The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 323

of New Caledonia; is nominally a possession of Britain, and inhabited by cannibals of the Melanesian race. Missionary enterprise has had some effect in the southern islands; Espiritu Santo (70 m. by 40) is the largest.

NEW HOLLAND. See AUSTRALIA.

NEW JERSEY (1,444), one of the 13 original States of the American Union, faces the Atlantic between New York State on the N. and Delaware Bay on the S., with Pennsylvania on its western border; the well-watered and fertile central plains favour a prosperous fruit and agricultural industry, tracts of pine and cedar wood cover the sandy S., while the N., traversed by ranges of the Appalachians, abounds in valuable forests of oak, hickory, chestnut, sa.s.safras, &c.; minerals are plentiful, especially iron ores. New Jersey is thickly populated, well provided with railway and water transit, and busily engaged in manufactures--e. g.

gla.s.s, machinery, silk, sugar. Newark (capital) and Jersey City are by far the largest cities; was sold to Penn in 1682, and settled chiefly by immigrant Quakers.

NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH, a church consisting of the disciples of Emanuel Swedenborg, formed into a separate organisation for wors.h.i.+p about 1788. See SWEDENBORGIANISM.

NEW MEXICO (154), an extensive territory embracing the SW. end of North America and the larger part of the great isthmus which unites the two Americas; was in 1848 detached from MEXICO (q. v.), and const.i.tuted a part of the American Union; consists mainly of elevated plateau, sloping to the S., and traversed by ranges of the Rocky Mountains; the precious metals are widely distributed, especially silver; good deposits of coal and copper are also found. In the broad river valleys excellent crops are raised, and stock-raising is an important industry. The territory is divided into 14 counties; Santa Fe is the capital; a State university exists at Albuquerque.

NEW ORLEANS (287), the capital and largest city of Louisiana, is beautifully situated on both sides of the Mississippi, 107 m. from its mouth, with a curved river-frontage of 10 m.; is the second cotton port of the world, and the greatest sugar-market in the United States; is the chief trade emporium of the surrounding States, and the main outlet for the produce of the Mississippi Valley, which includes cotton, sugar, tobacco, wheat, and salt.

NEW SOUTH WALES (1,132), the "mother colony" of Australia, fronts the Pacific for 700 m. on the E. between Queensland (N.) and Victoria (S.), is 2 times the size of Great Britain and Ireland; mountain ranges (including the Australian Alps) running parallel with, and from 20 to 100 m. distant from, the coast, divide the narrow littoral plains from the great plains of the W. and the interior, and are the source of many large rivers (e. g. the Darling) flowing E. and W.; the climate is warm and everywhere healthy; rain falls plentifully on the coast lands and mountains, but is scarce in the W. The mineral wealth of the colony is very great--gold and silver are found in large quant.i.ties, as also copper, tin, iron, &c., but coal is the most abundant and valuable mineral product. Cereals, fruits, sugar, tobacco, &c., are cultivated, but in small quant.i.ties compared with the immense output of wool, the chief product of the country. SYDNEY (q. v.) is the capital and chief port of the colony. Government is vested in a Crown appointed Governor and two Houses of Parliament (triennial and paid). Education is free and compulsory. Established in 1788, the colony was, up to 1840, used as a settlement for transported criminals. In 1851 the great gold discoveries started the colony on its prosperous career.

NEW YORK (5,997), the foremost State in the American Union in population, wealth, commerce, and manufactures, the twenty-fifth in area, and is about the size of England; is triangular in shape, with a north-western base on Lakes Erie and Ontario, and an eastern apex reaching the Atlantic between Connecticut (N.) and New Jersey (S.).

Manhattan, Staten, and Long Island are the most important of many islands belonging to the State. The land slopes from the mountainous E. to the sh.o.r.es of the great western lakes, and is pleasantly diversified with mountain, valley and plain, forest and river. The Hudson, Oswego, Genesee, and Niagara (with its famous waterfall) are the princ.i.p.al rivers, while the St. Lawrence forms part of the northern boundary.

One-half of the area is under cultivation; the vine flourishes, hops and tobacco are grown, and market-gardening prospers near the large cities; but manufacturing is the chief industry, and the transit of goods is greatly facilitated by the many waterways and network of railways. Was finally occupied by the English in 1664, after the expulsion of the Dutch.

NEW YORK CITY (3,437), but including Brooklyn, Jersey City, and other suburban places, nearly three millions, the premier city of the American continent, and third wealthiest in the world; occupies Manhattan Island (13 m. long) and several smaller islands at the terminal confluence of the Hudson with East River, which opens into Long Island Sound; 18 m. S. of the city is Sandy Hook, where two s.h.i.+p channels cross the bar, and lead into the outer or lower bay, which in turn is joined by a strait to the magnificent harbour or inner bay; all approaches are strongly fortified; a suspension bridge spans East River, uniting the city with Brooklyn; the rivers and the many wharves are crowded with s.h.i.+pping. The old town is a busy hive of industry, with its great centres of banking and mercantile enterprise--Wall, New, and Broad Streets. The modern part of the city is a model of regularity, is traversed by great avenues 8 m. in length and 100 ft. wide, the finest being Fifth Avenue.

The City Hall and the Court House are of white marble; the hotels are the largest in the world; Astor library (250,000 vols.), academy of design, university, museums, art-galleries, and many other handsome buildings adorn the streets; carries on industries of almost every description.

NEW ZEALAND (669, of which 42 are Maories), a British island colony in the South Pacific, lying wholly within the temperate zone, 1200 m. E.

of Australia; comprises North Island (45,000 sq. m.), South or Middle Island (58,000 sq. m.), Stewart Island (much smaller), and a number of islets; total area considerably more than that of Great Britain. The two main islands, separated by Cook Strait, are in no part broader than 150 m., and are traversed from end to end by a great and partly volcanic mountain chain, the range in South Island being known as the Southern Alps (highest peak Mount Cook, 12,350 ft), and that in North Island as the Ruahine Range and the Tararua Mountains; everywhere rivers abound, Waikato (North Island) and Clutha (South Island) being the largest; numerous lakes (Lake Taupo, six times the size of Loch Lomond), fertile valleys, and well-gra.s.sed plains, together with the mountains, make up a beautiful and diversified surface, which much resembles that of Scotland, while the climate, temperate and healthy, is warmer and more equable than in Great Britain; almost all the animals have been imported, as well as the grains and fruits; great forests of indigenous kauri pines, however, exist; sheep-farming, agriculture, and mining (gold and coal) are the chief industries, wool being the chief export; Auckland, the largest, and Wellington, the capital, in North Island, and Dunedin and Christchurch in South Island, are the chief towns; Government is vested in a Crown-appointed Governor, an Executive Ministry, and a Parliament of two Chambers; education is free, secular, and compulsory, but no State aid is given to any form of religion; discovered in 1642 by Tasman, the islands were first surveyed by Cook in 1769; their formal cession to the British crown took place in 1840.

NEWARK (246), city of U.S., New Jersey, 7 miles W. by New Jersey City. It has extensive tanneries, and manufactories of hats, thread, and celluloid.

NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME (18), a borough and old market-town of Staffords.h.i.+re, 40 m. S. of Manchester; is a well-built town, actively engaged in brewing, malting, and paper-making.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE (186), a city and county of itself, and chief town of Northumberland; situated on the N. bank, and 10 m. from the mouth, of the Tyne, 275 m. N. of London. The old town extends some two miles along the river bank, and with its crowded quays, narrow winding streets, and dingy warehouses, presents a striking contrast to the handsome modern portion, which stretches back on gently rising ground.

The cathedral is an imposing and interesting architectural structure, while the public buildings are more than usually ornate. The Colleges of Medicine and of Science are affiliated to Durham University. There are several fine libraries, theatres, hospitals, and charitable inst.i.tutions, and the city is especially well off in the matter of public parks and pleasure grounds. Three bridges (including Robert Stephenson's famous High Level Bridge) span the river and connect Newcastle with Gateshead.

It is the chief centre of the English coal trade, and is a busy hive of all kinds of metallic, chemical, machinery, and kindred works, which give rise to an immense and ever-increasing s.h.i.+pping trade. As a centre of s.h.i.+pbuilding the Tyne is second only to the Clyde.

NEWCOMEN, THOMAS, blacksmith, born at Dartmouth; invented a steam-engine in which the piston was raised by steam and driven down by the atmosphere after the injection into the cylinder of a squirt of cold water, which cooled it, so that the steam when injected did not raise the piston at once up. By James Watt's invention of a separate condenser it was superseded, and employed afterwards princ.i.p.ally for pumping water.

The interruption in the movement between the descent and ascent of the piston made it worthless for such purposes as Watt's invention is applied to; _d_. 1729.

NEWDIGATE, SIR ROGER, born in Warwicks.h.i.+re; represented Oxford in Parliament, and founded the Newdigate Prize for the best English poem by an undergraduate; the winners of it have since distinguished themselves, chiefly in letters (1719-1806).

NEWFOUNDLAND (198), the oldest island colony of Britain, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, North America; is about one-eighth larger than Ireland, and triangular in shape, the northern apex running close in to the coast of Labrador; inland the country is bleak, spa.r.s.ely populated, and ill cultivated; lakes and rivers abound; the deeply indented coast provides excellent harbourage for the large fis.h.i.+ng fleets that frequent it; minerals are found, including coal, iron, lead, and copper; agriculture and timber-felling are on the increase, but the fisheries--cod, salmon, herring, and seal--form the staple industry; the climate is more temperate than in Canada, although, subject to fogs; ST. JOHNS (q. v.) is the capital; discovered in 1497 by John Cabot, seized by the English in 1583, and finally ceded to Britain by the French (who retained certain fis.h.i.+ng rights) in 1713; Newfoundland possesses a responsible government, consisting of a popularly elected a.s.sembly and a Crown-appointed Governor, and exercises political rights over the adjoining coast territory of Labrador.

NEWGATE, a dark, gloomy prison in London, the original of which dates as far back as 1218; was two centuries afterwards rebuilt, and destroyed in the great fire of 1666; rebuilt in 1780; is now used only for prisoners awaiting trial during Sessions, and as a place of execution.

NEWMAN, JOHN HENRY, cardinal, born in London, son of a banker; educated at Ealing, studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and obtained a Fellows.h.i.+p in Oriel College in 1823; trained in evangelical beliefs, he gradually drifted into High-Church notions, and becoming vicar of St.

Mary's, the university church of Oxford, in 1826, started the Tractarian Movement in 1833, and, busy with his pen, wrote no fewer than 24 of the celebrated "Tracts for the Times" in advocacy of High-Church teaching, till Tract XC., which he composed, overshot the mark, and he resigned his connection with the Church of England, and was received into the Catholic Church on the 28th October 1845; shortly after this he visited Rome, was ordained a priest, and after some stay there on his return became head of the Birmingham Oratory in 1849, where he spent over 40 of the years that remained of his life; the influence on Church matters which he exercised as university preacher at Oxford was very great, and made itself felt through the voluminous writings over the length and breadth of the Church; on his secession he continued to employ his pen in defence of his position, particularly in one work, now widely known, ent.i.tled "Apologia pro Vita Sua"; what he wrote was for the time he lived in, and none of it, except certain of his hymns, is likely to endure; the religion he fought for and vindicated was an externally authenticated one, whereas all true religion derives itself and its evidences solely and wholly from within, and is powerless and virtually nothing except in so far as it roots itself there (1801-1890).

NEWMAN, FRANCIS WILLIAM, born in London, brother of the preceding, with whom he was wholly out of sympathy, and at the opposite pole; he was a theist in his religious opinions, and wrote in defence of them his princ.i.p.al works, "The Soul: Her Sorrows and Aspirations," and "Phases of Faith" (1805-1897).

NEWPORT, 1, capital of the Isle of Wight (10), and near its centre; in its vicinity is Carisbrooke Castle, where Charles I. was imprisoned.

2, The largest town in Monmouth (54), at the mouth of the Usk, engaged in manufacture of various kinds, but chiefly as a port for the export of minerals, which is very large. 3, A town in Rhode Island, U.S., (19), a fas.h.i.+onable watering-place, as well as a manufacturing; was for a time the residence of Bishop Berkeley.

NEWSTEAD ABBEY, an abbey near Nottingham, founded by Henry II. by way of atonement for the murder of Thomas a Becket, which was given at the dissolution of the monasteries to an ancestor of Lord Byron, who lived in it and sold it, since which it has been restored.

NEWTON, SIR ISAAC, ill.u.s.trious natural philosopher, born in Woolsthorpe, near Grantham, in Lincolns.h.i.+re; entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1661, where he applied himself specially to the study of mathematics, invented the method of FLUXIONS (q. v.), and began to theorise on gravitation, graduating in 1667, and becoming professor of Mathematics in 1669; failing at first, from a mistaken measurement given of the earth's diameter, in his attempts to establish the theory referred to, he set himself to the construction of telescopes, and discovered the composition of light; shortly after this, hearing of a correction of the measurement required, he renewed his study of gravitation, and made his theory good in a series of papers communicated to the Royal Society, though it was not till 1687, encouraged by Halley, he gave the complete demonstration in his "Principia" to the world; in 1695 he was made Warden of the Mint, and afterwards Master, a post he held till his death; his works were numerous, and he wrote on prophecy as well as treatises on science (1642-1727).

NEWTON, JOHN, English clergyman, born in London; after a wild youth was converted, entered the Church, and became curate of Olney, where he became acquainted with Cowper, and had, owing to his severe Calvinism, an influence over him not altogether for good, and was a.s.sociated with the production of the "Olney Hymns"; wrote "Cardiphonia" (1725-1807).

NEWTON, THOMAS, English divine; edited Milton's "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained," and notes, and wrote "Dissertations on the Prophecies" (1704-1782).

NEY, MICHEL, peer and marshal of France, born at Sarrelouis, son of a cooper; entered the army as a private hussar in 1797; distinguished himself by his bravery in the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, and earned for himself from the army under Napoleon, and from Napoleon himself, the t.i.tle of the "Brave of the braves"; on Napoleon's abdication in 1814 he attached himself to Louis XVIII., but on his return from Elba he joined Ins old master, and stood by him during the hundred days; on the second Restoration he was arrested, tried by his peers, and shot (1769-1815).

NGAMI, LAKE, a shallow sheet of water 50 m. long in S. Africa, on the borders of the Kalahari Desert, which is always changing its margin, is at one time, from the rains, sweet and drinkable, and at another time, from drought, saline; it is infested with crocodiles, and swarms with fish.

NIAGARA, a section of the St. Lawrence River, in N. America, extending between Lakes Erie and Ontario, having a descent throughout its course of 36 m. of 326 ft., the Falls, preceded and succeeded by rapids, being the largest in the world, the Canadian or Horse Shoe Fall being 2640 ft. wide, with a descent of 158 ft., and the American Fall being one-third of the width of the Canadian, and with a descent of over 162 ft.

NIAM-NIAM, a people of the E. Soudan, SE. of Darfur, occupying territory between the basins of the Nile and the Congo.

NIBELUNG, king of the Nibelungen, a mythical Burgundian tribe, the fabulous possessor of a h.o.a.rd of wealth so inexhaustible that "twelve waggons in twelve days, at the rate of three journeys a day, could not carry it off," and which he bequeathed to his two sons on his deathbed, by the vanquis.h.i.+ng of whom the h.o.a.rd fell into the hands of the redoubtable hero Siegfried.

NIBELUNGEN LIED (i. e. Lay of the Nibelungen), an old German epic, of date, it is presumed, earlier than the 12th century; it consists of two parts, the first ending with the murder of Siegfried by Hagen, his wresting of the h.o.a.rd (see _SUPRA_) from his widow, Kriemhild, and burying it at the bottom of the Rhine, and the second relating the vengeance of Kriemhild and the annihilation of the whole Burgundian race, Kriemhild included, to whom the treasure had originally belonged; to the latter part the name of the Nibelungen Not (or Distress) has been given.