son, perjury, or other infamous crimes, and not legally restored to the rights of citizenship. Defendants and their wives are allowed to testify in criminal actions. The property of a married woman is her own, and not liable for the debts of her husband. A local-option liquor law was passed in 1887. The legal rate of interest is 6 per cent. ; 8 is allowed by contract; the penalty for usury is forfeiture of the entire interest.

The electoral votes have been cast as follows: 1792, Washington and Clinton, 12; 1796, Adams and Pinckney, 12; 1800, Jefferson and Burr, 12; 1804, Jefferson and Clinton, 14; 1808, Madison, for president, 11; 1812, Madison and Gerry, 15; 1816, Monroe and Tompkins, 15, 1820, Monroe and Tompkins, 15; 1824, Jackson and Calhoun, 15; 1828, Jackson and Calhoun, 15; 1832, Jackson and Van Buren, 15; 1836, Van Buren and Johnson, 15; 1840, Harrison and Tyler, 15; 1844, Clay and Frelinghuysen, 11; 1848, Taylor and Fillmore, 11; 1852, Pierce and King, 10; 1856, Buchanan and Breckenridge, 10; 1860, Breckenridge and Lane, 10; 1868, Grant and Colfax, 9; 1872, Grant and Wilson, 10; 1876, Tilden and Hendricks, 10; 1880, Hancock and English, 10; 1884, Cleveland and Hendricks, 11; 1888, Cleveland and Thurman, 11; 1892, Cleveland and Stevenson, 11; 1896, Bryan and Sewall, 11.

FINANCES.-The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in the state, according to the last United States census reports, was $212,697,287; state debt, $7,703,100; total bonded debt, 1896, $3,360,700; total assessed valuation, $256,316,092.

POPULATION.-In 1790, 393,751-100,572 slave, 4975 free colored; 1800, 487,103-133,296 slave, 7043 free colored; 1820, 638,829-204,917 slave, 14,712 free colored; 1840, 753,419-245,817 slave, 22,732 free colored; 1860, 992,622-331,059 slave, 30,463 free colored; 1880, 1,399,750-532,508 colored, including 1230 Indians and 1 Japanese; • male, 687,908; female, 711,842; foreign born, 3742; dwellings, 264,305; families, 270,994; persons to sq.m., 28.8; engaged in agriculture, 360,937; rank of state, 15 in population, 18 in value agricultural products, and 29 in value manufactures; pop. 1890, 1,617,947. There are 96 cos.; for pop. 1890, see census tables, vol. XV. The largest cities, 1890, were Wilmington, 20,056; Raleigh, 12,678; Charlotte, 11,557.

NORTHCOTE, Sir STAFFORD HENRY, b. London, 1818; educated at Eton, and Oxford univ., graduating at Balliol coll. in 1839 with high honors. His first position in political life was that of private secretary to Mr. Gladstone, when the latter was president of the board of trade. In 1847 he was called to the bar and was made legal secretary to the board of trade. In 1851 he succeeded to the family title and estates as eighth baronet of the line. For the next 3 years he was occupied in examining the state of the Eng lish civil service, and the report made by him and his colleague, sir C. E. Trevelyan, led to the establishment of the present system of competitive examinations. He was member of parliament from Dudley and Stamford from 1855-66, and was then returned from North Devon, which place he continued to represent in the interest of the conservative party. He was president of the board of trade (1866-67), and in 1867 was made secretary of state for India. He was appointed a member of the joint high commission which signed the treaty of Washington on May 8, 1871. On the formation of Disraeli's cabinet in 1874, sir Stafford Northcote was made chancellor of the exchequer, and when his leader was elevated to the peerage under the title of lord Beaconsfield, Northcote became himself the leader of the house. He was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant of Devonshire, a fellow of the royal society, and received from Oxford the honorary title of D.C.L. He published a number of political and financial pamphlets such as Twenty Years of Financial Policy (London, 1862). He became Baron Iddesleigh, 1885, and died 1887.

NORTH DAKOTA, a n. western state, situated between lat. 46° and 49° n. and long. 96° 25′ and 104° 5' w.; is bounded on the n. by Canada (Assiniboia and Manitoba); on the e. by Minnesota; on the s. by South Dakota; on the w. by Montana; length from e. to w., about 360 m.; breadth, 215 m.; area, 70,795 sq.m., or 45,298,600 acres.

HISTORY.-The first permanent white settlement was made by French Canadians in 1780, near Pembina. Early in the present century fur-trading posts were established within the limits of the present state, and in 1810 lord Selkirk built a fort near Pembina, supposing the region to be British soil. In 1851 a treaty with the Dakota Indians opened a part of the vast region to settlement. In 1861, Mar. 2, the territory of Dakota was organized, with Yankton as the capital, and included what are now Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Troubles with the Indians and the occurrence of the civil war retarded immigration until 1866. In 1883 Bismarck was made the capital. In Feb., 1889, congress passed an enabling act, in accordance with which conventions were held on May 14, in North and South D., when the division of Dakota territory was decided upon, and delegates to constitutional conventions were elected. The convention of North D. assembled at Bismarck, July 4; the constitution framed was adopted by the people, Oct. 1; on Oct. 2, senators and a representative were elected; on Nov. 3, North D. was admitted to the union; on Nov. 4, the state govt. was organized; on Nov. 19 the first legislature convened.

TOPOGRAPHY.-The great plateau of the Missouri extends n.e. and s.w. across the state, e. of that river, and is broken here and there by low hills. The rest of the surface is chiefly undulating prairie, with occasional ranges of low hills. The Turtle mts., on the Canadian border, cover an area of 3200 sq.m. in the state, but their highest peaks, butte St. Paul and Pear butte, have an elevation of only 700 ft. above the surrounding country. The Missouri, which is navigable throughout North D., receives

its chief affluents from the w.-the Little Missouri, Heart, and Cannon Ball. The Souris or Mouse enters from Canada, and after a long circuit returns, to empty into the Assiniboine. The principal streams in the e. are the James or Dakota, the longest unnavigable river in the world, the Sheyenne, and the Red River of the North, which forms the eastern boundary. Of the numerous lakes, Devil's, Spirit, or Minniwaukon lake, in the n.e., is the only one of size, its area being about 100 sq.m., while its elevation is 1200 ft. above the sea. Its waters are saline, and it has no outlet.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY.-The whole surface of the state appears to have been several times submerged, forming part of a great inland sea, and later to have been covered with shallow lakes. The evidences of glacial and alluvial action are evident in the drift, which overlies the whole surface, varying in depth from 40 to 100 ft., and in the granite, gneiss, and quartzite boulders which abound e. of the Missouri. All of the state w. of the Missouri and much of the northern part is underlaid with lignite or brown coal, which burns readily, and makes superior gas. Natural gas has been found in several localities, and brick and potter's clays are widely distributed.

ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY.-The wild animals are like those found in Minnesota. The lakes and streams abound in wild fowl, such as the swan, goose, duck, brant, snipe, curlew, and gull. The Turtle Mts. are well wooded with oaks, aspens, and birches; the Devil's lake region has large belts of timber; oaks and other trees of large size grow in the Red river valley, and along the Missouri, Souris, and other streams are found the cottonwood, ash, willow, aspen, box-elder, plum, bull cherry, grape, etc. The prairies abound in bunch, buffalo, blue-joint, and other grasses, and are covered with flowers, such as the compass plant, lupine, sunflower, pasque-flower, evening primrose, etc.

CLIMATE, SOIL, AND AGRICULTURE.-The winters are cold but dry, and the summer days, though warm, are followed by cool nights. The snowfall is comparatively light, and the only disagreeable winds (" blizzards") are those from the n. w. Autumn is a delightful season, the number of sunny days in winter is large, and spring, as a rule, begins abruptly in March. The mean annual temperature at Bismarck is 39.4°; at Pembina, 34.3°; at Fargo, 37°; and at Fort Buford, 38.7°. The mean annual rainfall at Bismarck is 20.10 ins.; at Pembina, 21.91 ins. Spring begins a week earlier at Mandan than in the same lat. e. of the James river. The soil is chiefly black loam underlaid with clays, gravels, and sands, impregnated with sulphates and salts. The clay subsoil is as fertile as the topsoil, and both are light, porous, and free from stones. The Red river valley is noted for its spring wheat. Corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, rye, flax, and potatoes are among the products of the state. Cabbages, beets, pumpkins, potatoes, and other vegetables of remarkable size are grown; also apples, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, and all kinds of small fruits. The most important industries are agriculture, stock-raising, and the manufacture of flour, lumber, butter, leather, cigars, bricks, and woolen goods. The value of the cereal, potato, and hay crops exceeds $30,000,000 per annum, the state ranking first in production of wheat (over 61,000,000 bushels), and the value of farm and ranch animals, $16,000,000.

The principal railroads are the Northern Pacific; Great Northern; Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul; Chicago and Northwestern; and the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie. The total mileage exceeds 2,500; the capital of local roads is about $1,000,000, and the cost of roads and equipment was nearly $2,000,000.

BANKS.-In 1896 there were 29 national banks in operation, with combined capital $2,060, and deposits $5,020,500; and 72 state banks, with capital $1,051,500, and deposits $2,483,000.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS, EDUCATION, ETC.-The leading denominations, numerically, are the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Congregational. Each organized county has a superintendent of schools, elected by the people. The township school organization is controlled by a board of directors, one for each subdistrict and one at large. Women 21 years of age are eligible to any school office, and those having the care and custody of children may vote at school elections. In 1895 the public school enrollment was over 47,000; average attendance, 32,300; value of school property, about $2,000,000; annual expenditure, over $1,000,000. The institutions of superior rank are the univ. of North Dakota and the School of Mines, Grand Forks; the state agricultural college, Fargo; state normal schools at Valley City and Mayville; Fargo college (Cong.); Tower university (Bap.), Tower City Jamestown college (Presb.). There are about 20 public high schools; denominational academies at Devils Lake, Grand Forks, Jamestown and Portland; and a state industrial school at Ellendale.

GOVERNMENT.-The capital is Bismarck, and in 1892 the question of choosing some other locality was decided in the negative. The gov. and lieut.-gov. are elected for 2 years. The senate must consist of not less than 30 nor more than 50 members; the house of representatives of not less than 60 nor more than 140 members. Sessions are biennial, and are limited to 60 days. The supreme court consists of 3 judges, holding office 6 years. The legislature has the right to control transportation rates, and municipal corporations are under its control. Trusts and combinations are unlawful. Elections must be by secret ballot. The right to vote depends on a previous residence of one year in the state, 6 months in the co., and 90 days in the precinct. A prohibitory liquor law was adopted in 1889. In 1892, the state divided its 3 electoral votes equally between Cleveland, Harrison, and Weaver; 1896, McKinley and Hobart, 3.

The total bonded indebtedness assumed by North D., when the territory was divided,