Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/99

This page needs to be proofread.
*
77
*

CAMDESJ. in maintenance and operation about $735,000 ; the main items of expenditure l)eing $180,000 for sehools, $125,000 for interest on ilel>t, $100,000 for the iwliee department, $75,000 for the fire department, $70,000 for municipal ligliting, and $70,000 for the vater-worl<s. The assessed valu- ation of property, real and personal, is about $2i),000,000, and the bonded debt $2,500,000. The sewerage system comprises about 100 miles of mains, and the water-works, including two plants built by the city in 1870 and 1889, at a total cost of $2,500,000, are under municipal operation, the system having 05 miles of mains, Poj)ulatiou, in 1890, 58,313: in 1900, 75.935. in- cluding 10,100 persons of foreign birth and 5C00 of negro descent. Camden, with a ])opulation of 1142, was chartered as a city in 1828; the Cam- den and Amboy Railroad, incorporated in 1833, gave the city its early importance as a railroad terminus. It was the home of Walt Whitman from 1873 until his death in 1892. Consult Fisler, .-1 Local History of Camden (Camden, 1858). CAMDEN. A town and county-seat of Ker- sliaw County, S. C 32 miles " northeast of Columbia, on the Wateree River, which is navi- gable, and at the intersection of the Southern Railroad and Seaboard Air Line systems (ilap: South Carolina, D 2). It is known as a winter resort, and has manufactures of cotton cloths and yarns, lumber-mills, and an extensive brick- making plant. Camden was settled in 1750 by a colony of Quakers from Ireland, and in 1791 was incorporated as a town. It is governed under a charter of 1890, which provides for a mayor, elected every- two years, and a municipal coun- cil. Here, on August 16. 1780. an English force of 2000 under Lord Cornwallis defeated an American force of 3000 under General Gates, Baron DeKalb being mortally woimded in the engagement : and near here, at Hobkirk's Hill (see Hobkikk's Hill, Battle of), an English force under Cieneral Rawdon repulsed an Ameri- can force under General Greene on April 25, 1781. In 1825 a monument was erected to the memory of DeKalb, Lafayette laying the cornerstone. On Fel)ruary 25, 1805, General Sherman entered Camden and destroyed 2000 bales of cotton, a large quantitv of tobacco, and a number of build- ings, ro]nilation, in 1890, 3533; in 1900, 2441. CAMDEN, Charles Pratt, first Earl of (1714-94). Ai English Chief .Tustiee and Lord Chancellor, third son of Sir .lolin Pratt, a Chief Justice under Cieorge I. He was born at Ken- sington and educated at Eton and Cambridge. In 1734 he became a fellow of his college, the next year obtained his B.A. degree, and in 1740 that of M.A. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1738. His prospects were dis- couraging until 1752, when he successfully de- fended a bookseller for libel on ihe House of Commons. In 1757 he was appointed Attornev- General. and in 1702 Chief Justice of the Com- mon Pleas. He presided over the trial of Wilkes (q.v.) and declared the action of Government illegal, an opinion which, according with public sentiment, made him the most popular of judges. In 17(i5 he was created Baron Camden hy the Rockingham administration, whose .American policy and treatment of Wilkes, notwithstanding, he constantly opposed. The following year, al- though appointed Lord Chancellor, he did not 77 CAMEL. abandon his principles ; and four years after sup- ported an amendment made by Chatham on the tiovernment ;uldress, and resigned his office. Henceforth he was a political character. He took an active part against the ill-advised Amer- ican policy imrsued by Lord Xorth. and in dis- cussions on the law of libel, was called 'the main- tainer of English constitutional liberty.' During the Revolutionary War he was very popular in the United States, and his memory is perpetu- ated by many counties, towns, and villages named after him. He was president of the council under Rockingham in 1782-83 and under Pitt from 1783 until his death. April 18, 1794. He was created Earl Camden and Viscount Bayham in 1780. CAMDEN, William (1551-1023). An anti- quarian and liistorian, surnamed 'The British I'ausanias.' He was born in London, where his father was a house-painter, May 2, 1551. His education began at Christ's Hos])ital. was com- pleted at Saint Paul's School and at Oxford, where he obtained a B.A. degree in 1573. In 1575 he was appointed second master of West- minster School, and while discharging the duties of this office he undertook the work which made his name famous. His Biitannm, written in ele- gant Latin, and giving an account of the British Islesfrom the earliest ages, was first published in 1580. and it at once brought him into com- munication with the learned men of his time. Before 1007 the work had passed through six editions, bemg enlarged and improved by the industry of the author. At first a eom|)aia'tively small volume, it received much additional mat- ter from other writers. The best-known edition is that of Edmund Gibson, in English, 2 vols., folio (1722). The latest translation is that of Gough and Xichols (2d ed.. 1800). Bishop Nicholson said of this work that it was "the common sun whereat our modem writers have all lighted their little torches." In 1593 Camden was appointed head master of Westminster School; and in 1597 Clarencieux King-at-Arms, an appointment which gave him more time for the pursuit of his favorite studies. His other important works are: Annnls of the Reign of Elizabeth (latest ed.. 1717); A Collection of Ancient English [listorians (6th ed.. I(i07) ; An Account of the Monuments and Inscriptions in Westminster Abbe;/ (1600) ; and a Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot (1607). He died November 9, 1623. at Chiselhurst. in the house which after- wards belonged to Xapoleon III., and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Before his death he en- dowed a professorship of history at Oxford. CAMDEN SOCIETY. An English associa- tion organized in London in 1838, and named in honor of William Camden. Its object is the pub- lication of historical and literary remains of antiquarian and general interest. The jniblica- tions began in 1847. After 104 volumes had been issued, a new series began, which up to 1900 in- cludes an additional 6.3 volumes. CAMEL (OF., Lat. eamelus, Gk. K<i)ivoi. Icamrlos, from Heb. (/dmfil, camel). A large desert-dwelling ruminant of two species, consti- tuting the ty|)i(al genus, Camelus, of the family Camclida'. Both h;ivc been subjugated to mail since prehistoric times, and neitJier is known or remembered in a wild state. The free camels which now roam in northern Turkestan, where they are hunted for their flesh, hides, and supe-