Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 25 - A-AUS.pdf/823

 ATHLONE — ATLANTA the popularity of minor sports has drawn ever-increasing numbers of men into active competition, and there is a strong tendency to develop contests within the university. On becoming more general, the athletic spirit has become less intense. Though American sports will doubtless always retain the peculiar strenuousness of the American character, the influences controlling them are becoming more and more representative of the best spirit in American life. The American amateur records for the events most commonly competed for in track and field athletics are as follows :— Running, 100 yards ...... 9| sec. „ 220 211 „ 440 „ 47 „ ,, 880 1 min. 53f ,, ,, 1 mile. . . . . . 4 ,, 15f ,, ,, 3 miles. . . •, . . 14 ,, 24 ,, Walking, 1 mile. . . . . . 6 ,, 29f ,, Hurdles, 120 yards (five hurdles, 3 ft. 6 in. high) 154 ,, ,, 220 ,, (ten hurdles, 2 ft. 6 in. high) 23f ,, Jumping, standing high, without weights. . 5 feet 4 inches ,, running high, without weights. . 6 ,, 5f ,, ,, running long, without weights. . 24 ,, „ Pole vault for height. . . . . . 11 ,, 10£ „ Throwing the hammer, 16 lb. head (thrown by both hands from a mark ; handle 4 feet long) 113 11 Ditto from circle. . . . . .175 4§ Putting the shot, 16 lb. . . . .47 (W. Ca.) Athlon Gy a market town and urban sanitary district in the county of Westmeath, province of Leinster, Ireland, on both sides of the river Shannon, 76 miles west of Dublin by rail. It ceased to be a parliamentary borough in 1885. In 1898 the portion situated in Roscommon was added to Westmeath. A woollen mill has been recently established, in addition to the already existing factory. Population (1881), 6755; (1891), 6742; (1901), 6617. Athol, a town of Worcester county, northern Massachusetts, U.S.A., having an area of 35 square miles. Its surface is quite irregular and hilly. The village of Athol is on the Miller river, at an altitude of 556 feet, and is entered by two railways, the Boston and Albany and the Fitchburg. The plan of the village is quite irregular. Athol was incorporated in 1762. Population (1880), 4307; (1890), 6319 ; (1900), 7061. AthOS, the most easterly of three peninsulas of Turkey in Europe, projecting at its south-western extremity into the Aegean Sea. The north-western border is about 50 miles S.E. of Salonica, to which there is a bridle-path. The peninsula takes its name from Mount Athos (6350 feet), the extreme summit of a chain of heights occupying the peninsula; and on account of the number of religious houses, now totalling about 1000, it is also known as “ the Holy Mount.” None but males are allowed access to the peninsula, and all the inhabitants are Christians, with the exception of one Turkish officer. The recluses number about 3000, with 3000 servants. Authorities.—Riley. Athos, or the Mountain of the Monies. London, 1887.—Brockhaus. Die Kunst in den Athos-Kl'dstern. Leipsic, 1891.—Lambros. Catalogue of the Greek Manuscripts on Mount Athos. Cambridge, vol. i., 1895.—Meyer. Die Haupturkunden fur die Geschichte der Athos-Klostern. Leipsic, 1894. Atkinson, Major the Hon. Sir Harry Albert, K.C.M.G. (1831-1892), British colonial statesman; prime minister and Speaker of the legislative council, New Zealand; was born at Chester in 1831, and in 1855 emigrated to Taranaki, New Zealand, where he became a farmer. In 1860 the Waitara war broke out, and from its outset Atkinson, who had been selected as a captain of the New Plymouth Volunteers, distinguished himself by his contempt for appearances and tradition,

767

and by the practical skill, energy, and courage which he showed in leading his Forest Rangers in the tiresome and lingering bush warfare of the next five years. For this work he was made a major of militia, and thanked by the Government. Elected to the house of representatives in 1863, he joined Sir Frederick Weld’s ministry at the end of November 1864 as minister of defence, and, during eleven months of office, was identified with the well-known “self-reliance” policy, a proposal to dispense with imperial regulars, and meet the Maori with colonials only. Parliament accepted this principle, but turned out the Weld ministry for other reasons. For four years Atkinson was out of parliament; in October 1873 he re-entered it, and a year later became minister of lands under Sir Julius Vogel. Ten months later he was treasurer, and such was his aptitude for finance that, except during six months in 1876, he thenceforth held that post whenever his party was in power. From October 1874 to January 1891, Atkinson was only out of office for about five years. Three times he was premier, and he was always the most formidable debater and fighter in the ranks of the Conservative opponents of the growing Radical party which Grey, Stout, and Ballance led in succession. It was he who was mainly responsible for the abolition of the provinces into which the colony was divided from 1853 to 1876. He repealed the Ballance land-tax in 1879, and substituted a propertytax. He greatly reduced the cost of the public service in 1880, and again in 1888. In both these years he raised the customs duties, amongst other taxes, and gave them a quasi-protectionist character. In 1880 he struck 10 per cent, off all public salaries and wages; in 1887 he reduced the salary of the governor by one-third, and the pay and number of ministers and members of parliament. By these resolute steps revenue was increased, expenditure checked, and the colony’s finance reinstated. Atkinson was an advocate of compulsory national assurance, and the leasing as opposed to the selling of crown lands. Defeated in the general election of December 1890, he took the appointment of Speaker of the legislative council. There, while leaving the council chamber after the sitting of 28th June 1892, he was struck down by heart disease, and died in a few minutes. Though brusque in manner, and never popular, he was esteemed as a vigorous, upright, and practical statesman. He was twice married, and had seven children, of whom three sons and a daughter survived him. (w. p. r.) Atlanta, the largest city of Georgia, U.S.A., capital of the state and of Fulton county. It is situated in the northern part of the state, in 33° 45' N. lat. and 84° 24' W. long., at an altitude of 1050 feet. Its mean annual temperature is 62°, and the annual rainfall is 45 inches. The city is regularly laid out, is divided into seven wards, is supplied with water by the Holly pumping system, and is well drained and paved. It is one of the principal railway centres of the south, being entered by six railways, the Atlanta and West Point, the Central of Georgia, the Georgia, the Seaboard Air Line, the Southern, and the Western and Atlantic, which meet at a union depot. Amongst several institutions for higher education are the Atlanta Baptist College, Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, and the State Normal School of Technology. Of its newspapers the Atlanta Constitution is well known throughout the Union. Among the many fine buildings of the city the State Capitol, erected at a cost of $1,000,000, should be mentioned. Atlanta is probably the most progressive city of the south, having made vast strides during the past generation. In 1890 it had 410 manufacturing establishments of all kinds, employing