Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/835

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MADOZ MiDOZ, Pascnal, a Spanish author, born in Pamplona, May IT, 1806, died in 1870. His studies at Saragossa were interrupted in 1823 by his part in the defence of the castle of Mon- zon against the French invading army, and by his imprisonment during 17 months, after which he returned to the university, where he graduated ; but, expelled on a charge of teach- ing Jansenist doctrines, he lived for some time at Tours in France. On his return to Spain he became editor of the Diccionario geogrdfico universal, commenced by Bergues (10 vols., Barcelona, 1829-'34), and published a Colec- cion de causas celebres. In 1835 he was ap- pointed judge at Barcelona, and military gov- ernor of the valley of Aran. His successful operations against the Carlists in Catalonia led to his election to the cortes. In 1842-'3 he took a prominent part in the movement against Espartero. In August, 1854, he was appoint- ed governor of Barcelona, and afterward be- came the leader of the progresista party in the cortes. In January, 1855, he was appoint- ed minister of finance, and proposed the fa- mous law of desamortisacion, decreeing the sale of the property vested in the state, the clergy, and other public bodies. He retired from the ministry in June, and was at the head of the opposition in the cortes until July, 1856, when he was compelled to flee on account of his resistance to the cabinet of O'Donnell. He cooperated in the revolu- tion of 1868, becoming governor of the prov- ince of Madrid, and a member of the con- stituent cortes. In the early part of 1870 he favored Espartero; but when Prim proposed Amadeus, he again sided with him, accompa- nied the Spanish deputation to the Italian cap- ital, and died on the journey. His principal work is Diccionario geogrdfico estadistico y Jiistorico de Espana (16 vols. 4to, Madrid 1848-'50), of which he was the publisher as well as editor, having established a printing office at his own expense, and at the same time superintending the sale, the government contributing largely to the expenses. MADRAS. I. A province of British India, commonly known as a presidency, comprising the southern part of the peninsula of Hindo- stan, bounded N. "W. by the Bombay territo- ries, N. by the Nizam's Dominions and the Central Provinces, and on the extreme N. E. by Bengal. It extends from Cape Comorin, in lat. 8 5' N., to the N. E. limits of the district of Ganjam, in lat. 20 18', and is included be- tween Ion. 74 40' and 85 15' E., having an extreme length of about 950 m., and a breadth of 450 m. measured northwestward from the capital. Area, 141,746 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 31,311,142. For administrative purposes it is divided into three divisions or commissioner- ships, called the Northern", Central, and South- ern ranges, and into 21 districts, as follows, beginning at the N, E. extremity and proceed- ing southward and westward: Ganjam, Viza- gapatam, Godavery, Kistnah, Nellore, Kurnool, MADRAS 829 Bellary, Cuddapah, N. Arcot, Chingleput, Ma- dras, Salem, S. Arcot, Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura, Tinnevelli, Coimbatore, the Neilgher- ry hill district, Malabar, and S. Canara. The population of the divisions is respectively as follows : Northern Range, 6,794,912 ; Central Range, 10,436,821 ; Southern Range, 14,079,- 409. In the S. W. part of the province are the subject-allied native states of Cochin and Travancore, both of which are prosperously administered under the supervision of the Madras government. Cochin has an area of 1,988 sq. m. and about 300,000 inhabitants; Travancore, about 4,700 sq. m. and 1,500,- 000 inhabitants. These feudatory states, to- gether with the Malabar and Canara districts, form the western seaboard. French settle- ments at Pondicherry, Karical, Yanaon, and Mahe are also included within the boundaries of Madras. The coast line of Madras consti- tutes one half the entire coast line of the great Indian peninsula, and extends northward from Cape Comorin 540 m. along the Arabian sea and 1,187 m. along the bay of Bengal. The western shore, which is generally muddy or sandy, is known as the Malabar coast. It is deeply indented and penetrated by many creeks and backwaters. Of the latter the most important is at the port of Cochin, which is said to be capable of being made the finest close harbor in the world, as it is 10 m. wide at its southern end, and has a depth vary- ing from 10 to 48 ft. The harbor at Man- galore admits vessels drawing from 10 to 12 ft. The port of Calicut, whence teak is export- ed, is on this coast. Between Cape Comorin and Calimere point, opposite the N. extremity of Ceylon, the E. coast of Madras is low, rocky, and fringed with reefs. The mainland is here separated from Ceylon by the gulf of Manaar and Palk strait, and almost united to it by a line of islands and the shoals and rocks known as Adam's Bridge. A passage through this obstruction has been constructed by deep- ening the Pamban channel between the conti- nent and the nearest island, called Rameswar, so that it is navigable for vessels which do not draw more than 12 ft. There is an excel- lent roadstead at Tuticorin, on this part of the coast. From Calimere point northward to lat. 15 20' stretches the Coromandel coast, a part of the ancient province of the Carnatic, low, sandy, and without good harbors. Its principal port is the capital, Madras ; and oth- er important shipping resorts are Negapatam, Nagore, Tranquebar, Cuddalore, Sadras, the French colony of Pondicherry, and Pulicat, at one of the entrances to the extensive salt- water lake or inlet of that name. There is not a harbdr on the coast, however, which af- fords safe anchorage in all weathers. North of the Coromandel coast begins the Golcon- da coast, extending up to lat. 17 15', a dis- tance of about 270 m., the only ports of which are Masulipatam and Coringa. Between the termination of this coast and the northern