counties, poor-houses have been erected: in the residue, the paupers are maintained at private dwellings. According to the official returns for 1829, the whole number of paupers was 4283, of whom 176 were persons of color. Amount of poor rates assessed, $124,214, or an average of $29 for each pauper. There are two lunatic asylums, one at Williamsburg, and the other at Staunton, both erected and maintained at the public expense: in 1831, total number of patients 83, besides many in the county jails, and in private dwellings, the hospitals being full. The legislature has made no provision for the support and education of deaf mutes, although, in 1825, the chief magistrate invited public attention to the subject. By the census of 1830, it appears that there were 654 of that unfortunate class of beings in the state, of whom 522 were whites, and only 132 blacks, being in the proportion of one out of every 1330 whites, and one out of every 3917 slaves and free colored persons. Out of 819 blind persons in the state, the largest proportion, or 445, belong to the colored class.

Militia. According to the official returns for 1831, the effective military force of the state was as follows:

Making, in the aggregate,. 101,488 being about one out of every seven of the white population. Miscellaneous. Four principal banks and seventeen branches are located in various parts of the state. In 1831, the aggregate capital stock amounted to $5,607,100; notes in circulation, $4,114,715; specie, $832,462:49; bills discounted, $8,985,303: post-offices in the state, 743; foreigners not naturalized, 756; whole number of newspapers, 51, of which 26 are published east, and 25 west, of the Blue ridge; three are theological, and 48 commercial and political. Periodicals exclusively literary have been very little patronised.

Government and Laws. The new constitution of 1830 was adopted, after a sharp conflict upon various points. In the convention, a kind of compromise was effected between contending parties, by which, whatever may be considered as the extent of concession on either side, it is certain that a more just and equal representation

was established in the legislature. This body is composed of two branches, the senate and house of delegates, the former consisting of 32, and the latter of 134, members. Thirteen senators and 51 delegates are apportioned to Western, and 19 senators and 83 delegates to Eastern, Virginia; and, after the year 1841, the legislature (two thirds of each house concurring) may re-apportion the senators and delegates throughout the commonwealth, so that the former shall not at any time exceed 36, nor the latter 150. The representation in congress is to be arranged upon the federal principle of numbers, adding three fifths of the slaves to the whole number of free persons. Senators must have attained the age of thirty, and delegates twenty-five; and both must be residents and freeholders in their respective election districts. All persons holding lucrative offices, and ministers of the gospel, are ineligible to either house. The general assembly shall meet once a year, or oftener, if necessary. All laws originate in the house of delegates. Various restrictions are imposed upon the legislature, intended to secure the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, &c.; but express power is conferred to disfranchise persons guilty of duelling. The right of suffrage, under the new constitution, is extended to lessees, house-keepers, &c., and may be exercised by almost every citizen. All elections are conducted viva voce. The chief executive power is vested in a governor, chosen by the general assembly for three years, and rendered ineligible for three years after the expiration of his term. He is assisted by a council of three, with whom he must advise, but may disregard their advice. The senior counsellor is lieutenant-governor. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of appeals, in the county justices, and in such superior courts as the legislature may from time to time establish. The judges of the court of appeals and superior courts are elected by the general assembly, and hold their offices during good behavior, but may be removed by joint vote of the legislature, two thirds of the members present in each house concurring. The supreme court of appeals, consisting of five judges, holds its sessions alternately at the seat of government and at Lewisburg, in Western Virginia, and is the court of dernier resort in all civil causes at common law, and in chancery removed from inferior tribunals. The circuit superior courts are held twice a

year in each county of the commonwealth; and the state is divided into ten districts and twenty circuits, to each of which circuits one judge is assigned. They have cognizance of all causes at common law and in chancery, and of all crimes and misdemeanors. One half of the judges assemble alternately at the seat of government in the months of July and December, and constitute the general court, which has cognizance of all criminal causes brought before it by writ of error, and entertains all motions against public debtors and defaulters. The county courts possess not only very extensive jurisdiction as tribunals of justice, but exercise considerable authority in matters of police, and other local concerns. Their services are altogether gratuitous, and their powers are dispensed with a kind of patriarchal simplicity, which renders them a popular branch of the judicial system. The common law of England, modified by successive statutes, is the basis of the Virginia code. Conforming to the spirit of free institutions, the abolition of entails, and of the law of primogeniture, were among the earliest alterations in the English system. The criminal code has been likewise ameliorated from time to time, until now there are but few offences for which capital punishment is inflicted.

History. A brief sketch of the colonial history of Virginia is all that our limits will permit. The final departure of captain Smith from the colony, in 1609 (see Smith, John), was followed by the disasters which always attended even the temporary absence of that extraordinary man. Riot and insubordination terminated in famine and extreme suffering, insomuch that, on the arrival of Gates, Somers and Newport, who were despatched from England about six months after Smith's return to that country, only sixty survivors remained out of a flourishing colony of 500 souls. Discouraged by misfortune, this miserable remnant determined to abandon the scene of their calamities, and had actually embarked for England, when they were met by lord Delawar, who prevailed on them to return, and recommence their career at Jamestown. For ten years after this event, the colony continued to advance in prosperity, and considerably extended its limits. Its stability and domestic happiness were greatly increased by the introduction, in 1620 and the following year, of 160 females, of humble fortune and spotless character, who became wives to the planters, at the moderate price, fixed by the London com

pany, of 150 pounds of tobacco. About the same time, another event occurred, the ultimate consequences of which it is difficult to foretell: a Dutch vessel entered James river, and sold to the colonists twenty African slaves, thereby giving rise to that peculiar condition of society which distinguishes the Southern States. As the colony continued to grow in extent and population, inferior courts were established for the cheap and convenient administration of justice. Hence sprung the ancient county court system which now exists. The colony did not long enjoy unmixed prosperity. Various causes had conspired to full all suspicion of Indian treachery and vengeance; but, in 1622, the savages made a sudden and secret irruption, in which 347 whites, including women and children, were horribly massacred. The gratitude of a domesticated Indian alone saved the whole from extermination. A vindictive war followed this act of aggression; public improvements were abandoned; the settlements were reduced in number, and scarcity once more prevailed to an alarming degree. Relief was generously despatched from England; but, the king's jealousy being about that time awakened by the freedom of discussion which prevailed in corporate bodies, and availing himself further of the frequent reverses of the colony, he dissolved the Virginia company, and revested its privileges in the crown. The entire direction of the colony was confided to a governor and twelve counsellors, appointed by special commis sion. Charles I adopted his father's policy, with such hateful additions, that, in a fit of popular rage, the colonists seized their governor, sir John Harvey, and sent him a prisoner to England, attended by deputies to represent their wrongs. The critical condition of the monarch, rather than his sense of justice, procured a redress of grievances. Harvey was displaced, and sir William Berkeley sent as his successor. This act of the crown, together with the call of an assembly, converted the Virginians into loyal subjects. Force only compelled them to yield to Cromwell's government; and, after the death of Matthews, the usurper's vicegerent, they proclaimed Charles II as king, before intelligence of his restoration had been received from England. Sir William Berkeley was reinstated as govern or; but, during the despotic reign of Charles, so many causes of discontent accumulated, that they finally ripened into an actual rebellion, headed by Nathaniel

the highest marks of distinction. Giovauni was succeeded by his nephews, Matteo II, Bernabò, and Galeazzo II. Matteo died within a year; and his two brothers, though eminent for their warlike talents, rendered themselves obnoxious by their cruelty and other vices. Galeazzo, however, deserves praise for his encouragement of letters. He continued to treat Petrarch with the same respect that his predecessors had shown him, and employed him in several negotiations. The poet always mentioned him with esteem and gratitude, and is said to have induced him to found the university of Pavia. He was succeeded, in 1378, by his son Gian Galeazzo, who imprisoned his uncie Bernabò, in the castle of Trezzo, and took upon himself the sole government. In him the Visconti family reached the summit of its grandeur and splendor. In 1395, he received, from the emperor Wenceslaus, the ducal dignity; and his territories were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. Pisa, Sienna, Perugia, Padua and Bologna were subject to his sceptre; and he had already shown a disposition to assume the title of king of Italy, when his ambitious projects were cut short by his death, of the plague (in 1402). With elevated views, he fostered science and art, collected the most distinguished scholars at his court, restored the university of Piacenza, connected that of Pavia with it, and founded a large library. During his reign, also, some great architectural works were executed; among them, the celebrated bridge over the Tessino, at Pavia, and the magnificent cathedral at Milan (1386-97). Gian Galeazzo left three sons, Giammaria, Filippo Maria, and an illegitimate child, Gabriel, among whom his dominions were divided. Their mutual dissensions and youthful indiscretions soon undermined their power. In most of the Lombard cities, single powerful citizens raised themselves to the head of their respective towns, and the neighboring states took advantage of the favorable opportunity to extend their limits at the expense of the Visconti. The Florentines took Pisa, and the Venetians gradually obtained possession of Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, and other towns. Giammaria was hated for his cruelty, and, in 1412, fell a victim to a conspiracy. Filippo Maria now reigned alone, and, during the remaining thirty-five years of his life, was alternately at the summit of happiness and in the depths of misery. As often as he had the fortune to recover

any of the lost cities, so often had he the grief to witness their renewed loss; and his last years were embittered by the hostilities of the Venetians, who repeatedly advanced to the walls of Milan, and devastated the surrounding territory. He died in 1447, leaving no male heirs. His natural daughter, Bianca, had been married to Francesco Sforza, one of the most distinguished generals of the time. The Milanese were desirous to regain their ancient freedom; but they were unable to defend themselves against the attacks of the rival princes, who were eager to gain possession of so rich and beautiful a country; and they found themselves obliged to put themselves under the government of Sforza, who was named duke of Milan in 1450. (See Sforza, and Milan.)

VISCONTI, John Baptist Anthony; an Italian antiquary, born at Vernazza in Genoa, in 1722, and educated at Rome by an uncle, who was a painter, and who designed his nephew for the same profession. But the latter preferred the study of antiquities, and, that he might be at liberty to follow his inclination, purchased the office of apostolic notary. He became connected with the celebrated Winckelmann, whom he succeeded, in 1768, in the station of prefect or commissary of antiquities at Rome; and Clement XIV, on his elevation to the pontifical throne, the following year, having formed the design of founding a new museum in the Vatican, the execution of the plan was intrusted to Visconti, who superintended the researches for ancient monuments carried on at Rome under popes Clement XIV and Pius VI. Among the relics of former ages brought to light, was the tomb of the Scipios, relative to which Visconti published Letters and Notices in the Roman Anthology; and he was the author of some other archæological memoirs. His death took place Sept. 2, 1784. He was appointed editor of the Museum Pio-Clementinum; but the text accompanying the engravings of that work was written by his son.

VISCONTI, Ennius Quirinus, son of the preceding, and one of the most celebrated archæologists and antiquaries, was born at Rome, in 1751. While a child, he knew how to distinguish the heads of the emperors upon medals, at an age when he could hardly pronounce their names. In the tenth year of his age, he underwent a public examination in Roman and biblical history, numismatics, chronology, geography, geometry; and, in his twelfth year, he was able to solve the most diffi

cult problems of trigonometry and analytical geometry. The next year, he published a metrical version of the Hecuba of Euripides, with an account of his method of studying languages, and soon after undertook a metrical translation of Pindar. His father had formed the plan for a description of the Pio-Clementinum museum, and executed some articles of it; and the first volume, which appeared in 1782, bears his name; but the son had written the chief part of it, and he continued this great work, which appeared under the title Il Museo Pio-Clementino descritto, in the following order: two volumes, 1784; third, 1788; fourth, 1790; fifth, 1792; sixth, 1796; and seventh, 1807. An eighth volume, entitled I Museo Chiaramonti, is by Philip Aurelius Visconti and Guattani. This labor alone would be sufficient to immortalize him; and he likewise published numerous archæological treatises in different Italian journals. When the treasures of ancient art were removed from the cities of Italy to Paris, Visconti followed them to that place, and arranged and wrote a descriptive catalogue of the antiques in the museum. The last edition of this catalogue, which abounds in ingenious and learned remarks, appeared in 1815, under the title Notices des Statues, Bustes et Bas-reliefs de la Galerie des Antiques du Musée Napoléon. In 1817, he published Description des Antiques du Musée royal; and his description of the rich collection known by the name of the Musée Français is still more complete. Visconti had been chosen a member of the institute in 1800; and he continued, after his arrival in France, to contribute learned and valuable papers to different journals and other literary publications. Nothing, at that time, was in a more con

fused state than iconography: there were innumerable portraits of the great men of antiquity in existence, but archeologists were at a loss in determining the respective individuals. Visconti undertook the task of forming a complete Grecian and Roman iconography. The former was published in three volumes, folio (Iconographie Grecque), Paris, 1811, and the two first parts of the latter, containing the celebrated Romans, in 1818, leaving only the iconography of the emperors, which was rendered an easier task by the number of medals, and has been executed by Mongez. Visconti's services were also sought in foreign countries. Lord Worsley engaged him to describe the collection of works of art which he had procured in Greece; and the description was published at London, under the title Il Museo Worsleyano. Parliament also sent for him, to consult on the purchase of the Elgin marbles; and he prepared an excellent catalogue of those celebrated antiques. (See Elgin.) Visconti died in 1818. Few inquirers into antiquity have possessed such various and extensive knowledge of all departments illustrative of its study. His complete works appeared at Milan, in 1824 seq., in Italian and French (Opere tutte, divise in tre Classi: 1st division, 8 vols.; 2d, 5 vols. ; and 3d, 8 vols.), with numerous engravings.

VISCOUNT, in England; a title of nobility, indicating a rank between an earl and a baron. (See Earl, and Nobility.) The first viscounts in England were created in the reign of Henry VI; and they have never been numerous.

VISHNU; the second person of the Hindoo trimourti, or trinity, consisting of Brama, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Siva, the destroyer. (See Avatar, and Indian Mythology.)