denying the right of the State Legislature “to judge of the acts and measures of the Federal Government.” The replies of the various States were referred to a committee of the Virginia Legislature of which Madison was chairman, and on January 7, 1800, this committee made an elaborate report. The texts of the resolutions may be found in Macdonald, Select Documents of United States History, 1776-1861 (New York, 1898); Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions may be found in Jefferson's Works, vol. ix. (ed. 1856); and the answers of the State Legislatures and the text of Madison's report of 1800 are given in Elliot's Debates, vol. iv. (ed. 1836). Consult: Warfield, Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 (New York, 1887); Von Holst, Constitutional History of the United States, vol. i. (Chicago; new ed. 1899).
VIRGINIA CITY. The county-seat of Storey County, Nev., 52 miles southeast of Reno; on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. It is situated at an elevation of over 6000 feet in a region noted for its extensive mineral deposits (Map: Nevada, D 2). The most important of the mines here is the Comstock Lode (q.v.). It was discovered in 1859, and the value of the output from 1860 to 1890 was $340,000,000. Since 1890, however, the production has materially decreased. The court-house and the Miners' Union Library are noteworthy features of the town. Under the charter of 1881 the government is vested in a board of three county commissioners. Virginia City grew up around the Comstock Lode, and was called successively Ophir and Silver City. It received its present name from James Fenimore, an early settler who was familiarly known as ‘Old Virginia.’ It was incorporated in 1864. Population, in 1890, 8511; in 1900, 2695.
VIRGINIA CREEPER. See Ivy.
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. A State institution at Lexington, Va., established in 1839, when the General Assembly, in place of the company of soldiers hitherto stationed at the western arsenal at Lexington, authorized the creation of a company of cadets, who, in addition to the duties of an armed guard, should pursue a course of scientific and military studies. In 1860 the cadets marched for Richmond and were employed in drilling the recruits at Camp Lee. The school was reopened in 1862 on the demand of the Confederate military authorities, but was burned by order of General David Hunter in 1864. After the close of the war the buildings were restored and the course of instruction was enlarged and extended. The courses are partly prescribed and partly elective. A cadet who attains the prescribed proficiency in one of the elective courses, in addition to the degree of graduate, may receive the degree of bachelor of science. Nearly the whole body of graduates prior to 1860 were officers in the Confederate Army. Since 1898 about 170 alumni of the institute have been officers in the United States armies. Stonewall Jackson was professor of physics and artillery instruction from 1851 to 1861. The institute in 1903 had 275 cadets, 20 instructors, and a library of 12,000 volumes. Its grounds and buildings were valued at $500,000. It has no endowment, being supported by the State.
VIRGINIANS, The. An historical novel by Thackeray, a sequel to Henry Esmond. It was published first in monthly parts (October 31, 1857-October 1, 1859), and then in book form (1858-59), with illustrations by the author himself. The scene is laid in the eighteenth century in England and the colonies. The two brothers who are its heroes are descendants of the Warrington family (see Pendennis), and Martha Washington is among the characters described.
VIRGINIA RAIL. See Rail.
VIRGINIA SNAKE-ROOT. See Aristolochia.
VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. An important seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, at Alexandria, Va. It had its origin in the theological class established at the College of William and Mary in 1821 and transferred to Alexandria in 1823. In 1827 the Seminary was removed to its present location, 2½ miles west of Alexandria. In 1854 it received from the Legislature a charter the provisions of which were enlarged in 1884. Since 1899 it has granted the degree B.D. to graduating students who have attained a certain high standing. In 1903 the faculty numbered 9, the students 45, and the alumni 1014, of whom 532 were living. The endowment fund amounted to $391,196, exclusive of a library fund, and the library comprised about 25,000 volumes. The entrance requirements are relatively high and the course of study occupies three years. The Seminary has had a considerable influence in missionary work, and of its alumni 27, in 1903, had been advanced to the episcopate, including Phillips Brooks, Bishop of Massachusetts, and Henry C. Potter, Bishop of New York.
VIRGIN ISLANDS. A group of the Leeward Islands, consisting of upward of 100 islands, situated immediately east of Porto Rico (Map: Antilles, P 5). They are mostly unproductive and uninhabited. Scarcely one-third of the area is in cultivation and occupied—about 270 square miles being inhabited by nearly 40,000 persons. The climate is comparatively healthful. There are two wet and two dry seasons. Hurricanes and earthquakes are somewhat frequent. In the geological formation figure chalk-limestone, serpentine, and eruptive stone. The coasts afford good fishing; nut trees abound in the forests; and there is fine pasturage. Among the exports are sugar, indigo, cotton, and salt. Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, and Saint John belong to Denmark; Culebra, Culebrita, and Vieques to the United States (formerly to Spain); and the rest of the group, Tortola, Virgin, Gorda, and Anegada, to Great Britain. The Virgin Islands were discovered by Columbus in 1494. See West Indies, Danish; West Indies.
VIRGIN′IUS. A tragedy by James Sheridan Knowles, produced first at Glasgow, and then at Covent Garden, May 17, 1820, with Macready as Virginius, Miss Foote as Virginia, and Charles Kemble as Icilius. The author received a poem of congratulation from Charles Lamb. The subject had been suggested to Knowles by Kean; but when the drama was completed, Kean found himself unable to produce it.
VIRGIN′IUS, Lucius. A Roman centurion, who killed his daughter to prevent her falling into the hands of the decemvir Appius Claudius
