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STEAFFOKD m. ; pop. in 1870, 30,243. It has an uneven surface, watered by numerous streams. The soil of the valleys is fertile. Several railroads traverse it. The chief productions in 1870 were 5,122 bushels of wheat, 59,761 of Indian corn, 13,938 of oats, 13,531 of barley, 248,681 of potatoes, 15,752 Ibs. of wool, 302,149 of but- ter, 42,667 of cheese, and 28,903 tons of hay. There were 1,983 horses, 4,227 milch cows, 2,602 working oxen, 3,666 other cattle, 4,627 sheep, and 1,775 swine; 21 manufactories of boots and shoes, 4 of cotton goods, 2 of iron ware, 5 of cotton and woollen machinery, 1 of floor oil cloths, 1 of paper, 1 of sand and emery paper and cloth, 7 of woollen -goods, 2 cloth- printing establishments, 2 planing mills, 15 saw mills, 1 flour mill, 3 tanneries, and 1 cur- rying establishment. Capital, Dover. STRATFORD, Thomas Wentworth, earl of, an English statesman, born in London, April 13, 1593, executed on Tower hill, May 12, 1641. He was educated at Cambridge, travelled abroad, at the age of 21 inherited large fami- ly estates, and in 1614 was elected to parlia- ment for the county of York. He was at first a leading member of the opposition, but ita. 1628 he was created by Charles I. Baron and Viscount Wentworth, joined the court party, and soon became the king's most trust- ed counsellor. He was appointed lord presi- dent of the council of the north, and in 1632 made governor of Ireland. His administra- tion here was severe and unjust. He main- tained that Ireland was a conquered country, and treated it as such. His object was to make his master an absolute monarch by means of an. executive system which he called "thorough," and he boasted that in Ireland the king was " as absolute as any prince in the whole world." It is generally admitted, however, that the material condition of the people improved under his government, in spite of his despotic measures. In January, 1640, he was created earl of Strafford and appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland. Later in the same year Charles put him in command of the army against the insurgent Scots, before whom the royal troops fled panic-struck, after the rout at Newburn (Aug. 28) ; and contrary to the strenuous ad- vice of Strafford, the king accepted the terms imposed by the Scots. Dreading the meeting of the parliament which the king at this time, under compulsion, determined to summon, Strafford implored permission to return to Ireland. But Charles, pledging his royal word that " not a hair of his head should be touched by parliament," prevailed upon him to brave the issue. The assembly met on Nov. 3. On the llth Pym appeared on the part of the commons at the bar of the house of lords, with a message of impeachment. The articles of impeachment accused Strafford of an at- tempt to subvert the liberties of the country. His guilt is placed beyond a doubt by evidence which has come to light since his death ; but it was never proved by his accusers, and his STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 409 defence, which he conducted himself with great eloquence and ability, was so strong that the house abandoned the original impeachment. A bill of attainder, brought into the lower house, was passed by a great majority. The lords, in a panic, complied ; and the bill was sent to Charles for his approval. The king made some endeavors to save him, but appre- hended popular violence if he refused a war- rant for the execution ; and Strafford advised him by letter, for the sake of the public peace, to sacrifice a life which would be resigned cheerfully to a master who had bestowed such " exceeding favors." He moved from his prison to Tower hill with dignity. "I lay down my head," said he, after declaring his innocence, "as cheerfully as ever I did when going to repose." His attainder was reversed under Charles II. His "Letters and Despatches" were edited by Dr. Knowler (2 vols. fol., Lon- don, 1739). His life has been written by Eliz- abeth Cooper (London, 1874). STRAITS SETTLEMENTS, a British colony in Asia, consisting of islands in the strait of Malacca and detached portions of territory adjoining it. It is divided for administra- tive purposes into three provinces, Singapore, Malacca, and Wellesley, the last including the island of Penang, which will be found described under their own names. The area, and the population according to the census of 1871, are as follows : PROVINCES. Area in sq. m. Population. Singapore 224 97,111 658 77756 Wellesley (mainland) 286 71,433 " (Penang') . . . 107 61,79T Total 1225 808,097 Of the total population in 1871, 200,433 were males and 107,664 females; 103,936 were Chinese, 1,730 Europeans, and the remainder Malays and other East Indians. The Straits Settlements is a crown colony, and is ruled by a governor, resident in Singapore, who is under the direct control of the home government. Subordinate to him are two sub-governors, resident at Malacca and Penang, who have charge respectively of the provinces of Malacca and Wellesley. The colony, which is free com- mercially, had no public debt in 1871. The gross public revenue in that year was 298,- 712 ; expenditure. 266,499. The total value of imports in 1871 was 10,161,563, of which 2,374,106 were from the United Kingdom; of exports, 9,416,642, of which 2,119,732 were to the United Kingdom. In 1851 the provinces now included in the Straits Settlements, which previously had been subordinate to the presi- dency of Bengal, were made a dependency of the crown under the governor general of In- dia; and in April, 1867 (by act of Aug. 10, 1866), they were separated from India and created an independent crown colony.