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 line of defence and these now combine with Stettin to form one industrial and commercial centre. Since the removal of the fortifications their site has been built upon. Apart from its commerce Stettin is comparatively an uninteresting city, although its appearance, owing to its numerous promenades and open spaces, is very pleasant. Among its nine Evangelical churches that of St Peter, founded in 1124 and restored in 1816–1817, has the distinction of being the oldest Christian church in Pomerania. Both this and the church of St James, dating from the 14th century, are remarkable for their size. Three of the Evangelical churches are fine new buildings, and there are also churches belonging to the Roman Catholics and other religious bodies. The old palace, now used as public offices, is a large but unattractive edifice, scarcely justifying the boast of an old writer that it did not yield in magnificence even to the palaces of Italy. Among the modern buildings are the theatre, the barracks, the bourse, a large hospital, the new town-hall, superseding a building of the 13th century, and the new government buildings. Statues of Frederick the Great, of Frederick William III. and of the emperor William I. adorn two of the fine squares, the Königsplatz and the Kaiser Wilhelmsplatz. Other squares are the Paradeplatz, and the Rathausplatz with a beautiful fountain. Two gateways, the Königstor and the Berliner Tor, remains of the old fortifications, are still standing. As a prosperous commerical town Stettin has numerous scientific, educational and benevolent institutions.

Stettin, regarded as the port of Berlin, is one of the principal ship-building centres of Germany and a place of much commercial and industrial activity. The foremost place in its chief industry, ship-building, is taken by the Vulcan yard, situated in the suburb of Bredow, which builds warships for the German navy. The business was begun in 1851 and now employs about 8000 hands, the works extending over 70 acres and the covered workshops over 650,000 sq. ft. In 1897 a floating dock was fitted up capable of holding vessels of 12,000 tons. Locomotives, boilers and machinery of all kinds are made in other great establishments. Other industries are the manufacture of clothing, cement, bricks, motor-cars, soap, paper, beer, sugar, spirits and cycles. Most of the mills and factories are situated in the suburbs, Grabow, Bredow and others. The sea-borne commerce of Stettin is of scarcely less importance than her industry and a larger number of vessels enter and clear here than at any other German port, except Hamburg and Bremerhaven. Swinemünde serves as its outer port. Its principal exports are grain, wood, chemicals, spirits, sugar, herrings and coal, and its imports are iron goods, chemicals, grain, petroleum and coal. A great impulse to its trade was given in 1898 by the opening of a free harbour adjoining the suburb of Lastadie on the east bank of the Oder; this embraces a total area of 150 acres and quays with a length of 14,270 ft. It has two basins, with the necessary accompaniment of cranes, storehouses, &c., and the deepening of the Oder from Stettin to the Haff to 24 ft. was practically completed by 1903. With the view of still further increasing the commercial importance of Stettin, it is proposed to construct a ship canal giving the town direct communication with Berlin. A feature in the mercantile life of Stettin is the large number of insurance companies which have their headquarters in the town.

The forest and river scenery of the neighbourhood of Stettin is picturesque, but the low level and swampy nature of the soil render the climate bleak and unhealthy.

Stettin is said to have existed as a Wendish settlement in the 9th century, but its first authentic appearance in history was in the 12th century, when it was known as Stedyn. From the beginning of the 12th century to 1637 it was the residence of the dukes of Pomerania, one of whom, Duke Barnim I., gave it municipal rights in 1243. Already a leading centre of trade it entered the Hanseatic League in 1360. The Pomeranian dynasty became extinct in 1637, when the country was suffering from the ravages of the Thirty Years' War, and by the settlement of 1648 Stettin, the fortifications of which had been improved by Gustavus Adolphus, was ceded to Sweden. In 1678 it was taken from Sweden by Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, but it was restored in 1679, only, however, to be ceded to Prussia in 1720 by the peace of Stockholm. It was fortified more strongly by Frederick the Great, but in 1806 it yielded to France without any resistance and was held by the French until 1813. Stettin was the birthplace of the empress Catherine II. of Russia.

STEUART, SIR JAMES DENHAM, Bart. (1712–1780), English economist, was the only son of Sir James Steuart, solicitor-general for Scotland under Queen Anne and George I., and was born at Edinburgh on the 21st of October 1712. After passing through the university of Edinburgh he was admitted to the Scottish bar at the age of twenty-four. He then spent some years on the Continent, and while in Rome entered into relations with the Pretender. He was in Edinburgh in 1745, and so compromised himself that, after the battle of Culloden, he found it necessary to return to the Continent where he remained until 1763. It was not indeed until 1771 he was fully pardoned for any complicity he may have had in the rebellion. He died at his family seat, Coltness, in Lanarkshire, on the 26th of November 1780. In 1767 was published Steuart's Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy. It was the most complete and systematic survey of the science from the point of view of moderate mercantilism which had appeared in England. But the time for the mercantile doctrines was past. Nine years later the Wealth of Nations was given to the world. Adam Smith never quotes or mentions Steuart's book; being acquainted with Steuart, whose conversation he said was better than his book, he probably wished to keep clear of controversy with him. German economists have examined Steuart's treatise more carefully than English writers; and they have recognized its high merits, especially in relation to the theory of value and the subject of population. They have also pointed out that, in the spirit of the best modern research, he has dwelt on the special characters which distinguish the economies proper to different nations and different grades in social progress.

STEUBEN, FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS HENRY FERDINAND, (1730–1794), German soldier, was born at Magdeburg, Prussia, on the 15th of November 1730, the son of William Augustine Steuben (1699–1783), also a soldier. At fourteen he served as a volunteer in a campaign of the Austrian Succession War. He became a lieutenant in 1753, fought in the Seven Years' War, was made adjutant-general of the free corps in 1754 but re-entered the regular army in 1761, and became an aide to Frederick the Great in 1762. Leaving the army after the war, he was made canon of the cathedral of Havelberg, and subsequently was grand-marshal to the prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In 1777 his friend, the count St Germain, then the French minister of war, persuaded him to go to the assistance of the American colonists, who needed discipline and instruction in military tactics. Steuben arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the 1st of December 1777, and offered his services to Congress as a volunteer. In March 1778 he began drilling the inexperienced soldiers at Valley Forge; and by May, when he was made inspector-general, with the rank of major-general, he had established a thorough system of discipline and economy.