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LEFT POPULATION CENTER 311 PORCELAIN meant the admission of all future terri- tories as free, the interpretation was strained so as to bring it within Cal- houn's declaration, on the ground that a territory could not manifest its inten- tions on the subject till it was ready to be admitted as a State, or in other words, not through its territorial government. A disagreement on this subject led to the withdrawal of a part of the Demo- cratic National Convention which nomi- nated Douglas in 1860. After the Civil War, and with the abolition of slavery, the question of popular sovereignty died out. POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. See Census. POPULIST PARTY, OR PEOPLE'S PARTY, an American political party founded at Cincinnati in 1891. It was the outgrowth of the "Grangers" and "Farmers' Alliance" parties, and was composed of great numbers from the farming and industrial classes of the Middle and Far West. Its political prin- ciples were the free coinage of silver, national ownership of the railroads, popular election of United States Sena- tors and a graduated income tax. In 1892 the party nominated James B. Weaver of Iowa for President, and in that national election polled a popular vote of 1.055,424. In the succeeding presidential election the Populists in- dorsed the Democratic nominee, William J. Bryan, but named Thos. E. Watson of Georgia, for Vice-President. In 1900 the Populists again endorsed Bryan for President, but as in 1896, named a dif- ferent man than the Democrats for Vice- President, this time, Charles A. Towne of Minnesota. Towne later withdrew and the National Executive Committee of the party nominated the Democratic nom- inee, A. E. Stevenson of Illinois. In addition to their principles hitherto men- tioned the Populists added to their plat- form a plank condemning the imperial- ism in world politics of the Republicans and expressed their sympathy for the Boers in South Africa in their struggle against Great Britain. After 1900 the party lost strength either by the adop- tion of many of their principles by the Democratic party or by the indisposition of the voters to their radical ideas. They were never serious contenders in the political field after that date. PORCELAIN, a fictile material inter- mediate between glass and pottery, be- ing formed of two substances, fusible and infusible, the latter enabling it to with- stand the heat necessary to vitrify the former, thus producing its peculiar semi- translucency. The infusible material is alumina, called kaolin; the fusible sub- stance is feldspar, and is called pe-tun- tse, both Chinese terms. There are two kinds, hard and soft {pdte dure and pate tendre) ; the hard body has more alumina and less silex and lime. Orien- tal porcelain is of two kinds, ancient and modern; the latter class includes imitations and reproductions. The man- ufacture began in China between 185 B. c. and A. D. 87, and reached its per- fection during the Ming dynasty (1368- 1644). The rarest Chinese wares are of the Tsin dynasty (a. d. 265-419), the Soui (581-618), and the Thang (618- 907) — forms virtually extinct except as copies. The Tcheou porcelain (954-959) is so valued that fragments are worn as personal ornaments. Ware of the Song dynasty (960-1279) is also highly prized. Porcelain came by trade into Persia and Egypt, and was known in Syria in the 12th century. First imported into Eu- rope by the Portuguese in 1520. In Japan the porcelain manufacture began before 27 B. c, with a whiter body and more brilliant glaze than that of the Chinese. It is doubtful if it was ever made in Persia. In Europe, Boettcher, a Saxon chemist, found kaolin while seeking the philosopher's stone; and Augustus II., Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, established and placed under his control the famous Meissen factory at the castle of Albrechtsburg in 1710; 40 years later 700 men were em- ployed. In Vienna, Stolzel, who escaped from Meissen in 1720, began the Aus- trian factory, which in 1785 employed 500 men; another was established in Berlin by Frederick the Great. During the 18th century, works were begun in Russia, Holland, Denmark, Spain, Portu- gal, Switzerland and Italy. In France, soft porcelain was made at St. Cloud in 1695. Comte de Brancas-Lauraguan, in 1758, found kaolin near Alengon, and porcelain was made at St. Yrieix, near Limoges. The Sevres manufactory' was first established at Vincennes in 1740, and moved to Sevres in 1756. In France, the manufacture of soft porcelain ex- tends from 1695 to 1770, after which date the hard body of Sevres takes its place. In England, William Cook- worthy, a chemist of Plymouth, found kaolin at Tregonning, near Helstone, in Cornwall, and his patent of 1768 was worked at Plymouth for two or three years, when the works were removed to Bristol. At Chelsea and Bow soft porce- lain had been made. These two were transferred to Derby in 1770 and 1776. Bristol had a soft body works in 1753; its best period was from 1774 to 1778. Worcester porcelain dates from 1751 ; its best period ended witth 1783. Large