Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 9.djvu/559

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MAni^TTI


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MAni^Tn


Leaving aside the larger high schools, convent schools, and European and native orphanages, there are in the archdiocese 3 English schools for boys, 2 for giris, and 4 mixed; 16 Tamil schools for boys, 6 for giris, and 5 mixed; 38 Telugu schools for boys, 6 for fLrlBf and 15 mixed. The Tamil Catholic population IS strong in Bladras and neighbourhood, where there are many churches, while in the outlying parts there are three Telugu mission groups in the Guntur, Bellary and Chingleput districts. As regards indications of missionary progress, the estimated Catholic popula- tion in 1888 was 43,587, as compared with 49,290 in 1908. The finest building in Madras^ is the old cathe- dral, Armenian Street, bmlt in 1775 f but several fine churches have been erected in the districts.

Local publications include the Madras "Catholic Watchman", a weekly paper started in 1887; the "Madras Catholic Directory", published annually since 1851, and covering the whole of India, Burma. Ceylon, and Malacca, with an appendix on Siam ana China; the "Nalla Ayan", a Tamil monthly.

Madras Caikolie Directory for 1909 and previous ^ears, especially the year 1867, which oontaina a spejual histonciU account of the Capuchin Mission: Bombay Examiner^ 11 May, 1907, on Bdlary district. A history of the Telugu Missions is ' ration by Father Kboot.


in prepa-

"Ebnebt R. Hull.


Madrid-Alcal&f Diocese of (Matritensib-Ala- CHENSis, or-CoMPLTJTENSis: Complutum being the name eiven by the Romans to the town called in later years Alcald by the Moors). Madrid is the name of a province and town in Spain.

Province. — Madrid is one of the five provinces into which New Castile is divided: area 3084 square miles; pop. (in 1900), 775,036. It lies in the basin of the Ta^us; other rivers of the province being the Jarama, the Henares, the Logasa and the Manzanares, all tributaries of the Tagus. The soil is clayey and sandy, and on the whole treeless, except alon^ the mountain slopes of the Guadarrama. The quames of the Guadarrama contain granite, lime, iron, copper, and lead. The chief manufactures are cloth, paper, porcelain, bricks, and glass. In the neighbourhood of Madrid gardening is carried on extensively, and wine and oil are a source of wealth throughout the province. Commerce is mainly carried on with the town of Mia^rid, and of late years an improved railway system 18 developing the economical condition of country places. The great plain of Madrid lies in the heart of the province, an immense desert flanked by the Guadarrama mountains, and resembling the wide campagna in which Rome stands.

Town. — ^The early history of Madrid is largely conjectural. Roman tablets and remains have l^n discovered in the neighbourhood, but nothing definite ia known until the Moors took possession of the sur- rounding country and established a fortress called Bfajrit. Tradition relates that there were Christians in the town and that during the Moorish occupation they concealed an image of the Blessed Virgin, known as Our Lady of the Almudena, in a tower of the city walls, where it was found in after years. The Moors were driven out by Don Ramiro II of Leon in 939, the Moorish Alegar became a royal palace, and the mosque a Christian church. The new cathedral, begun in 1885, and still unfinished, stands on the site of the mosque. Under the kings of Castile, Madrid attained no great prominence. In the fourteenth century the Cortes met there twice; John II and Heniy iV re- Bided occasionally in the royal palace, and Charles V visited it in 1524. In 1525 Francis I of France was imprisoned in Madrid, and in 1526 he signed the Treaty of Madrid by which he abandoned his rights over Italy. On regaining freedom, however, he re- fused to be boimd by its terms. There were twa other Treaties of Madrid, that of 1617 between Spain and Venice, and that of 1800 between Spain and Portugal. PhiJjp II by decree dated 1561 declared the town of


Madrid to be the tmica corte, thereby establishing it aa capital of all Spain, over the older and more historic towns of Valladolid, Seville, Toledo, etc., capitals of the kingdoms into which Spain had been divided.

From this time dates the expansion of Madrid; Philip II built the E^orial palace and monastery In the vicinity; PhiUp III, the Plaza Mayor; Philip IV, the Buen Retiro; Charles III, the Prado Museum and the AlcaU Gateway. In 1 789 Madrid had 18 parishes, 39 colleges, 15 gates, and 140,000 inhabitants. In 1808 it raised the standard of independence against the French invaders and the monument of the Dos de Mayo (2 May) commemorates the heroism of the Madrilefios when the French assaulted the Puerta del Sol. The Duke of Wellington restored the town to Spain in 1812. In 1878 the wails were taken down and the urban boundaries enlarged and its population in 1900 was 539,835. After the abdication of King Amadeo (1873), of the House of Savoy, who accepted the crown on the assassination of General Prim, the town was for a time in a state of anarchy owing to the rival political passions of Carlists, Republicans, and Socialists. Eventually a republic was instituted which lasted till 1875 when the House of Bourbon re- turned to Madrid in the person of Alfonso XII, father of the present sovereign Alfonso XIII.

Madrid is built on the Manzanares (a narrow river crossed by imposing bridges, the principal of which are Puente de Tolecfo and Fuente de Segovia), on low irregular sandhills in the centre of a bleak plateau 2150 feet above sea-level to the south of, but unpro- tected by, the Sierra Guadarrama. The temperature ranges from 18^ to 105° F.; the climate while not unhealthy is treacherous; the winter cold is intense and the summer heat pitiless. The dust of the sand- hills is a source of discomfort to the inhabitants, and baffles all the efforts of the municipality to overcome it. Modern improvements are to be seen everywhere. The streets are a network of electric cars; the tele- phone system is excellent; transportation facilities aie provided for by the nulways which give direct communication with Paris. Lisbon, etc.; water is supplied from the Logasa, by an aqueduct 47 miles long conveying 40,000,000 gallons of water daily to Madrid: this aqueduct was erected at a cost of $11,- 000,000. The working classes are well organized to defend their interests; the masons' and bricklayers' union has 15,000 members. Socialistic ideals find some favour among the working men, and May Day demonstrations are sometimes troublesome. Fublic peace is looked after by gendarmes and civil guards. The State maintains a savings bank, and the P&wn- broking of the town is in Government hands. There are 3 foundling institutions, 6 orphanges, 20 hospitals, including the Princess Hospital, Hospital of St. John of God, military hospital, and a lunatic asylum. The birthrate is 37.5 per 1000; the mortality 37.4. The principal manufactures are tobacco (the tobacco monopoly employs over 4000 women and girls), metal ware, leather, gloves, and fans. It is a town of small traders, a frugal, industrious community reflecting the political ioeals of the country. Barcelona, while commercially more important, has strong affiniUes with France; Burgos, Salamanca, and Cordova live in their past greatness, but Madrid is a thriving state (y town, well fitted to be the capital of modern Spain.

The arms of the town are a tree in leaf with a be^r climbing the trunk, and the escutcheon is surmounted by a crown. Madrid has never been officially granted the title ciudad or city.

Monuments, — Old Madrid ended on one side at the Puerta del Sol, now the centre of the town, whence the chief thoroughfares radiate: the Calle de Alcald, the Calle del Arenal, the Calle Mayor, and the Carrera de San Joronimo, or Fifth Avenue of Madrid. The Buen Retiro and Parque de Madrid are recreation groimds. In the Plasa Mayor is a bronze equestrian statue of