MUNSTER. TIPPERARY.—Clonmel, Carrick, Nenagh, Cashel, Tipperary, Cahir. WATERFORD.-Waterford, Dungarvon, Lismore. CORK.-Cork, the second city of Ireland; Youghall, Bandon, Kinsale, Fermoy, Cove, Bantry, Cloyne. KERRY.-Tralee, Killarney, Dingle, Listowell. LIMERICK.-Limerick, an ancient city, with a venerable ca thedral; Rathkeale. CLARE.-Ennis, Kilrush, Killaloe. GALWAY.-Galway, Tuam. ROSCOMMON.-Roscommon, Athlone, Elphin. MAYO.-Castlebar, Ballina, Westport. LEITRIM.-Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, once a place of importance. 165. Colonies and Foreign Dependencies of Great Britain.In Europe: Gibraltar, Malta, Heligoland, and the Ionian Isles. In North America: Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland, and Bermudas. In the West Indies: Jamaica, Barbadoes, St. Vincent, Grenada, Tobago, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Antigua, St. Christopher's, Montserrat, Nevis, Anguilla, Dominica, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Guiana, and Honduras. In Asia: India and her dependencies, and Ceylon. In Africa: Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, &c., Gambia, and St. Helena. In Australasia: New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand. SECTION III. FRANCE. 166. Situation and Boundaries.-France is situated between 42° 21′ and 51° 5' N. lat., and between 8° E. and 5° W. long. Its greatest length is 665 miles; its greatest breadth 576 miles; its area more than 204,000 square miles. Population, 33,540,900. It is bounded on the north by the English Channel and Belgium; west, by the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean; south, by the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees; east, by the Rhine, Switzerland, Savoy, and the Alps. 167. General Description of the Country.-The greater part of France consists of a series of riverbasins, that of the Rhone being the most distinctly marked; separated by mountains and hills, and expanding into plains as they approach the sea-coast. The pastures of Normandy and the banks of the Loire gratify the eye; but the general aspect of France is tame and irksome to the English traveller. Picardy, Champagne, and Poiton consist of uninteresting levels; but Auvergne, Dauphiné, Languedoc, and Provence, are bold and rocky. The southern coasts are bordered by landes; which are vast downs of sand, with scanty pastures interspersed. The coast along the English Channel forms two great bays, separated by the peninsula of La Manche, whose north-eastern and north-western capes are Barfleur and La Hogue, in Normandy. France is watered by twenty-one principal rivers; the chief of which are the Loire, Rhone, Garonne, Seine, Meuse, and Moselle. The Loire has a tortuous course of about 600 miles; it traverses the centre of the kingdom, passing Nevers, Orleans, Blois, Tours, Saumur, and Nantes, receives numerous affluents, and falls into the Atlantic Ocean. The Rhone enters France from Switzerland; passes Lyons, Vienne, Valence, Montelimart, Avignon, Tarascon, and Arles; receives several affluents, of which the Saône is the chief; and after a course of upwards of 500 miles, of which more than 300 are navigable, falls into the Mediterranean Sea. The Garonne rises in the Spanish Pyrenees; with the Gironde, it has a course of about 350 miles; its considerable tributaries are the Tarn, the Lot, and the Dordogne; Toulouse, Agen, and Bordeaux stand upon its banks; it falls into the Atlantic. The Seine rises near Dijon, passes Chatillon, Troyes, Melun, Paris, Mantes, Elboeuf, Rouen, and Honfleur; receives the Marne and other tributaries, and falls into the English Channel at Havre, after a very tortuous course of 500 miles. The Meuse and the Moselle traverse portions of France, but belong more properly to Belgium. The Rhine runs for about 100 miles along a portion of the east frontier of France. The general geographical position of this country is a commanding one. 168. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-In the production of iron, France ranks next to England; its other metals are not of much commercial importance. The coalfields are numerous; those of Loire and the Nord being the most extensive. The salt-beds in the department of Jura are valuable. Building-stone is abundant, as near Paris, and at Caen in Normandy. The climate of the north of France resembles that of the south of England; hence the trees, pasturage, and agricultural produce correspond. In the central region orchards give place to maize, which becomes abundant towards the south. But here the chief product is the vine. The provinces of Champagne and Burgundy produce their respective wines: the department of Gironde yields claret; that of Charente, cognac brandy. The mulberry tree, the olive, and the orange are cultivated in the extreme south. Natural forests are numerous throughout France. The horses, beeves, and sheep are valuable, but inferior in breeding to those of England. Vast quantities of poultry are reared. The fisheries are abundant; particularly those of mackerel, herrings, pilchards, and oysters. Great quantities of sardines are caught on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. Cantharides are found in the south, and leeches are largely exported. As a manufacturing country, France ranks next to England. The woollen manufacture is one of the oldest. It is established at Sedan in Champagne, Louviers in Normandy, the mountainous districts of Languedoc, and that of a very fine kind at Rheims. The cotton manufacture is established at Rouen, Paris, Lyons, Lille, and other towns in French Flanders; in Picardy and Alsace. The linen manufacture prevails in the north. Superior fabrics are made at Anjou, Laval, and St. Quentin. Cambric and other delicate products are among the leading manufactures of the north-east. Large quantities of lace are produced at Valenciennes, Bayeux, and elsewhere. The paper of France is excellent. The silk-manufacture is the most eminent, and surpasses that of every other country in Europe: it is extensively prosecuted in different parts of the kingdom; its principal seats are Lyons and Paris. The trade of France is much confined to the supply of the home market. In commerce, the chief imports are raw silk and cotton: the exports are limited. The great commercial towns of France are Paris, Lyons, Rouen, St. Etienne, Beaucaire, Aix, Toulouse, Carcassone, Nismes, Montpellier, Beziers, Lille, Strasbourg, Nancy, Mulhausen, and Perpignan. The principal ports for foreign trade are Marseilles, Havre, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rochelle, Dunkerque, Boulogne, Dieppe, St. Malo, L'Orient, Bayonne, and Cette. Railroads are beginning to make progress in France. 169. Constitution and Government.-The government of France is an hereditary limited monarchy. The executive power is vested in the King, who bears the title of the King of the French. The chief executive ministers, who are appointed by the King, are the Ministers of War, of the Marine, of Justice and of Public Worship, of the Interior, of Finance, of Foreign Affairs, and of Public Instruction. The legislative power is vested collectively in the King, the Chamber of Peers, and the Chamber of Deputies. The Peers, whose number is unlimited, are nominated by the King for life. The Chamber of Deputies is composed of 449 members, chosen by the electoral colleges for five years. For municipal purposes, France is divided into 86 departments, each under the charge of a prefect: these are subdivided into arrondissements, each under a subprefect; and the arrondissements into cantons and communes, each commune being under a maire. There is a corresponding gradation in the judicial establishments. The Royal Courts are the chief pivots of the judiciary system of France: these are 27 in number; established in the cities of Agen, Aix, Amiens, Angers, Bastia, Besançon, Bordeaux, Bourges, Caen, Colmar, Dijon, Douai, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Metz, Montpellier, Nancy, Nismes, Orleans, Paris, Pau, Poitiers, Rennes, Riom, Rouen, and Toulouse. The supreme court of all is the Cour de Cassation, which has its seat in Paris. For military purposes, France is distributed into 21 military divisions, each under the command of a lieutenantgeneral. The maritime regions are divided into 5 arrondissements, whose chief towns are Cherbourg, Brest, L'Orient, Rochefort, and Toulon. The university of France includes all the general educational institutions in the kingdom, from the lowest schools up to the royal colleges: it is composed of 26 academies. Besides these, there are numerous schools for special purposes; the chief of which is the Polytechnic School of Paris. 170. Provinces and Departments.-France was formerly divided into 35 provinces; which, in 1790, were subdivided into 86 departments. Paris is the capital; situated in 48° 50′ N. lat., and 2° 20′ E. long.; 220 miles south-east of London, and 97 from the sea: population, 909,126. |