Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/612

Rh 574 A L I A L I 1820, when Ali procured the assassination of an officer who had left him and taken service under the sultan at Con stantinople. For this daring act the sultan proscribed Ali, and ordered all the European pashas to march against him. He resisted every effort to capture him, but was at last induced by Kourschid Pasha to surrender in January 1822 on promise of a pardon from the sultan. On 5th February, on pretence of handing him the necessary document, Kourschid Pasha procured an interview with him, and then produced the firman authorising his execu tion. The brave old despot defended himself with his usual resolution and courage, but was overpowered by numbers, and his head was struck from his body and sent to Constantinople. ALIAS, signifying at another time, is used in judicial proceedings to connect the several names of a person who attempts to conceal his true name, or to pass iinder a feigned one ; as Smith alias Jones, James alias John. ALIBI, in Law, denotes the absence of the accused from the place where he is charged with having committed a crime ; or his being elsewhere, as the word imports, at the time specified. ALICANTE, a province of Spain, bounded on the N. by Valencia, on the W. by Albacete and Murcia, on the S. by Murcia, and on the S.E. and E. by the Mediterranean Sea. It was formed in 1834 of districts taken from the ancient provinces of Valencia and Murcia, the former con tributing by far the larger portion. Its length is about 73 miles, its breadth 68 miles, and the area 2090 square miles. The surface of the province is extremely diversified. In the north and west there are extensive mountain ranges of calcareous formation, intersected by deep ravines ; while farther south the land is more level, and there are many fertile valleys. On the Mediterranean coast, salt marshes, exhaling an insalubrious miasma, alternate with rich plains and pleasant and productive huertas or gardens, such as those of Alicante and Denia. There is no considerable river in the province, but a few rivulets flow east through the valleys into the Mediterranean. The sky is clear, the climate temperate, and the rainfall very slight. Notwith standing the want of rivers and of rain, agriculture is in a very flourishing condition. The inhabitants possess a spirit of steady industry uncommon in Spain, and by means of wells and canals they have to a large extent suc ceeded in overcoming the disadvantages of nature. Many tracts originally rocky and sterile have been levelled, and now present terraces covered with the vine and with use ful trees. Cereals are grown, but the inhabitants prefer to raise such articles of produce as are in demand for export, and consequently part of the grain supply of the province has to be imported. Esparto grass, rice, the sugar-cane, and tropical fruits and vegetables are largely produced. Great attention is given to the rearing of bees and silk-worms ; and the wine of the province is held in high repute throughout Spain, while some inferior kinds are sent to France to be mixed with claret. Cattle are not extensively reared. The most important minerals of the province are lead, copper, iron, and coal. There are about twenty lead and copper mines ; and mineral springs are found at various places. The manufactures consist of fine cloths, silk, cotton, woollen and linen fabrics, girdles and lace, paper, hats, leather, earthenware, and soap. There are numerous oil -mills and brandy distilleries. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in the carrying trade, while the fisheries on the coast are also actively prosecuted, tunny and anchovies being caught in great numbers. Barilla is obtained from the sea-weed on the shores, and some of the saline marshes yield large supplies of salt by spontaneous evaporation. The province is divided into 16 judicial divisions f&amp;gt;ud 206 parishes. Alicante is the chief town, and the other places of importance are Denia and Villajoyosa on the coast; and Orihuela, Elche, Villena, and Alcoy in the interior. Education is in a low state ; of the criminals arrested it is found that 14 in 15 can neither read nor write. The people are of a lively and irascible temperament, and offences against the person are frequent. Population (1870), estimated at 440,000. ALICANTE, the capital of the above province, and, after Cadiz and Barcelona, the most considerable seaport of Spain. It is situated at the head of the bay of Alicante, in the Mediterranean Sea, in 38 20 N. lat,, and 30 W. long. The city is built on the bay in the form of a half -moon, and is overlooked by a rock 400 feet high, surmounted by a castle, which has been suffered to fall into decay. There is good anchoring-ground in the bay, but only the smaller vessels can come up to the mole or pier. The bay is protected by batteries, and there is a fixed light on the mole, 95 feet high, and visible for a distance of 15 miles. Alicante was the Lv.centum of the Eomans ; but notwithstanding its antiquity, the town pre sents a modern appearance, and has few remains of Roman, mediaeval, or Moorish times. It is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral and episcopal palace. It has also a good town-house, an orphanage, a lyceum, a public library, and a school of navigation. Cotton, linen, and woollen goods, cigars, and confections are manufactured. There is a considerable trade in the fruit and other produce of the surrounding plain ; and the vino tinto, or dark red wine, produced in the vicinity, is sent to France for mixing purposes. At the island of Plana, on the coast, very beautiful marble is procured. The foreign trade of the port, though still considerable, has greatly declined on account of the imposition of an excessive import tariff. In 1871, besides coasting traders, 372 Spanish and foreign vessels, with a tonnage of 62,546, entered the port. Of these vessels, 78 were British, measuring 29,021 tons. The value of the imports under foreign and native flags was 542,526, and the duties paid were 90,421, without reckoning duties corresponding to material and fuel for railways, which are admitted free. The chief imports are coals, iron, machinery, and guano ; and the chief exports esparto of which 11,000 tons were shipped in 1871 raisins, almonds, oranges, olive oil, silk, saffron, wine, lead, salt, and soda. There are here English and other European consuls. Alicante was besieged by the Moors in 1331, and again by the French in 1709, when the English com mandant and his staff were killed by the explosion of a mine. Population, 31,500. ALICATA, or LICATA, a seaport of Italy, in the pro vince of Girgenti, Sicily, situated on the south coast, at the mouth of the Salso, the largest river in the island. It is supposed to occupy the site of the ancient Phintias, built by Phintias, tyrant of Agrigentum, in 280 B.C., after the destruction of Gela. The neighbourhood was the scene of many of the most memorable events of the Punic wars. On the hill overlooking the modern town there are extensive ancient remains. Alicata is now the most important com mercial town on the south coast of Sicily, though the port is only an open shallow roadstead. The larger vessels lie a mile off shore, and are laden and discharged by means of barges. The chief trade is in sulphur, and the other exports include corn, fruit, macaroni, soda, and excellent wine. Population, 16,000. ALICUDI, one of the Lipari Islands. See LIZ&amp;gt;AKI ISLANDS. ALIEN, obviously derived from the Latin alienus, is the technical term applied by British constitutional law to any one who does not enjoy the privileges of a British subject. The jealousy which has generally existed against communicating the privileges of citizenship to foreigners