Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/301

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TARGUM 257 TASKINGTON The Targum on the Book of Chronicles — almost unknown till it was printed in the 17th century — also belongs to a late period, and was probably composed in Palestine. A Persian version of a Tar- gum on Daniel (unedited) is all that has been discovered on that book as yet. It was probably composed in the 12th cen- tury, the influence of the early Crusades being plainly visible in it. By 900 in Africa and Spain the Targum had begun to be disused in public, Arabic, or the national language being substituted. In Yemen the Aramaic Targum is still used in the ancient manner, the meturgeman standing beside the reader and rendering verse by verse. TARIFA (-re'fa), the most S. town of Europe; a seaport of Spain, in the prov- ince of Cadiz in Andalusia; 21 miles S. W. of Gibraltar. The town is still quite Moorish in aspect, and retains its alcazar and battlemented Arab walls. A cause- way connects it with a small island, on which are some powerful fortifications and a lighthouse, 135 feet above the sea- level. Tunny and anchovy^ fishing is and has been since Roman times the principal occupation of the inhabitants, but the preparation of leather is also carried on, and there is a trade in sweet oranges. Tarifa, called Julia Joza by Strabo, was occupied in A. D. 710 by the pioneers of the Moorish invasion, under Tarif Abu- Zor'a, whence it obtained its Arabic name of Jeziret-Tarif ( Tarif 's island). It was taken from the Moslems, after an obstinate siege, in 1292, by Sancho IV. of Castile, and its first Spanish governor was Alonzo Perez de Guzman, celebrated in the Romancero for his valiant defense of the town against the besieging Moors in 1294. During the Peninsular War Tarifa was successfully defended by Gough with 1,800 British troops and 700 Spaniards against a besieging army of 10,000 French (December, 1811, to Jan- uary, 1812). Pop. about 12,500. TARIFF, a list or table of goods with the duties or customs to which they are liable, either on exportation or importa- tion; a list or table of duties or customs to be paid on goods imported or exported, whether such duties are imposed by the government of a country or are agreed on between the governments of two countries having commerce with each other. The scale of duties depends on the supply and demand of goods, the in- terests and wants of the community, etc., and is therefore constantly changing. The tariff legislation of the United States has been constantly fluctuating, and has grown yearly in importance as a question of foreign policy. The most noted tariff bill ever passed by Congress was that taking its name from the then chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the late President McKinley. This tariff imposed high duties on im- ports, some specific and others ad va- lorem. It was repealed in 1894 by the passage of the Wilson bill, which became a law by the refusal of President Cleve- land to sign or veto it. On the tariff question the nation has generally been pretty evenly divided, or with but a slight preponderance in favor of a high protective duty. Of former tariff mea- sures that proposed in 1833 by Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and known as the compromise tariff, occupies the most prominent place in American history. Though Great Britain is now regarded as a free-trade country, yet on her tariff are listed 19 articles of import, from which she derives an average of about 20 per cent, of her total revenue. The British tariff is based not on an ad va- lorem tax, but depends entirely on a specific import, in some cases modified by a range of price between the highest and lowest figures, which it sets for an article. Thus for spirits worth a certain amount per gallon, the tax is so much per barrel, while for spirits of the next higher grade (according to price per gal- lon) a higher duty per barrel is collected. BOOTH TARKINGTON TARKINGTON, (NEWTON) BOOTH, an American author and playwright; born in Indianapolis, 1869; graduate of Princeton University. In 1902-1903 he was a member of the State House of Representatives of Indiana. His chief vocation, however, has been that of a novelist and a writer of short stories. His first book, "The Gentleman from In- diana," appeared in 1899, but it was his