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446 BURDETT-CODTTS BURG took the place of his father, was decided for Burdett by a majority of five, but was also de- clared void ; and finally a committee deter- mined that Mainwaring was chosen by a ma- jority of one vote. He again lost his elec- tion in 1806. In 1807 he fought a duel with Mr. James Paull, whom he had formerly sup- ported, but with whom he had had politi- cal ditferences. Both duellists were severely wounded, and while recovering both were nom- inated for parliament by the opposing parties of Westminster ; Sir Francis was elected by a large majority, and for nearly 30 years re- tained this seat. In 1810 he published in Cob- bett's "Political Register" a letter denying the power of the commons to imprison delinquents. The house voted this to be " libellous and scan- dalous," and ordered his arrest. He barricaded his house, and was only taken after a resistance of four days. His commitment to the tower excited a serious riot, in which several persons were killed by the soldiers. He was released in June, on the prorogation of parliament. In succeeding sessions he continued his advocacy of popular measures, opposed the suspension of the habeas corpus act, supported Catholic emancipation, and protested against taxation without full representation. In 1820 he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 for a letter on the " Manchester Massacre." He continually supported the views of the popular party until about 1835-'6, when he deserted the cause of the Melbourne minis- try on account of their bearing toward O'Con- nell, whose agitation he opposed. He was by this step compelled to resign his Westminster seat, but he was nevertheless again returned. In 1837, however, he refused to be again a candidate in that borough, and was elected for Wiltshire, and continued to represent that county till his death. BCEDETT-COIJTTS, Angela Georgina, baroness, an English philanthropist, youngest daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, born in April, 1814. The fortune of her grandfather, Mr. Thomas Coutts, the hanker, was left to his widow, the actress Mrs. Mellon, whom he married late in life, and was diverted into another channel by the marriage of the latter with the duke of St. Albana. The duchess, how- ever, having no children, made Miss Angela Burdett her heiress, on condition that she should assume the name of Coutts. In 1837 Miss Burdett-Coutts succeeded to this property, estimated at between two and three millions sterling, and since that time her income has been devoted to charities. Among these are th e erection of a church with a parsonage and schools in a neglected part of London ; the erection of a church at Carlisle ; the endow- ment of missionary dioceses in South Austra- lia, South Africa, and British Columbia; and the supply of funds for a survey of Jerusalem, with a view to render that city healthy by a supply of pure water. She secured valuable Greek manuscripts from the East for the verifi- cation of Scripture, and gave food and clothing and a vessel to the starving people of the island of Girvan. She was raised to the peerage in June, 1871. A valuable testimonial and the franchise were presented to her in 1872 by the corporation of the city of London. BURDWAN, a city of Hindostan, capital of a British district of the same name in the presi- dency of Bengal, situated on the left bank of the Dummodah, and on the Grand Trunk railway, 58 m. N. W. of Calcutta; pop. about 55,000. it consists mainly of a crowded assemblage of wretched mud houses, with few handsome buildings. The residence of the titular rajah is a collection of various-colored houses sur- rounded by gardens, and remarkable for size and want of symmetry. The town contains English government and military schools, the residences of European civil functionaries, and factories of silk and cotton. In the vicinity are indigo works, and an artificial pool sur- rounded by an ornamented portico, much re- sorted to by bathers. lit REAL a N. W. county of Illinois, bounded S. E. by Illinois river, which is here navigable by steamboats ; area, 800 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 32,415. The surface is but little elevated, and the soil is generally fertile. Timber is scarce. The Chicago and Rock Island railroad and its Peoria branch, and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy and its Buda and Rushville branch, intersect the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 465,960 bushels of wheat, 43,811 of rye, 3,030,404 of Indian corn, 987,426 of oats, 98,732 of barley, 234,580 of potatoes, 62,099 tons of hay, 580,287 Ibs. of butter, and 45,633 of wool. There were 19,193 horses, 13,590 milch cows, 28,999 other cattle, 9,679 sheep, | and 50,674 swine. Capital, Princeton. ttl'KG. I. A town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, on the Ihle, 13 m. H. E. of Magde- burg; pop. in 1871, 15,184, partly descendants of Palatinate, French, and Walloon settlers. The service of one of the four churches is per- formed in French. The Protestant refugees contributed much toward the ancient cloth manufactures, which now give employment to about 10,000 persons. Until the close of the 17th century Burg formed part of the princi- pality of Querfurt, and afterward it became part of Brandenburg and Prussia. II. A town of Prussia, in the district of Dusseldorf, on the Wupper, 7 m. S. of Elberfeld ; pop. about 2,000. It has important manufactures, es- pecially of hardware and of ribbons. i:i Hi;, Joliann Tobias, a German astronomer, born in Vienna, Dec. 24, 1766, died at Wiesenau, near Klagenfurt, Nov. 25, 1834. He was for three years assistant in the observatory at Vienna, and afterward professor at Klagen- furt. In 1798 the French institute proposed an astronomical question, and required that its solution should be based upon at least 500 ob- servations. Papers of great merit were pre- sented by Burg and by Alexis Bouvard, and the judges were at a loss between claims so