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largest of which are Aquidneck or Rhode Island, Conanicut, and Prudence Island. Aquidneck, containing the town of Newport, is a beautiful island, 15 miles long and 3 miles wide. It is lined with bold cliffs and fine beaches, and is known as the 'Eden of America.' Nine miles off the coast lies Block Island, a sandy reef inclosing a salt lagoon. The rivers of the State are small. The three largest are the Blackstone and the Pawtuxet in the north, flowing into the upper part of Narragansett Bay, and the Pawcatuck in the south, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean on the Connecticut boundary. All of these are rapid streams, with a number of falls supplying considerable water-power. Like all glaciated areas, the State is studded with numerous small lakes. CLIMATE AND SOIL. The climate is mild and equable compared with that of the rest of New England. It is influenced chiefly by winds coming from the Gulf Stream. The cold winds striking the eastern coast of New England are almost unfelt here. The mean temperature for January is 36° and for July 76°. The average relative humidity ranges between 80 and 95 per cent. throughout the year. The average rainfall is about 45 inches, ranging in localities from 40 inches in the north to nearly 50 on the coast. The soils are in general coarse, stony, and not well adapted for agriculture, and there is very 'little alluvial land.

GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES. Archæan rocks, chiefly the Montalban gneisses, form the surface of the western half of the State to within three miles of Narragansett Bay. The Narragansett Basin, including the bottom of the bay, its islands and both shores, together with a region running northeast into Massachusetts, forms an interesting patch of Carboniferous deposits. It seems to have been a shallow trough undergoing a continual subsidence as the coal beds and intervening strata were laid down, until the whole deposit attained a thickness of several thousand feet. The basin has since been subjected to folding movements, in which process the strata were crushed and faulted, and the coal converted into graphitic anthracite, and locally almost or wholly into pure graphite. These anthracite beds form the principal mineral deposits of the State, but access to large portions of them is difficult, owing to the proximity of the bay. Along a part of the western edge of the Carboniferous area runs a dike of magnetite iron ore containing considerable deposits, while limestone and granite are the most important of the other mineral resources.

FISHERIES. The fisheries employed in 1898 about 1700 persons. The value of the product for that year was $955,058, to which the oyster catch contributed more than $500,000. Next to oysters the most important fish are scups and squeteagues.

AGRICULTURE.

In Rhode Island the number of acres included in farms decreased 17.8 per cent. between 1850 and 1900, the acreage in the latter year being 455,602, or 67.6 per cent. of the total land surface. The number of farms meanwhile remained almost the same, so that the average size decreased from 103 acres in 1850 to 33 in 1900. The improved land in 1900 (41.1 per cent. of the farm acreage) was only a little over one-half as great as the improved area in 1850. In the census year 1900 the most important cereal, corn, represented only 8149 acres, and the next

in rank, oats, only 1530 acres. Hay and forage form by far the most important crop, amounting in 1899 to 69,776 acres; but this was a decrease from 94,111 in 1889. Potatoes are relatively important, representing, in 1899, 5817 acres. Sweet corn and other vegetables are grown for the local markets. Much attention is given to the growing of apples, peaches, and pears. The number of peach trees increased over four-fold between 1890 and 1900. Considerably over half the fruit trees are in Providence County. Cranberries, strawberries, and other small fruits are grown.

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STOCK-RAISING. Significant increase made in the number of horses in the last half of the nineteenth century, but there was a very great decrease in the number of dairy cows, sheep, and swine. The following table shows the number of domestic animals on farms:

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In 1899 the value of dairy products was $1,923,707. Of this amount 89.2 per cent. was realized from sales, mainly of milk. In the decade of 1890-1900 there was a decrease of 49.4 per cent. in the quantity of butter produced on farms, and an increase of 21.8 per cent. in the quantity of milk.

MANUFACTURES. Since 1870 over 22 per cent. of the total population have been engaged as wage-earners in this line of industry. The number in 1900 was 96,528, of whom 26,984 were women, and 5036 children under sixteen years of age. The total value of products increased 29.2 per cent. from 1890 to 1900, being in the latter year $184,074,378. The shallow depth of the water at the port of Providence has prevented the development of ocean traffic and thus has withheld from the State a great advantage. The raw materials of manufacture are transported long distances, and the centralization of the railroads has in a measure deprived the State of the advantages of competitive rates. Rhode Island has become well known for the superiority of certain of its products. The State has ranked second in cotton manufacture from the beginning of the industry, as estimated by the number of spindles employed. The spinning of cotton by the factory system began in 1790 at Pawtucket, and it was here that cotton was first spun by water power in the United States. As early as 1815 there were 140,000 spindles within a radius of 30 miles of Providence. Since 1890 a very slight decrease has taken place in the number of spindles, the number in 1900 being 1,920,522.

The manufacture of wool in the State by the factory process began in 1804; here the first power loom used in the manufacture of woolens in the United States was installed in 1814. Between 1890 and 1900 the production of worsted goods increased enormously, and the State ranks second in this branch of the woolen industry. But the value of other kinds of woolen goods has greatly decreased. The dyeing and finishing of textiles are industries which have increased enormously

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since 1890, as has also been the case with the silk
and silk goods industry. Next in importance to the
textiles are jewelry and silverware. The State
ranks first in each of these and second in the
reducing and refining of gold and silver not from
the ore. These industries are almost wholly
concentrated in Providence. They began here
prior to the Revolution, but the prominence of
the city in this respect dates from about 1894,
when improved machinery was applied. All three
of these industries made large gains in the de-
cade 1890-1900. The foundry and machine-shop
industry mainly turns out engines and boilers,
for which the State has an established reputa-
tion. The manufacture of rubber boots and shoes
(not included in the appended table) amounted
in 1900 to $8,034,417 in value, and the manu-
facture of electrical apparatus reached $5,113,292
in the same year.

The following table shows the relative impor-
tance of most of the leading industries:

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ucts, includ-
ing custom
work and re-

Value of prod-

pairing

$116,440,265
90,433,113

26,007,152
28.8

$13,269,086
10,170,286
3,484,454
1,419,553

13,320,620
8,011,067
1,880,171
436,846

2,518,268
629,000

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63.3

1890 15.2

74.1

63.5

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26,435,675
27,310,499

wares).

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3,834,408
2,509,869
78,133,258
68.355,207

8,484,878
4,743,561
2,713,850
2,516,664

515,643
1,350,792
1,311,333

229,062
5,330,550
9,884,945
33,341,329

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• Including amount due from banks and bankers.
GOVERNMENT. The State Constitution was
adopted in 1842, replacing the original charter
granted by King Charles II. An amendment
proposed in the General Assembly must receive the
votes of a majority of all the members elected to
each House at two consecutively elected As-
semblies, and then be approved by three-fifths of
the electors present and voting in the town and
ward meetings.

Since 1888 a residence and home in the State
for two years and in the town or city for six
months preceding an election have been required
for voting, with a small additional property qual-
ification for those voting for the city council of
any city or upon any proposition to impose a tax
or for the expenditure of money in any town or
city. The capital of Rhode Island is Providence.

LEGISLATIVE. According to the amendment of
1900, the General Assembly meets on the first
Tuesday of January in each year at Providence.
Each town or city has one representative in the
Senate, and one or more in the House of Repre-
sentatives, but no town or city can have more
than one-sixth of the 72 members to which the
House is limited, and no town or city can be
divided for purposes of representation. Senators
and Representatives are paid according to time
of actual attendance, with a maximum limit of
60 days, plus mileage. The House impeaches
and the Senate tries all cases of impeachment.

EXECUTIVE. The Governor, Lieutenant-Gover-
nor, Secretary, Attorney-General, and Treasurer
are annually elected at the same time and place
as are Senators and Representatives, namely, at
the town, ward, and district meetings, on the
Tuesday next after the first Monday in Novem-
22,319,684 ber. They hold office one year. The Lieutenant-
Governor succeeds to the Governorship in case
of a vacancy, and in case of further vacancy the
position is filled by appointment by the General
Assembly acting in grand committee. The par-
doning power is exercised by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the Senate.

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE. The railroad
mileage increased from 108 in 1860 to 217 miles
in 1890 and decreased to 209 in 1900. All the
important lines are under the control of the New
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The
value of foreign imports at the port of Providence
for the year ending June 30, 1901, was $1,146,511.
The exports are altogether insignificant. Of greater
importance is the coastwise traffic, there being a
considerable trade with the important North At-
lantic ports. Newport and Bristol and Warren
are also customs districts, but the trade of both
is small.

JUDICIAL. The judicial power is vested in one
Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the
General Assembly may establish, the powers of
the several courts being prescribed by law.
Judges of the Supreme Court are elected by the
General Assembly in grand committee, and their
term of office continues until their positions are
declared vacant by a resolution of the General

BANKS. The first bank of Rhode Island was Assembly.

FINANCES. The paper money system, which was prevalent throughout all the colonies, kept Rhode Island's finances in a continual state of disorder. The Revolution left the State with a large debt and heavy taxes, and this condition of affairs was not remedied until Rhode Island joined the Union. In 1789 the Revolutionary debt was repudiated by the passage of the compulsory tender act compelling creditors to accept paper money at an arbitrary rate. On January 1, 1902, the balance on hand in the treasury amounted to $158,272.71. The total receipts during the year were $1,490,621.96 and the expenditures $1,537,502.41. There was a balance on hand of $111,392.26 on January 1, 1903. The total debt was $2,998,000. From this sum, however, there should be deducted a sinking fund of $444,

451.56.

MILITIA. In 1900 there were 95,737 men of militia age. The militia in 1901 numbered 1413. POPULATION. The population increased from 68,825 in 1790 to 147,545 in 1850, 345,506 in 1890, and 428,556 in 1900. As to population, the State stood 34th in rank in 1900. There were in that year 407 inhabitants to the square mile, which figure exceeded that for any other State. There was a foreign-born population (1900) of 134,519, Ireland, Canada, and England being chiefly represented. The percentage of city population is very large. In 1900 Providence had a population of 175,597; Pawtucket, 39,231; Woonsocket, 28,204; Newport, 22,034; and Central Falls, 18,167.

The State sends two members to the National House of Representatives.

RELIGION. The principal Protestant denominations are the Baptist, with one-third of the total Protestant church membership, and the Protestant Episcopalians, with about one-fifth. The Roman Catholics have about one-fourth of the population.

EDUCATION. The public school system was established in 1828 and was greatly improved under the administration of Henry Barnard (q.v.). The proportion of illiteracy, due in large part to the numbers of foreigners, is greater than in any other of the North Atlantic States-8.4 per cent. in 1900. In 1900-01 the school population (5-15 inclusive) of the State was 85,084, of whom 69,067 were enrolled in schools. Of the 1960 teachers employed in the public schools in 190001 the male teachers constituted only 9.1 per cent. The average monthly salaries of male and female teachers in the same year were $115.32 and $51.14 respectively. The school fund is insignificant. The State has only one normal school. It is situated at Providence. The State maintains a college of agriculture and mechanic arts. For Brown University, see article.

CHARITABLE AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS. There, are a State hospital at Providence and a soldiers' home at Bristol. There are two insane hospitals, one at Providence and the other at the State farm, Cranston. Other State institutions located at the State farm are the almshouse, workhouse, reformatory, and penitentiary. In 1901 the State appropriated $259,000 for the maintenance of the State institutions and $136,891 for construction. HISTORY. The stories of Norse exploration within the present limits of the State rest upon slight foundation. True history begins when Roger Williams (q.v.) was banished from Massachusetts Bay, and settled with a few com

panions, at 'Providence Plantations,' on land purchased from the Narraganset Indians, probably in June, 1636. Already, however, William Blackstone, who had fled from the tyranny of the lords brethren' in Massachusetts, as he had left England to escape the 'lords bishops,' had settled near Pawtucket River. In March, 1638, a band of Antinomians banished from Massachusetts Bay, under the leadership of William Coddington and John Clark, made a settlement at Pocasset (Portsmouth), on Aquidneck Island (Rhode Island). The next year a secession from this settlement founded Newport, but in 1640 these two towns were united under William Coddington as Governor. In 1643 Samuel Gorton (q.v.) founded Warwick upon the mainland. At Providence the government was at first a pure democracy, "ignoring any power in the body politic to interfere with those matters which alone concern man and his maker." Each of these settlements was at first independent. In 1642 it was determined to seek a patent from England, and the next year Roger Williams went to England for this purpose. Through the influence of the Earl of Warwick, Parliament granted (1644) a charter uniting the settlements as the "Incorporation of Providence Plantations in the Narragansett Bay in New England."

This

The towns, at first, from jealousy and exaggerated ideas of individual importance, refused to enter into the confederation, but finally through fear of revolutions within, and of Massachusetts without, the union was formed in 1647. jealousy lasted well into the nineteenth century and explains much of the peculiar conduct of the colony and of the State. Complete religious toleration was granted together with the largest measure of political freedom. William Coddington sought to bring the Island into relations with the United Colonies of New England, while President. In 1650 he went to England, and in 1651 secured a grant of the islands within the colony. Williams was able to have this grant vacated in 1652, but not until 1654 were the settlements again united. In 1663 the charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was secured, and this served as a constitution until 1843. During the war waged on charters by James II., the charter of Rhode Island was abrogated by Sir Edmund Andros (q.v.), 1686-89, but on his deposition the old government was quietly renewed under it, though a property qualification for suffrage was added

in 1724.

Relations with the other New England colonies were unpleasant. The colony suffered severely in the war with King Philip (q.v.), though opposed to the policy which caused it. Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed practically all of the territory included in the charter limits. The Connecticut boundary, after much wrangling, was finally settled in 1727, and the Massachusetts boundary was confirmed in 1746-47, but was not finally settled until 1862. Both of these colonies looked on Rhode Island as a nest of heretics and a refuge for the disaffected. The colony was shut out from the United Colonies of New England, and in every way made to feel her slight influence. Nevertheless the growth of the colony in population and wealth was steady, and many of the inhabitants turned to the sea for a livelihood. In the colonial wars Rhode Island privateers inflicted much damage, and some of her

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