Condensery

A term applied locally, but not without philological warrant, to a factory where condensed milk is made. Confederate States or Southern Confederacy. ( Am . Hist .) The name adopted by the Confederacy formed by the eleven Southern States which seceded from the American Union in 1860-61 and established a government which continued until the close of the Civil War in 1865. These States consisted of South Carolina (seceded Dec. 20, 1860), Georgia, Alabama, Mi i ippi, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, which seceded during January and February, 1861, and Virginia, North Carolina, Tenne ee and Arkansas, which joined the Confederacy later. On February 4, 1861, a convention of delegates from the seceded States met at Montgomery, Ala., and formed a Confederacy on a const i tution modeled on that of the United States, except that it a erted the right to take slaves into any State or Territory of the Confederacy and hold them there as property. Jefferson Davis was made President and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President pro tem ., and they were afterward elected without opposition for a regular term of six years. Montgomery was chosen as the capital and the first Congre of the Confederacy was held there. After the sece ion of Virginia, Richmond, the capital of that State, was made the capital of the Confederacy, and continued the seat of the Government until its termination on the surrender of General Lee. Congestive Fever. ( Pathol .) A term that has been applied to various forms of low fever of the intermittent, remittent, and continued type, in which there are congestion and disproportionate disturbances of the brain and lungs. Con'go Free State. A country organized by the International Congo Conference held at Berlin, in 1885, and placed under the sovereign control of the King of the Belgians. By his will, in 1889, he bequeathed all his rights over the State to Belgium, and by a convention held in 1890, the territories of the State were declared inalienable, but the right was reserved to Belgium to annex it in 1900. The C. F. S. owes its origin to the exploration of the Congo River, by Stanley, in 1876-77, and the subsequent formation of companies for trade and exploration in that region. One of these, the International A ociation of the Congo, sent Stanley up the great river in 1879, for a fuller exploration and to take steps for the development of the country. His explorations were extensive, roads were made, stations built, and treaties made with over 400 chiefs. These treaties conveyed the limited sovereignty of the chiefs to the International A ociation, which appealed to the great powers to combine these small powers, into a single state. The U. S. took the first step in this, recognizing in 1884 the International A ociation of the Congo as a sovereign power, under the title of the C. F. S. Other nations followed, and on Feb. 26, 1885, the state was finally constituted, as above mentioned, by the International Congo Conference at Berlin. The convention declared the State to be neutral and free to the commerce of all nations, provided for the free navigation of the Congo and its affluents, proclaimed religious freedom and equality of treatment to settlers of any nationality, and declared in favor of the abolition of slavery, suppre ion of the slave trade, and the educating and civilizing of the natives. In 1890, by an International Conference held at Bru els, the C. F. S. was authorized to levy duties on certain imports, as a means of raising revenue. The State, as at present constituted, is officially named the Independent State of the Congo.- Area . The State, in its lowland portion, comprises the Congo river (which is bounded on the South by Portuguese territory) and a small strip of land north of that river, from its mouth to Many aug a. From Many aug a it is bounded on the N. by the Congo (north of which lies French Congo) to the Mobangi or Ubangi River. Thence its boundary follows the latter stream to 4o N. Lat., thence runs E. for about 10 degrees of longitude to 30 E. Lon., thence S. to Lake Bangweolo, and westward to the sources of the Ka ai River, thence by an irregular line to the the Kwango, and from there to the Congo at Nokki, from which point it follows the Congo to its mouth. It is estimated to have an area of 900,000 sq. miles, being nearly one-twelfth of all Africa. This great area is traversed throughout by the Congo and its affluents, is tropical in climate, and po e es a population estimated at 30,000,000 to 40,000,000. Its exports consist of palm oil, caoutchouc, ivory, orchilla, copal, peanuts, camwood, coffee, . Wild coffee, tobacco, rice, maize and sorghum are cultivated on the upper river; and bananas, pineapples, mangoes and other tropical fruits abound.- Inhabitants . The inhabitants of the Congo basin belong to the Bantu race, a happy, inoffensive people, le dark in color than the Fan or Ethiopian race. They are divided into many small tribes, and are naturally disposed to trade. Their religion is fetichism, and domestic slavery is universal, but is a slavery of a very different type from the cruel system of the Arabs.- Government . At present civilized occupancy extends but a short distance up the main stream, and most of the natives of the interior are free from control. The government consists of an administrative bureau at Bru els, comprising three departments, Control, Finance, and Foreign Affairs, with an administrator on the Congo, whose head-quarters are at Zoma, 60 miles from the mouth of the river. The income is derived from an endowment of $200,000 a year by the King of the Belgians, a loan from the Belgian State, taxes, dues, and the sale or rent of lands, the annual revenue being about $1,000,000. The main original purpose of the formation of the State was the suppre ion of the slave trade, and this has been measurably accomplished, though not without warlike conflicts with the Arabs. This suppre ion has been in great measure due to the watchful care of the British, German, French and Portuguese authorities in the surrounding territory. There is kept up an armed force of blacks, with white officers, while the Congo and its affluents are patrolled by ve els, of which there are a number on the river. Navigation of the Congo is impo ible from Vivi to Stanley Pool, on account of the rapids, and a railway 250 miles long is being constructed around these rapids, of which nearly 100 miles are open for traffic. The completion of this road will be of the greatest advantage to the State, and aid immensely in its development. Congre of Religions. A meeting of representatives of the various Christian denominations and other religious bodies of the world, held at Chicago during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, Buddhism, Mohammedanisnı, and other Asiatic forms of faith were represented, and despite the diversity of faiths much harmony prevailed, while there was a free statement of the tenets of the different religions and of their claims to consideration, and a liberal interchange of opinion. The result was, doubtle , beneficial to the members of the Congre , though it exerted little influence on the country at large. IMG:content-0495.jpg:[graphic] Congre 'ional Apportionment. The number of people apportioned by act of Congre to be represented by one Representative in Congre . In the first article of the Constitution of the United States it is provided that the number of members of the House of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000 of the population, but that each State shall have at least one Representative. As the population has increased, the ratio of representation has been correspondingly increased, so as to prevent the number of Representatives in the House from becoming unwieldily large. After each census Congre has pa ed an act fixing the ratio for the succeeding ten years. 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