Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/88

LEFT STATISTICS 62 STEAM and no important legislation is attempted depths. It unites with the Dan river at without reference, direct or indirect, to Clarksville, Mecklenburg co., to form the facts which it tabulates. the Roanoke; length, 200 miles. STATUTE, a law proceeding from the g-overnment of a State; the written will of the legislature solemnly expressed ac- cording to the forms necessary to consti- tute it the law of the State. A statute which contravenes a provision of the constitution of a State by whose legis- lature it was enacted, or of the United States Constitution, is void. Statutes are either public or private (in the lat- ter case affecting an individual or a company) ; but the term is usually re- stricted to public acts of a general and permanent character. Statutes are said to be declaratory of the law as it stood before their passing; remedial, to cor- rect defects in the common law; and pe- nal, imposing prohibitions and penalties. The term statute is commonly applied to the acts of a legislative body consist- ing of representatives. In monarchies not having representative bodies, the laws of the sovereign are called edicts, decrees, ordinances, rescripts, etc. STAUNTON, a city of Illinois, in Macoupin co. It is on the Wabash, the Litchfield and Madison, and the Illinois Traction railroads. In the neighborhood are coal mines, and oil and gas wells. Among its public buildings is the Labor Temple. Pop. (1910) 5,048; (1920) 6,- 027. STAUNTON, a city and county-seat of Augusta CO., Va. ; on the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads; 136 miles W. N. W. of Rich- mond. It is situated in the fertile and beautiful Shenandoah valley. Here are the State Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, the Mary Baldwin Seminary, the Staunton Military Academy, the Staunton Female Seminary, the Wes- leyan Female Institute, the Western State Hospital, Masonic Temple, City Hall, park, street railroad and electric light plants, waterworks. National and State banks, and several daily and Vv^eekly newspapers. It has manufac- tories of ice, sash and blinds, cigars, flour, organs, machinery, building mate- rial, agricultural implements, carriages, etc. Pop. (1910) 10,604; (1920) 10,623. STAUNTON, a river of Virginia which rises in Montgomery co., and flows E. across Roanoke co., reaching the Blue Ridge, through which it breaks, so form- ing picturesque scenery and marvels in rapid descent. It is said to fall 1,000 feet in 20 miles. It has devious wind- ings after it emerges from the mountain STAUROLITE or FAIRY STONE, a mineral found in various parts of the United States, in the Tyrol, in Corn- wall (England) and in other parts. Chemically, it is a hydrated silicate of iron, aluminum and magnesium and oc- curs as brown rhombic crystals, having a cruciform arrangement, and a sub-vit- reous lustre. Its specific gravity is 3.5 and hardness 7.5. STAVANGER, the most important town in the S. W. of Norway; on the S. side of Bukken Fjord; 100 miles S. of Bergen. It has two harbors and de- rives its importance from its connection with the fisheries of the adjacent coast. The town dates back to the 9th century, but has been frequently destroyed by fire, and is now quite a modern place. The cathedral, a Gothic structure, was founded by an English bishop (Reinald) in the 11th century, but was restored in 1866. Of late years it has become a favorite rendezvous of tourists. Pop. (1918) 46,100. STAVROPOL, form-rly a Russian province in the Caucasus and recently part of the Kuban Republic. It has an area of 23,398 square miles, comprising largely untimbered prairies and ex- tensively cultivated for grain. The country was colonized a century ago by Cossacks, but the inhabitants include Poles, Armenians, Greeks and Slavic Russians. Pop. about 1,300,000. The city of Stavropol, capital of the prov- ince, is situated on the Atchla, 307 miles southwest of Astrakan. Soap, flour, and leather goods are the products of the chief industries. Pop. about 80,000. STEAD, WILLIAM THOMAS, an English journalist; born in Embleton, Northumberland, July 5, 1849. He is widely known as editor of the "Review of Reviews," which he founded in January, 1890. He published "The Maiden Trib- ute of Modern Babylon" (1885). In 1893 he established "Borderland," a period- ical devoted to spiritualism. Among his published books are "The United States of Europe" (1899); "Peers or People" (1907). He died in 1912. STEAM, in physics, water in its gas- eous form. It is a colorless, invisible gas, quite distinct from the visible cloud which issues from a kettle, etc., which is composed of minute drops of water produced by the condensation of the steam as it issues into the colder air.