British India in the Punjab, situated on the left bank of the river Jhelum, about 85 m. N.W. of Lahore. It is memorable as the scene of a battle on the 13th of January 1849, between a British force commanded by Lord Gough and the Sikh army under Sher Singh. The loss of the Sikhs was estimated at 4000, while that of the British in killed and wounded amounted to 2800, of whom nearly 1000 were Europeans and 89 were British and 43 native officers. An obelisk erected at Chillianwalla by the British government preserves the names of those who fell.

CHILLICOTHE, a city and the county-seat of Livingston county, Missouri, U.S.A., situated in the N. part of the state, on the Grand river, about 80 m. N.E. of Kansas City. Pop. (1890) 5717; (1900) 6905 (538 negroes); (1910) 6265. It is served by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, the Wabash, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railways. There are various manufactures. Coal and limestone are found in the vicinity, and much live stock is raised, wool and hides being shipped from Chillicothe. Chillicothe was settled about 1830, and the town was laid out in 1837 on land granted directly by the Federal government; it was incorporated in 1855.

CHILLICOTHE, a city and the county-seat of Ross county, Ohio, U.S.A., on the W. bank of the Scioto river, on the Ohio & Erie Canal, about 50 m. S. of Columbus. Pop. (1890) 11,288; (1900) 12,976, of whom 986 were negroes, and 910 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 14,508. Chillicothe is served by the Baltimore & Ohio South-Western (which has railway shops here), and other railways. The city has two parks. There are several ancient mounds in the vicinity. Chillicothe is built on a plain about 30 ft. above the river, in the midst of a fertile agricultural region, and has a large trade in grain and coal, and in manufactures. The value of the city’s factory products increased from $1,615,959 in 1900 to $3,146,890 in 1905, or 94.7%. Chillicothe was founded in 1796, and was first incorporated in 1802. In 1800-1803 it was the capital of the North-West Territory, and in 1803-1810 and 1812-1816 the capital of Ohio. Three Indian villages bore the name Chillicothe, each being in turn the chief town of the Chillicothe, one of the four tribal divisions of the Shawnee, in their retreat before the whites; the village near what is now Oldtown in Greene county was destroyed by George Rogers Clark in 1780; that in Miami county, where Piqua is now, was destroyed by Clark in 1782; and the Indian village near the present Chillicothe was destroyed in 1787 by Kentuckians.

See Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio (Columbus, 1891).

CHILLINGWORTH, WILLIAM (1602-1644), English divine and controversialist, was born at Oxford in October 1602. In June 1618 he became a scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, and was made a fellow of his college in June 1628. He had some reputation as a skilful disputant, excelled in mathematics, and gained some credit as a writer of verses. The marriage of Charles I. with Henrietta Maria of France had stimulated the propaganda of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Jesuits made the universities their special point of attack. One of them, “John Fisher,” who had his sphere at Oxford, succeeded in making a convert of young Chillingworth, and prevailed upon him to go to the Jesuit college at Douai. Influenced, however, by his godfather, Laud, then bishop of London, he resolved to make an impartial inquiry into the claims of the two churches. After a short stay he left Douai in 1631 and returned to Oxford. On grounds of Scripture and reason he at length declared for Protestantism, and wrote in 1634, but did not publish, a confutation of the motives which had led him over to Rome. This paper was lost; the other, on the same subject, was probably written on some other occasion at the request of his friends. He would not, however, take orders. His theological sensitiveness appears in his refusal of a preferment offered to him in 1635 by Sir Thomas Coventry, lord keeper of the great seal. He was in difficulty about subscribing the Thirty-nine Articles. As he informed Gilbert Sheldon, then warden of All Souls, in a letter, he was fully resolved on two points—that to say that the Fourth Commandment is a law of God appertaining to Christians is false and unlawful, and that the damnatory clauses in the Athanasian Creed are most false, and in a high degree presumptuous and schismatical. To subscribe, therefore, he felt would be to “subscribe his own damnation.” At this time his principal work was far towards completion. It was undertaken in defence of Dr Christopher Potter, provost of Queen’s College in Oxford, who had for some time been carrying on a controversy with a Jesuit known as Edward Knott, but whose real name was Matthias Wilson. Potter had replied in 1633 to Knott’s Charity Mistaken (1630), and Knott retaliated with Mercy and Truth. This work Chillingworth engaged to answer, and Knott, hearing of his intention and hoping to bias the public mind, hastily brought out a pamphlet tending to show that Chillingworth was a Socinian who aimed at perverting not only Catholicism but Christianity.

Laud, now archbishop of Canterbury, was not a little solicitous about Chillingworth’s reply to Knott, and at his request, as “the young man had given cause why a more watchful eye should be held over him and his writings,” it was examined by the vice-chancellor of Oxford and two professors of divinity, and published with their approbation in 1637, with the title The Religion of Protestants a Safe Way to Salvation. The main argument is a vindication of the sole authority of the Bible in spiritual matters, and of the free right of the individual conscience to interpret it. In the preface Chillingworth expresses his new view about subscription to the articles. “For the Church of England,” he there says, “I am persuaded that the constant doctrine of it is so pure and orthodox, that whosoever believes it, and lives according to it, undoubtedly he shall be saved, and that there is no error in it which may necessitate or warrant any man to disturb the peace or renounce the communion of it. This, in my opinion, is all intended by subscription.” His scruples having thus been overcome, he was, in the following year (1638), promoted to the chancellorship of the church of Sarum, with the prebend of Brixworth in Northamptonshire annexed to it. In the great civil struggle he used his pen against the Scots, and was in the king’s army at the siege of Gloucester, inventing certain engines for assaulting the town. Shortly afterwards he accompanied Lord Hopton, general of the king’s troops in the west, in his march; and, being laid up with illness at Arundel Castle, he was there taken prisoner by the parliamentary forces under Sir William Waller. As he was unable to go to London with the garrison, he was conveyed to Chichester, and died there in January 1644. His last days were harassed by the diatribes of the Puritan preacher, Francis Cheynell.

Besides his principal work, Chillingworth wrote a number of smaller anti-Jesuit papers published in the posthumous Additional Discourses (1687), and nine of his sermons have been preserved. In politics he was a zealous Royalist, asserting that even the unjust and tyrannous violence of princes may not be resisted, although it might be avoided in terms of the instruction, “when they persecute you in one city, flee into another.” His writings long enjoyed a high popularity. The Religion of Protestants is characterized by much fairness and acuteness of argument, and was commended by Locke as a discipline of “perspicuity and the way of right reasoning.” The charge of Socinianism was frequently brought against him, but, as Tillotson thought, “for no other cause but his worthy and successful attempts to make the Christian religion reasonable.” His creed, and the whole gist of his argument, is expressed in a single sentence, “I am fully assured that God does not, and therefore that men ought not to, require any more of any man than this, to believe the Scripture to be God’s word, and to endeavour to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it.”

A Life by Rev. T. Birch was prefixed to the 1742 edition of Chillingworth’s Works.

CHILOÉ (from Chile and hué, “part of Chile”), a province of southern Chile, and also the name of a large island off the Chilean coast forming part of the province. The province, area 8593 sq. m., pop. (1895) 77,750, is composed of three groups of islands, Chiloé, Guaitecas and Chonos, and extends from the narrow strait of Chacao in 41° 40′ S. to the peninsula of Taytao, about 45° 45′ S. The population is composed mainly of Indians, distantly related to the tribes of the mainland, and mestizos. The capital of the province is Ancud or San Carlos, at the northern end of the island of Chiloé, on the sheltered bay of San Carlos, once frequented by whalers. It is the seat of a bishopric; pop. (1905) 3182. Other towns are Castro, the former capital, on the eastern shore of Chiloé, and the oldest town of the island (founded 1566), once the seat of a Jesuit mission, and Melinca on an island of the Guaitecas group.

The island of Chiloé, which lies immediately south of the province of Llanquihue, is a continuation of the western Chilean formation, the coast range appearing in the mountainous range of western Chiloé and the islands extending south along the coast. Between this coast range and the Andes, the gulfs of Chacao, or Ancud and Corcovado (average width, 30 m.) separate the island from the mainland. Chiloé has an extreme length north to south of about 118 m., and an average width of 35 to 40 m., with an area of about 4700 sq. m. There are several lakes on the island—Cucao, 12 m. long, being the largest,—and one small river, the Pudeto, in the northern part of the island, is celebrated as the scene of the last engagement in the war for independence, the Spanish retaining possession of Chiloé until 1826.

CHILON, of Sparta, son of Damagetus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, flourished about the beginning of the 6th century B.C. In 560 (or 556) he acted as ephor, an office which he is even said to have founded. The tradition was that he died of joy on hearing that his son had gained a prize at the Olympic games. According to Chilon, the great virtue of man was prudence, or well-grounded judgment as to future events.

A collection of the sayings attributed to him will be found in F.W. Mullach, Fragmenta Philosophorum Graecorum, i.; see Herodotus i. 69; Diogenes Laertius i. 68; Pausanias iii. 16, x. 24.

CHILPERIC, the name of two Frankish kings.

Chilperic I. (d. 584) was one of the sons of Clotaire I. Immediately after the death of his father in 561 he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, Thérouanne, Tournai and Boulogne, fell to Chilperic’s share, but on the death of Charibert in 567 his estates were augmented. When his brother Sigebert married Brunhilda, Chilperic also wished to make a brilliant marriage. He had already repudiated his first wife, Audovera, and had taken as his concubine a serving-woman called Fredegond. He accordingly dismissed Fredegond, and married Brunhilda’s sister, Galswintha. But he soon tired of his new partner, and one morning Galswintha was found strangled in her bed. A few days afterwards Chilperic married Fredegond. This murder was the cause of long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, between Chilperic and Sigebert. In 575 Sigebert was assassinated by Fredegond at the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy. Chilperic retrieved his position, took from Austrasia Tours and Poitiers and some places in Aquitaine, and fostered discord in the kingdom of the east during the minority of Childebert II. One day, however, while returning from the chase to the town of Chelles, Chilperic was stabbed to death.

Chilperic may be regarded as the type of Merovingian sovereigns. He was exceedingly anxious to extend the royal authority. He levied numerous imposts, and his fiscal measures provoked a great sedition at Limoges in 579. He wished to bring about the subjection of the church, and to this end sold bishoprics to the highest bidder, annulled the wills made in favour of the bishoprics and abbeys, and sought to impose upon his subjects a rationalistic conception of the Trinity. He pretended to some literary culture, and was the author of some halting verse. He even added letters to the Latin alphabet, and wished to have the MSS. rewritten with the new characters. The wresting of Tours from Austrasia and the seizure of ecclesiastical property provoked the bitter hatred of Gregory of Tours, by whom Chilperic was stigmatized as the Nero and the Herod of his time.

See Sérésia, L’Église et l’État sous les rois francs au VIe siècle (Ghent, 1888).

Chilperic II. (d. 720) was the son of Childeric II. He became king of Neustria in 715, on which occasion he changed his name from Daniel to Chilperic. At first he was a tool in the hands of Ragenfrid, the mayor of the palace. Charles Martel, however, overthrew Ragenfrid, accepted Chilperic as king of Neustria, and, on the death of Clotaire IV., set him over the whole kingdom. The young king died soon afterwards.

(C. PF.)

CHILTERN HILLS, or The Chilterns, a range of chalk hills in England, extending through part of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. Running from S.W. to N.E., they form a well-marked escarpment north-westward, while the south-eastern slope is long. The name of Chilterns is applied to the hills between the Thames in the neighbourhood of Goring and the headwaters of its tributary the Lea between Dunstable and Hitchin, the crest line between these points being about 55 m. in length. But these hills are part of a larger chalk system, continuing the line of the White Horse Hills from Berkshire, and themselves continued eastward by the East Anglian ridge. The greatest elevation of the Chilterns is found in the centre from Watlington to Tring, where heights from 800 to 850 ft. are frequent. Westward towards the Thames gap the elevation falls away but little, but eastward the East Anglian ridge does not often exceed 500 ft., though it continues the northward escarpment across Hertfordshire. There are several passes through the Chilterns, followed by main roads and railways converging on London, which lies in the basin of which these hills form part of the northern rim. The most remarkable passes are those near Tring, Wendover and Prince’s Risborough, the floors of which are occupied by the gravels of former rivers. The Chilterns were formerly covered with a forest of beech, and there is still a local supply of this wood for the manufacture of chairs and other articles in the neighbourhood of Wycombe.

CHILTERN HUNDREDS. An old principle of English parliamentary law declared that a member of the House of Commons, once duly chosen, could not resign his seat. This rule was a relic of the days when the local gentry had to be compelled to serve in parliament. The only method, therefore, of avoiding the rule came to be by accepting an office of profit from the crown, a statute of 1707 enacting that every member accepting an office of profit from the crown should thereby vacate his seat, but should be capable of re-election, unless the office in question had been created since 1705, or had been otherwise declared to disqualify for a seat in parliament. Among the posts of profit held by members of the House of Commons in the first half of the 18th century are to be found the names of several crown stewardships, which apparently were not regarded as places of profit under the crown within the meaning of the act of 1707, for no seats were vacated by appointment to them. The first instance of the acceptance of such a stewardship vacating a seat was in 1740, when the house decided that Sir W.W. Wynn, on inheriting from his father, in virtue of a royal grant, the stewardship of the lordship and manor of Bromfield and Yale, had ipso facto vacated his seat. On the passing of the Place Act of 1742, the idea of utilizing the appointment to certain crown stewardships (possibly suggested by Sir W.W. Wynn’s case) as a pretext for enabling a member to resign his seat was carried into practice. These nominal stewardships were eight in number, but only two survived to be used in this way in contemporary practice—those of the Chilterns and Northstead; and when a member wished to vacate his seat, he was accordingly spoken of as taking the Chiltern Hundreds.

1. Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, County Bucks.—The Chiltern Hundreds formed a bailiwick of the ordinary type. They are situated on the Chiltern Hills, and the depredations of the bandits, who found shelter within their recesses, became at an early period so alarming that a special officer, known as the steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, was appointed for the protection of the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts. It is doubtful at what date the necessity for such an appointment disappeared, but the three hundreds of Stoke, Burnham and Desborough are still distinguished by the old name. The appointment of steward was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1750, the appointment being made by the chancellor of the exchequer (and at his discretion to grant or not), and the warrant bestowing on the holder “all wages, fees, allowances and other privileges and pre-eminences.” Up to the 19th century there was a nominal salary of 20s. attached to the post. It was laid down in 1846 by the chancellor of the exchequer that the Chilterns could not be granted to more than one person in the same day, but this rule has not been strictly adhered to, for on four occasions subsequent to 1850 the Chilterns were granted twice on the same day. The Chilterns might be granted to members whether they had taken the oath or not, or during a recess, though in this case a new writ could not be issued until the House met again. Each new warrant expressly revoked the grant to the last holder, the new steward retaining it in his turn until another should be appointed.

2. Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of East Hundred, or Hendred, Berks.—This stewardship was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1763, and was in more or less constant use until 1840, after which it disappeared. This manor comprised copyholds, the usual courts were held, and the stewardship was an actual and active office, the duties being executed by a deputy steward. The manor was sold by public auction in 1823 for £910, but in some manner the crown retained the right of appointing a steward for seventeen years after that date.

3. Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, Yorkshire.—This manor was crown property before 1750, but was in lease until 1838. It has no copyhold lands, nor are there any records of manor courts. There are no traces of any profits having ever been derived from the office. It was used for parliamentary purposes in 1844 and subsequently.

4. Steward of the Manor of Hempholme, Yorkshire.—This manor appears to have been of the same nature as that of Northstead. It was in lease until 1835. It was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1845 and was in constant use until 1865. It was sold in 1866.

5. Escheator of Munster.—Escheators were officers commissioned to secure the rights of the crown over property which had legally escheated to it. In Ireland mention is made of escheators as early as 1256. In 1605 the escheatorship of Ireland was split up into four, one for each province, but the duties soon became practically nominal. The escheatorship of Munster was first used for parliamentary purposes in the Irish parliament from 1793 to 1800, and in the united parliament (24 times for Irish seats and once for a Scottish seat) from 1801 to 1820. After 1820 it was discontinued and finally abolished in 1838.

6. Steward of the Manor of Old Shoreham, Sussex.—This manor belonged to the duchy of Cornwall, and it is difficult to understand how it came to be regarded as a crown appointment. It was first used for parliamentary purposes in 1756, and then, occasionally, until 1799, in which year it was sold by the duchy to the duke of Norfolk.

7. Steward of the Manor of Poynings, Sussex.—This manor reverted to the crown on the death of Lord Montague about 1804, but was leased up to about 1835. It was only twice used for parliamentary purposes, in 1841 and 1843.

8. Escheator of Ulster.—This appointment was used in the united parliament three times, for Irish seats only; the last time in 1819.

See parliamentary paper—Report from the Select Committee on House of Commons (Vacating of Seats) (1894).

(T. A. I.)

CHILWA (incorrectly Shirwa), a shallow lake in south-east Africa, S.S.E. of Lake Nyasa, cut by 35°20′E., and lying between 15° and 15°35′S. The lake is undergoing a process of desiccation, and in some dry seasons (as in 1879 and 1903) the “open water” is reduced to a number of large pools. Formerly the lake seems to have found an outlet northwards to the Lujenda branch of the Rovuma, but with the sinking of its level it is now separated from the Lujenda by a wooded ridge some 30 to 40 ft. above the surrounding plains. There are four islands, the largest rising 500 ft. above the water. The lake was discovered by David Livingstone in 1859 and was by him called Shirwa, from a mishearing of the native name.

CHIMAERA, in Greek mythology, a fire-breathing female monster resembling a lion in the fore part, a goat in the middle, and a dragon behind (Iliad, vi. 179), with three heads corresponding. She devastated Caria and Lycia until she was finally slain by Bellerophon (see H.A. Fischer, Bellerophon, 1851). The origin of the myth was the volcanic nature of the soil of Lycia (Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii. 110; Servius on Aeneid, vi. 288), where works have been found containing representations of the Chimaera in the simple form of a lion. In modern art the Chimaera is usually represented as a lion, with a goat’s head in the middle of the back, as in the bronze Chimaera of Arezzo (5th century). The word is now used generally to denote a fantastic idea or fiction of the imagination.

CHIMAY, a town in the extreme south-east of the province of Hainaut, Belgium, dating from the 7th century. Pop. (1904) 3383. It is more commonly spoken of as being in the district entre Sambre et Meuse. Owing to its proximity to the French frontier it has undergone many sieges, the last of which was in 1640, when Turenne gave orders that it should be reduced to such ruin that it could never stand another. The town is chiefly famous for the castle and park that bear its name. Originally a stronghold of the Cröy family, it has passed through the D’Arenbergs to its present owners, the princes of Caraman-Chimay. The castle, which before Turenne’s order to demolish it possessed seven towers, has now only one in ruins, and a modern château was built in the Tudor style in the 18th century. This domain carried with it the right to one of the twelve peerages of Hainaut. Madame Tallien, daughter of Dr Cabarrus, the Lady of Thermidor, married as her second husband the prince de Chimay, and held her little court here down to her death in 1835. There is a memorial to her in the church, which also contains a fine monument of Phillippe de Cröy, chamberlain and comrade in arms of the emperor Charles V. John Froissart the chronicler died and was buried here. There is a statue in his honour on the Grand Place. Chimay is situated on a stream called the White Water, which in its lower course becomes the Viroin and joins the Meuse.

CHIME, (1) (Probably derived from a mistaken separation into two words, chimbe bell, of chymbal or chymbel, the old form of “cymbal,” Lat. cymbalum), a mechanical arrangement by which a set of bells in a church or other tower, or in a clock, are struck so as to produce a sequence of musical sounds or a tune. For the mechanism of such an arrangement in a clock and in a set of bells, see the articles Clock and Bell. The word is also applied to the tune thus played by the bells and also to the harmonious “fall” of verse, and so, figuratively, to any harmonious agreement of thought or action. (2) (From Mid. Eng. chimb, a word meaning “edge,” common in varied forms to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Kimme), the bevelled rim formed by the projecting staves at the ends of a cask.

CHIMERE (Lat. chimera, chimaera; O. Fr. chamarre, Mod. Fr. simarre; Ital. zimarra; cf. Span. zamarra, a sheepskin coat; possibly derived ultimately from Gr. χειμέριος, “wintry,” i.e. a winter overcoat), in modern English use the name of a garment worn as part of the ceremonial dress of Anglican bishops. It is a long sleeveless gown of silk or satin, open down the front, gathered in at the back between the shoulders, and with slits for the arms. It is worn over the rochet (q.v.), and its colour is either black or scarlet (convocation robes). By a late abuse the sleeves of the rochet were, from motives of convenience, sometimes attached to the chimere. The origin of the chimere has been the subject of much debate; but the view that it is a modification of the cope (q.v.) is now discarded, and it is practically proved to be derived from the medieval tabard (tabardum, taberda or collobium), an upper garment worn in civil life by all classes of people both in England and abroad. It has therefore a common origin with certain academic robes (see Robes, § Academic dress).

The word “chimere,” which first appears in England in the 14th century, was sometimes applied not only to the tabard worn over the rochet, but to the sleeved cassock worn under it. Thus Archbishop Scrope is described as wearing when on his way to execution (1405) a blue chimere with sleeves. But the word properly applies to the sleeveless tabard which tended to supersede, from the 15th century onwards, the inconvenient cappa clausa (a long closed cloak with a slit in front for the arms) as the out-of-doors upper garment of bishops. These chimeres, the colours of which (murrey, scarlet, green, &c.) may possibly have denoted academical rank, were part of the civil costume of prelates. Thus in the inventory of Walter Skirlawe, bishop of Durham (1405-1406), eight chimeres of various colours are mentioned, including two for riding (pro equitatura). The chimere was, moreover, a cold weather garment. In summer its place was taken by the tippet.

In the Anglican form for the consecration of bishops the newly consecrated prelate, hitherto vested in rochet, is directed to put on “the rest of the episcopal habit,” i.e. the chimere. The robe has thus become in the Church of England symbolical of the episcopal office, and is in effect a liturgical vestment. The rubric containing this direction was added to the Book of Common Prayer in 1662; and there is proof that the development of the chimere into at least a choir vestment was subsequent to the Reformation. Foxe, indeed, mentions that Hooper at his consecration wore “a long scarlet chymere down to the foot” (Acts and Mon., ed. 1563, p. 1051), a source of trouble to himself and of scandal to other extreme reformers; but that this was no more than the full civil dress of a bishop is proved by the fact that Archbishop Parker at his consecration wore surplice and tippet, and only put on the chimere, when the service was over, to go away in. This civil quality of the garment still survives alongside the other; the full dress of an Anglican prelate at civil functions of importance (e.g. in parliament, or at court) is still rochet and chimere.

The continental equivalent of the chimere is the zimarra or simarre, which is defined by foreign ecclesiologists (Moroni, Barbier de Montault) as a kind of soutane (cassock), from which it is distinguished by having a small cape and short, open arms (manches-fausses) reaching to the middle of the upper arm and decorated with buttons. In France and Germany it is fitted more or less to the figure; in Italy it is wider and falls down straight in front. Like the soutane, the zimarra is not proper to any particular rank of clergy, but in the case of bishops and prelates it is ornamented with red buttons and bindings. It never has a train (cauda). It is not universally worn, e.g. in Germany apparently only by prelates. G. Moroni identifies the zimarra with the epitogium which Domenico Magri, in his Hierolexicon (ed. 1677), calls the uppermost garment of the clergy, worn over the soutane (toga) instead of the mantellum (vestis suprema clericorum loco pallii), with a cross-reference to Tabardum, the “usual” upper garment (pallium usuale); and this definition is repeated in the 8th edition of the work (1732). From this it appears that so late as the middle of the 18th century the zimarra was still in common use as an out-of-doors overcoat. But, according to Moroni, by the latter half of the 19th century the zimarra, though still worn by certain civilians (e.g. notaries and students), had become in Italy chiefly the domestic garment of the clergy, notably of superiors, parish priests, rectors, certain regulars, priests of congregations, bishops, prelates and cardinals. It was worn also by the Roman senators, and is still worn by university professors. A black zimarra lined with white, and sometimes ornamented with a white binding and gold tassels, is worn by the pope.

More analogous to the Anglican chimere in shape, though not in significance, is the purple mantelletum worn over the rochet by bishops, and by others authorized to wear the episcopal insignia, in presence of the pope or his legates. This symbolizes the temporary suspension of the episcopal jurisdiction (symbolized by the rochet) so long as the pope or his representative is present. Thus at the Curia cardinals and prelates wear the mantelletum, while the pope wears the zimarra, and the first act of the cardinal camerlengo after the pope’s death is to expose his rochet by laying aside the mantelletum, the other cardinals following his example, as a symbol that during the vacancy of the papacy the pope’s jurisdiction is vested in the Sacred College. On the analogy of the mantelletum certain Anglican prelates, American and colonial, have from time to time appeared in purple chimeres; which, as the Rev. N.F. Robinson justly points out, is a most unhappy innovation, since it has no historical justification, and its symbolism is rather unfortunate.

Authorities.—See the Report of the sub-committee of Convocation on the ornaments of the church and its ministers, p. 31 (London, 1908); the Rev. N.F. Robinson, “The black chimere of Anglican Prelates: a plea for its retention and proper use,” in Transactions of the St Paul’s Ecclesiological Soc. vol. iv. pp. 181-220 (London, 1898); Herbert Druitt, Costume on Brasses (London, 1906); G. Moroni, Dizionario dell’ erudizione storico-ecclesiastica (Venice, 1861), vol. 103, s.v. “Zimarra”: X. Barbier de Montault, Traité pratique de la construction, &c., des églises, ii. 538 (Paris, 1878).

(W. A. P.)

CHIMESYAN (Tsimshian), a tribe of North American Indians, now some 3000 in number, living around the mouth of the Skeena river, British Columbia, and on the islands near the coast. They are a powerfully built people, who tattoo and wear labrets and rings in noses and ears. They are skilful fishermen, and live in large communal houses. They are divided into clans and distinct social orders.

CHIMKENT, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the province of Syr-darya, 70 m. by rail N.N.E. of Tashkent. Pop. (1897) 10,756, mostly Sarts. It occupies a strategical position at the west end of the valley between the Alexander range and the Ala-tau (or Talas-tau), at the meeting of commercial routes from (1) Vyernyi and Siberia beyond, from the north-east, (2) the Aral Sea and Orenburg (connected with it by rail since 1905) to the north-west, and (3) Ferghana and Bokhara to the south. The citadel, which was stormed by the Russians in 1864, stands on high ground above the town, but is now in ruins. Chimkent is visited by consumptive patients who wish to try the koumiss cure. It has cotton mills and soap-works.

CHIMNEY (through the Fr. cheminée, from caminata, sc. camera, a Lat. derivative of caminus, an oven or furnace), in architecture, that portion of a building, rising above the roof, in which are the flues conveying the smoke to the outer air. Originally the term included the fireplace as well as the chimney shaft. At Rochester Castle (1130) and Heddington, Essex, there were no external chimney shafts, and the flue was carried through the wall at some height above the fireplace. In the early examples the chimney shaft was circular, with one flue only, and was terminated with a conical cap, the smoke issuing from openings in the side, which at Sherborne Abbey (A.D. 1300) were treated decoratively. It was not till the 15th century that the smoke issued at the top, and later in the century that more than one flue was carried up in the same shaft. There are a few examples of the clustered shaft in stone, but as a rule they are contemporaneous with the general use of brick. The brick chimney shafts, of which there are fine specimens at Hampton Court, were richly decorated with chevrons and other geometrical patterns. One of the best examples is that at Thornton Castle, Gloucestershire.

In the 15th and 16th centuries in France the chimney shaft was recognized as an important architectural feature, and was of considerable elevation in consequence of the great height of the roofs. In the château of Meillant (1503) the chimney shafts are decorated with angle buttresses, niches and canopies, in the late Flamboyant style; and at Chambord and Blois they are carved with pilasters and niches with panelling above, carved with the salamander and other armorial devices. In the Roman palaces they are sometimes masked by the balustrades, and (when shown) take the form of sepulchral urns, as if to disguise their real purpose. Though not of a very architectural character, the chimneys at Venice present perhaps the greatest variety of terminations, and as a rule the smoke comes out on the sides and not through the top.

(R. P. S.)

Factory Chimneys.—Chimneys, besides removing the products of combustion, also serve to provide the fire with the air requisite for burning the fuel. The hot air in the shaft, being lighter than the cold air outside it, tends to rise, and as it does so air flows in at the bottom to take its place. An ascending current is thus established in the chimney, its velocity, other things being equal, varying as the square root of the height of the shaft above the grate. The velocity also increases with increase of temperature in the gas column, but since the weight of each cubic foot grows less as the gases expand, the amount of smoke discharged by a chimney does not increase indefinitely with the temperature; a maximum is reached when the difference in temperature between the gases in the shaft and the outside air is about 600° F., but the rate of increase is very slow after the difference has passed about 300° F. In designing a chimney the dimensions (height and sectional area) have to be so proportioned to the amount of fuel to be burnt in the various furnaces connected with it that at the temperature employed the products of combustion are effectively removed, due allowance being made for the frictional retardation of the current against the sides of the flues and shafts and in passing through the fire. The velocity of the current in actual chimneys varies widely, from 3 or 4 to 50 or 60 ft. a second. Increased velocity, obtainable by increasing the height of the shaft, gives increased delivering capacity, but a speed of 10 or 12 ft. a second is regarded as good practice. Ordinary factory chimneys do not in general exceed 180 or 200 ft. in height, but in some cases, especially when, as in chemical works, they are employed to get rid of objectionable vapours, they have been made double that height, or even more. In section they are round, octagonal or square. The circular form offers the least resistance to wind pressure, and for a given height and sectional area requires less material to secure stability than the octagonal and still less than the square; on the other hand, there is more liability to cracking. Brick is the material commonly used, but many chimneys are now made of iron or steel. Reinforced concrete is also employed.

CHIMNEYPIECE, the term given to the projecting hood which in medieval times was built over a fireplace to catch the smoke, and at a later date to the decorative framework, often carried up to the ceiling. “Chimneypiece” or “mantelpiece” is now the general term for the jambs, mantelshelf and external accessories of a fireplace. For many centuries the chimneypiece was the most ornamental and most artistic feature of a room, but as fireplaces have become smaller, and modern methods of heating have been introduced, its artistic as well as its practical significance has grown less.

Up to the 12th century rooms were warmed entirely by a hypocaust, or with braziers, or by fires on the hearth, the smoke finding its way up to a lantern in the roof. The earliest chimneypiece known is that in the King’s House at Southampton, with Norman shafts in the joints carrying a segmental arch, which is attributed to the first half of the 12th century. At a later date, in consequence of the greater width of the fireplace, flat or segmental arches were thrown across and constructed with voussoirs, sometimes joggled, the thrust of the arch being resisted by bars of iron at the back. In domestic work of the 14th century the chimneypiece was greatly increased in order to allow of the members of the family sitting on either side of the fire on the hearth, and in these cases great beams of timber were employed to carry the hood; in such cases the fireplace was so deeply recessed as to become externally an important architectural feature, as at Haddon Hall. The largest chimneypiece existing is in the great hall of the Palais des Comtes at Poitiers, which is nearly 30 ft. wide, having two intermediate supports to carry the hood; the stone flues are carried up between the tracery of an immense window above. In the early Renaissance style, the chimneypiece of the Palais de Justice at Bruges is a magnificent example; the upper portion, carved in oak, extends the whole width of the room, with statues of nearly life size of Charles V. and others of the royal family of Spain. The most prolific modern designer of chimneypieces was J.B. Piranesi, who in 1765 published a large series, on which at a later date the Empire style in France was based. In France the finest work of the early Renaissance period is to be found in the chimneypieces, which are of infinite variety of design.

The English chimneypieces of the early 17th century, when the purer Italian style was introduced by Inigo Jones, were extremely simple in design, sometimes consisting only of the ordinary mantelpiece, with classic architraves and shelf, the upper part of the chimney breast being panelled like the rest of the room. In the latter part of the century the classic architrave was abandoned in favour of a much bolder and more effective moulding, as in the chimneypieces at Hampton Court, and the shelf was omitted.

In the 18th century the architects returned to the Inigo Jones classic type, but influenced by the French work of Louis XIV. and XV. Figure sculpture, generally represented by graceful figures on each side, which assisted to carry the shelf, was introduced, and the overmantel developed into an elaborate frame for the family portrait over the chimneypiece. Towards the close of the 18th century the designs of the brothers Adam superseded all others, and a century later they came again into fashion. The Adam mantels are in wood enriched with ornament, cast in moulds, sometimes copied from the carved wood decoration of old times.

(R. P. S.)

CHIMPANZEE (Chimpanzi), the vernacular name of the highest species of the man-like apes, forming the typical representatives of the genus Anthropopithecus. Chimpanzees, of which there appear to be at least two species, range through the tropical forest-zone of Africa from the west coast to Uganda. The typical A. troglodytes has been long known to European science, Dr Tyson, a celebrated surgeon and anatomist of his time, having dissected a young individual, and described it, as a pigmy or Homo sylvestris, in a book published in 1699. Of this baby chimpanzee the skeleton may be seen in the Natural History branch of the British Museum alongside the volume in which it is described. It was not, however, till 1788 that the chimpanzee received what is now recognized as a scientific name, having been christened in that year Simia troglodytes by the naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. In his classification it was included in the same genus as the orang-utan; and it has recently been suggested that the name Simia pertains of right to the chimpanzee rather than to the orang-utan. Between the typical West African chimpanzee and the gorilla (q.v.) there is no difficulty in drawing a distinction; the difficulty comes in when we have to deal with the aberrant races, or species, of chimpanzee, some of which are so gorilla-like that it is by no means easy to determine to which group they really pertain. In height the adult male chimpanzee of the typical form does not exceed 5 ft., and the colour of the hair is a full black, while the skin, especially that of the face, is light-coloured; the ears are remarkably large and prominent, and the hands reach only a short distance below the knees. The head is rounded and short, without prominent beetling ridges above the eyes, or a strong crest along the middle line of the back of the skull; and the tusks of the old males are of no very great length and prominence. Moreover, there is no very marked difference in the size of the two sexes. Gentleness and docility are specially characteristic of the species, even when full-grown; while in the native state its habits are thoroughly arboreal.

In central Africa the chimpanzees assume more or less marked gorilla-like traits. The first of these aberrant types is Schweinfurth’s chimpanzee (Anthropopithecus troglodytes schweinfurthi), which inhabits the Niam-Niam country, and, although evidently belonging to the same species as the typical race, exhibits certain gorilla-like features. These traits are still more developed in the bald chimpanzee (A. tschego) of Loango, the Gabun, and other regions of French Congo, which takes its English name from the sparse covering of hair on the head. The most gorilla-like of all the races is, however, the kulu-kamba chimpanzee (A. kulu-kamba) of du Chaillu, which inhabits central Africa. The celebrated ape “Mafuka,” which lived in the Dresden zoological gardens during 1875, and came from Loango, was apparently a member of this species, although it was at one time regarded as a hybrid between a chimpanzee and a gorilla. These gorilla-like traits were still more pronounced in “Johanna,” a female chimpanzee living in Barnum & Bailey’s show in 1899, which has been described and figured by Dr A. Keith. The heavy ridges over the brow, originally supposed to be distinctive of the gorilla, are particularly well marked in “Johanna,” and they would doubtless be still more noticeable in the male of the same race, which seems to be undoubtedly du Chaillu’s kulu-kamba. Still the large size and prominence of the ears proclaim that both “Mafuka” and “Johanna” were chimpanzees and not gorillas. A gorilla-like feature in “Johanna” is, however, the presence of large folds at the sides (ala) of the nostrils, which are absent in the typical chimpanzee, but in the gorilla extend down to the upper lip. Chimpanzees exhibit great docility in confinement, where, however, they seldom survive for any great length of time. They likewise display a much higher degree of intelligence than any of the other man-like apes. (See Primates.)

(R. L.*)

CHINA, a country of eastern Asia, the principal division of the Chinese empire. In addition to China proper the Chinese Empire includes Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Sin-kiang (East Turkestan, Kulja, Dzungaria, &c., i.e. all the Chinese dependencies lying between Mongolia on the north and Tibet on the south). Its most southern point is in 18° 50′ N.; its most northern in 53° 25′ N.; its most western in 74° E., and its most eastern in 135° E. It lies, however, mainly between 20° and 50° N. and 80° and 130° E. It is considerably larger than the whole of Europe. Though its area has not been exactly ascertained the various estimates closely approximate, varying between 4,277,000 and 4,300,000 sq. m. It is bounded N.W., N. and N.E. by Asiatic Russia, along a frontier extending some 6000 m.; E. by Korea and those parts of the Pacific known as the Yellow Sea and China Sea; S. and S.W. by the China Sea, French Indo-China, Upper Burma and the Himalayan states. It is narrowest in the extreme west. Chinese Turkestan along the meridian of Kashgar (76° E.) has a breadth of but 250 m. It rapidly broadens and for the greater part of its area is over 1800 m. across in a direct N. and S. line. Its greatest length is from the N.E. corner of Manchuria to the S.W. confines of Tibet, a distance of 3100 m. in a direct line. Its seaboard, about 5000 m. following the indentations of the coast, is almost, wholly in China proper, but the peninsula of Liao-tung and also the western shores of the Gulf of Liao-tung are in Manchuria.

China1 proper or the Eighteen Provinces (Shih-pa-shêng) occupies the south-eastern part of the empire. It is bounded N. by Mongolia, W. by Turkestan and Tibet, S.W. by Burma, S. by Tongking and the gulf of that name, S.E. by the South China Sea, E. by the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, Gulf of Chih-li and Manchuria. Its area is approximately 1,500,000 sq. m.

This vast country is separated from the rest of continental Asia by lofty tablelands and rugged mountain ranges, which determine the general course—west to east—of its principal rivers. On the north and west the Mongolian and Tibetan tablelands present towards China steep escarpments across which are very few passes. On the S.W. and S., on the borders of Yun-nan, high mountains and deep valleys separate China from Burma and Tongking. On the narrow N.E. frontier the transition from the Manchurian plateau to the alluvial plain of northern China is not abrupt, but, before the advent of railways, Manchuria afforded few and difficult means of access to other regions. Thus China was almost cut off from the rest of the world save by sea routes.

I. The Country

Western China consists of highlands often sparsely, and eastern China of lowlands densely peopled. Western China contains the only provinces where the population is under 100 per sq. m. From the Tibetan and Mongolian tablelands project mountain ranges which, ramifying over the western region, enclose elevated level tracts and lower basins and valleys. East of this mountainous region, which extends into central China and covers probably fully half of the kingdom, are, in the north a great alluvial plain and in the south a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation (see §§ Mountains and Geology). In north-eastern China there is only one mountain system, the group of hills—-highest peak 5060 ft.—-forming the Shan-tung peninsula. This peninsula was formerly an island, but has been attached to the mainland by the growth of the alluvial plain. Besides the broad division of the country into western and eastern China it may also be considered as divided into three regions by the basins of its chief rivers, the Hwang-ho (Yellow river) in the north, the Yangtsze-kiang in the centre, and the Si-kiang (West river) in the south. In the northern provinces of Kan-suh and Shen-si the basins of the Hwang-ho and Yangtsze-kiang are separated by a mountain chain with various names— the eastern termination of the Kuen-lun range of central Asia. These mountains, in China, attain, in the Tsing-ling Shan, a maximum elevation of 13,000 ft. East of Shen-si, in Ho-nan the Fu-niu-shan continue the range, but with decreasing elevation, and beyond this the deltaic plain is entered.

The watershed between the Yangtsze-kiang and that of the Si-kiang is less clearly marked. It traverses the immense tableland which occupies a great part of the south-west provinces of Yun-nan and Kwei-chow and is continued eastward by the lower tableland of Kwang-si and the Nanshan hills (whose elevation seldom exceeds 6000 ft.). The basin of the Yangtsze-kiang forms the whole of central China. Its western border, in Sze-ch‘uen and Yun-nan, is wholly mountainous, with heights exceeding 19,000 ft. Central Sze-ch‘uen, which is shut in by these mountains on the west, by the Yun-nan and Kwei-chow plateau on the south, by the Kiu-lung range on the north, and by highlands eastward (save for the narrow valley through which the Yangtsze-kiang forces its way), is a vast red sandstone tableland of about 1600 ft. elevation. It is exceedingly fertile and supports a dense population. Eastward of Sze-ch‘uen the Yangtsze valley is studded with lakes. Finally it enters the deltaic plain. The basin of the Si-kiang fills the two southern provinces of Kwang-si and Kwang-tung and contains no very striking orographic features. It may be added that in the extreme S.W. portion of China is part of a fourth drainage area. Here the Mekong, Salween, Song-koi (Red river), &c. flow south to Indo-China.

The Coast.—The coast-line, following all the minor indentations, is reckoned at over 4500 m.; if only the larger inlets and promontories be regarded, the coast-line is about 2150 m. in length. Its shape is that of a semicircle, with its most easterly point midway (30° N.) between its northern and southern extremities. At either end of this semicircular sweep lies a peninsula, and beyond the peninsula a gulf. In the north are the peninsula of Shan-tung and the gulf of Chih-li; in the south the Lien-chow peninsula and the gulf of Tongking. Due south of Lien-chow peninsula, separated rom it by a narrow strait, is Hai-nan, the only considerable island of China. From the northern point of the gulf of Chih-li to 30° N., where is Hang-chow bay, the shores are flat and alluvial save where the Shan-tung peninsula juts out. Along this stretch there are few good natural harbours, except at the mouths of rivers and in the Shan-tung promontory; the sea is shallow and has many shoals. The waters bordering the coast of Chih-li are partly frozen in winter; at 10 m. from the shore the water is only 20 ft. deep. The proximity of Peking gives its few ports importance; that of Taku is at the mouth of the Peiho. In Shan-tung, deeply indented on its southern coast, are the ports of Chi-fu, Wei-hai-wei and Tsing-tao (the last in Kiao-chow bay). South of Shan-tung and north of the mouth of the Yangtsze huge sandbanks border the coast, with narrow channels between them and the shore. The estuary of the Yangtsze is 60 m. across; it contains islands and sandbanks, but there is easy access to Wusung (Shanghai) and other river ports. The bay of Hangchow, as broad at its entrance as the Yangtsze estuary, forms the mouth of the Tsien-tang-kiang. The Chusan and other groups of islands lie across the entrance of the bay.