ABYSSINIA, an empire in eastern Africa, over which Italy claims a protectorate by virtue of a treaty made on May 2, 1889, with Menelek II before he was established in power as the successor of the Negus Johannes II. A convention for mutual protection, signed on Sept. 29 of the same year, was interpreted by the Italian Government as confirming the protectorate, but this the Negus in August, 1893, refused to prolong. The protectorate was duly notified to the powers in conformity with the general act of Berlin, and in 1891 a delimitation between the British and Italian spheres was agreed upon. The empire of Abyssinia, otherwise called Ethiopia, embracing Tigre, Lasta, Amhara, Gojam, Shoa, Kaffa, and Harrar, has an estimated area of 190,000 square miles and about 5,000,000 inhabitants. The dependent Somali and Galla territories, as delimited in the Anglo-Italian agreement, have an area of 300,000 square miles and 600,000 inhabitants: the territories of the Habab, Bogos, Beni Amer, and other tribes in the north have an area of 18,000 square miles and 200,000 inhabitants; and the territory of Danakil has an area of 34,000 square miles, inclusive of the sultanate of Aussa, with 200,000 inhabitants. The Italians actually occupy the seaport of Massowah with the country around it, the upland districts of Keren and Asmara, and the Dahlak archipelago. In September, 1893, they assumed the administration of the seaports on the Somali coast, which, by arrangement with England, the Sultan of Zanzibar had ceded to Italy in August, 1892. The Italian colony in the north of Abyssinia, including Massowah, is officially called Erythria. The littoral on the Red Sea extends from Cape Kasar to Raheita, on the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, 670 miles. The total population is estimated at 450,000, mostly consisting of nomadic tribes. Massowah has a resident population of about 16,000. The head of the civil administration is a governor general. The military force in 1893 consisted of 222 officers, of whom 33 were natives, and 4,192 native and 1,906 European soldiery. The Italian Government expended on its African possessions, from the occupation of Massowah in 1887 to the end of 1892, the sum of 125,327,315 lire. The colonial budget for 1893 was 2,376,082 lire, exclusive of military expenditures borne by the mother VOL. XXXIV.-1 A

country, which amounted to 15,898,262 lire. The imports of Massowah in 1891 amounted to 12,542,933 lire, and in 1892 to 10,903,015 lire.

The Egyptian Government at the instance of England acquiesced in the Italian occupation of Massowah and the adjacent Red Sea coast by Italy, whereas Turkey, the legal suzerain power, objected. The French representative at the Brussels Antislavery Conference in 1890 raised a protest against Italy's protectorate over Ethiopia, and it never has been recognized by Russia, which asserts a certain right of tutelage over Abyssinia on the ground of the historic affiliation between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Alexandrian rite, which is the national religion of Abyssinia.

Taking of Kassala.-The capital of the former Egyptian province of Taka, Kassala, once the center of trade between the Nile and Abyssinia, has been in the possession of the dervishes since the surrender of the Egyptian garrison in October, 1885. The dervishes have committed frequent depredations on the Abyssinian province of Tigre, and have harassed the tribes in Italian territory. In 1890 the Italian Government, when discussing with the British Government the boundary of Erythria, desired that Kassala should be included in its territory. To this the Egyptians, and Sir Evelyn Baring as the representative of their interests, strongly objected, and the negotiations were broken off: but when they were renewed at Rome by Lord Dufferin it was agreed, in a protocol signed April 15, 1891, that Italy might occupy Kassala as a military measure on the understanding that it should be restored to Egypt as soon as the Egyptians were in a position to hold it. The dervishes, toward the end of 1893, advanced against the Italian position, and a severe battle was fought near Fort Agordat, in which 3,000 or 4,000 of them were killed, including their leader, Hamed Ali, and his 4 emirs. A few months later they renewed their aggressions. In July. 1894. they raided the large village of Karkabat, on the bank of the Baraka, killing many of the inhabitants and carrying off the rest as slaves. The Governor General, Col. Baratieri, heard of the incursion while the Soudanese horsemen were still harrying the inhabitants of the surrounding country. Hastening from Keren, on

protocol Harar, Ogaden, and the peninsula of Medjúrtin remain in the Italian sphere. The French Government formally protested against the arrangement, affirming that Abyssinia is an independent power, and that Harar therefore could not be assigned to Italy by Great Britain. AFGHANISTAN, a monarchy in central Asia. The reigning Ameer is Abdurrahman Khan, born in 1845, who was established on the throne July 22, 1880, under the auspices of the British, after the defeat and flight of Shere Ali and the subsequent deposition of Yakub Khan. The area is about 210,000 square miles. The population exceeds 4,000,000. The Ameer maintains a regular army of about 20,000 men, armed with European rifles and 76 pieces of artillery, the gift of the Indian Government, which pays an annual subsidy of 180,000 rupees, the amount having been increased from 120,000, in 1893, to aid Abdurrahman in maintaining his rule and the integrity of his dominions, so that they shall serve as a buffer state between India and the Russian possessions in central Asia. Besides the regular army there is a militia of 30,000 men, with 47 guns, consisting of the tribal forces of Abdurrahman's vassals.

The small commerce of Afghanistan is mostly with Russia. Wool, silk, fruits, sheepskin garments, carpets, felt, and asafoetida are the chief exports, and cotton goods, sugar, and tea are the largest imports. Under the rule of Abdurrahman fanaticism and lawlessness have been discouraged, and the people of Cabul, the capital province, have made a beginning in modern industrial production, taught by Thomas Salter Pyne, an English engineer, who was employed by the Ameer to import machinery and set up factories. He established first a saw and planing mill, then a mint, next a cartridge factory, and, when the people had become accustomed to these strange arts, established a foundry, began the manufacture of rifles, set up a forge and steam hammer, by means of which 50 muzzle- and breech-loading field guns were turned out in 1893, next proceeded to manufacture boots for the army and for sale to the people, introduced the distillation of brandy, imported an enormous plant for rolling cartridge metal, and has built mills at Jelalabad to prepare timber for export to India. Abdurrahman has expended millions of rupees in these works, not with a hope of pecuniary profit, but simply to promote civilization and well-being among his people.

The Pamirs.-The Russians in 1894 retained their military positions in the Pamirs, and cultivated friendly relations with the Khirghis inhabitants, who have profited by the improvement of commercial communications, and willingly accept the rule of the Czar. The conquest of Roshan and Shignan by the Afghans caused many families to migrate to Russian territory, where land was allotted to them. The forcible occupation of a large part of the Pamir region by Russian troops in 1892, despite the opposition of the Chinese garrisons, was followed in the summer of 1893 by skirmishes with the Afghan outposts on the lower Murghab, where Capt. Vannovsky compelled the Afghans to fall back. The principal Russian post was established at Ak Baitral, on the Murghab. The military operations gave place to diplomatic negotiations

between the Russian Cabinet and a special Chinese envoy, and also with the British Government acting in behalf of Afghanistan. It was suspected that a more direct and secret arrangement, made by the Russian ambassador to Pekin, Count Cassini, preceded the provisional modus vivendi concluded by Ching-Chan, the Chinese minister, at St. Petersburg in April, 1894. By this the Russian Government engaged to make no further encroachment on the territory claimed by China pending the conclusion of a final agreement. Meanwhile the Russians held the largest part of the disputed district. The usual commercial relations between the Chinese merchants of Kashgar and the tribesmen of the plateau were allowed to go on as formerly. In April a party of military engineers went out from Russia to explore and survey the Pamir district. The Russian Government intends to open up these regions to trade and settlement by building a railroad from Samarcand to Mirghilan, the capital of Ferghana, with a branch to Tashkend. The British were debarred from establishing themselves on the Pamirs by the enmity of the Nagar and Hunza tribes. Their subjugation has been completed, and in the summer of 1894, in anticipation of the final acceptance of a common frontier between Russia and British India, they proceeded to fortify the Kilik and Mintaka passes, which give access to Hunza from the Little and the Taghdumbash Pamirs.

ALABAMA, a Southern State, admitted to the Union Dec. 14, 1819; area, 52,250 square miles. The population, according to each decennial census since admission, was 127,901 in 1820; 309,527 in 1830; 590,756 in 1840; 771,623 in 1850; 964,201 in 1860; 996.992 in 1870; 1,262,505 in 1880; and 1,513,017 in 1890. Capital, Montgomery.

The following were the State officers during the year: Governor, Thomas G. Jones, Democrat; Secretary of State, Joseph D. Barron; Treasurer, J. Craig Smith; Auditor, John Purifoy; Attorney-General, William L. Martin; Superintendent of Public Instruction, John G. Harris; Commissioner of Agriculture, Hector D. Lane: Railroad Commissioners, Henry R. Shorter, Wiley C. Tunstall, J. T. Holtzclaw; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, George W. Stone, who died on March 11 and was succeeded on March 24 by Robert C. Brickell, his immediate predecessor in the same office; Associate Justices, Thomas N. McClellan, Thomas W. Coleman, James B. Head, and Jonathan Haralson.

Finances. The statement of receipts and expenditures of the treasury from Sept. 30, 1893, to April 13, 1894, is as follows: Balance on Sept. 30, 1893, $77,023.30; total receipts, exclusive of temporary loans, $1,291,515.08; total payments, exclusive of temporary loans paid, $1,324,869.03; balance on April 13, 1894, $43,669.35. The expenditures embrace the following items: Education, $566,916.23; maimed or disabled soldiers and widows, $124,668.45; convict department, $101,546.70; agricultural department, $17,217.59; interest on public debt, $208,457.85: interest on University fund, $12,000; interest on Agricultural and Mechanical College fund, $15,210; Colleges of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts. $16,289.60; institutions for deaf and blind, $34.938.74; Bryce Insane Hospital, $53,690.

For 1893 the total assessed valuation of property in the State was $260,172,590.16, on which a tax of 5 mills was levied, yielding a revenue of $1,302,473.96. The valuation for 1892 was $260,926,127.23, on which a 4-mill tax was levied, yielding $1,048,899.36.

Education. The public schools are at a standstill. The State does not increase its appropriations as fast as the population increases, and there is no prospect that it will." This statement is found in a circular issued this year in behalf of the adoption of a proposed constitutional amendment, giving to local school districts the right to levy a special tax for schools in addition to the State appropriation. This amendment failed to secure the approval of the people, and the schools in the rural districts must still remain weak and inefficient, as the State can not well afford to do more for public education than it is now doing.

Penitentiary. A gradual reformation in the methods of prison management is in progress in the State. Under the operation of the act of 1892 the State convicts are being gradually withdrawn from the coal mines and placed under the direct control and supervision of State officials. In order to effect this change it was necessary for the State to secure larger prison accommodations, and for this purpose the board of convict managers in 1893 purchased 4,000 acres of fine woodland on Coosa river, at Speigner, in Elmore County. The land lies on both sides of a creek, and is only nine miles from the old prison at Wetumpka. In October, 1893, a party of 15 convicts from the mines at Birmingham was brought to this wilderness. They camped out in tents and began to fell trees and clear up a place upon which the first temporary stockade could be built. The work rapidly progressed, and in a short time two houses were completed, and these were followed by others, until more convicts could safely be brought down from the mines. The buildings were called Prison No. 2, in contradistinction from "The Walls" at Wetumpka, which is termed Prison No. 1. Work was also begun at clearing up a plat across the creek for what is called Prison No. 3. As soon as a stockade was built more prisoners were brought down, and the building operations were pushed with greater rapidity.

Before April of this year a kitchen, dormitory, stable, and 3 other small buildings had been erected at Prison No. 2, where 120 convicts were quartered. Three hundred acres of land adjacent had been cleared and planted with cotton. At Prison No. 3 6 buildings had been erected, and 209 convicts were brought thither from the mines. Here also 300 acres had been cleared and planted. These buildings, which, with the aid of convict labor, were erected at a cost of only about $5,000, are intended merely for temporary use. Substantial brick structures are to be erected forthwith. Good clay for brick is found on the premises, and as early as June of this year preparations had been completed so that a portion of the convicts could be employed in making brick.

African Migration.-A State convention of representative colored men met at Birmingham, on March 21, for the purpose of considering and promoting the migration of the race to Africa. Addresses in favor of the movement were delivered by Bishop Turner and by various colored

orators. The sentiment of the convention was strongly expressed in favor of this solution of the negro problem.

Pensions. The special State tax levied for the relief of Confederate soldiers and their widows yielded a fund in 1893 amounting to $125,326.95. This was distributed among 5,655 needy soldiers and widows, each receiving $21.95, and among 45 blind soldiers, each of whom received $26.66. The fund for distribution in 1894 was $117,484.78, and the beneficiaries numbered 6,506, of whom 46 were blind soldiers.

Labor Troubles.-In April of this year a strike was inaugurated among the coal miners of northern Alabama, which at length attained such serious proportions as to lead Gov. Jones to call upon the militia. The First Regiment of State troops was ordered into camp at Ensley City late in May, whence it was several times called out to prevent threatened trouble. Not until late in June did the Governor deem it safe to dismiss the troops; and his order, dated June 29, directing their dismissal, had scarcely been executed when the railroads at Birmingham and vicinity were tied up by a strike inaugurated as a part of the great Chicago strike. Gov. Jones at once ordered the troops to Birmingham, where the railroad companies were protected in hiring new men and opening their lines to traffic. On July 16 he was compelled to order the troops to Pratt mines, where the striking miners had attacked a company of negroes hired to supply their places, and had killed several. The presence of the militia restored order. They were kept under arms for several weeks and were then dismissed gradually.

Negro Persecution.-In certain portions of Pike and Crenshaw Counties an organized effort appears to have been made early in the year to rid the locality of its colored people by making it unsafe for them to remain. All sorts of outrages were heaped upon them, and matters had reached such a state in March that Gov. Jones issued his proclamation invoking the aid of the good citizens in those counties in enforcing the law. The local courts had been unable to reach the offenders, owing to the fear of the negroes to testify. This action of the Governor seems to have had the desired effect.

Lumber. The following is a summary of the lumber and timber business done in the port of Mobile for the fiscal year 1893-'94, compared with that of 1892-'93, the timber being reduced to superficial feet: