Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/513

Rh M A N M A N 489 the United Kingdom in 1881 was 346,908 cwts., valued at 678,514. The fibre is now so valuable that manila hemp cordage is freely adulterated by manufacturers, chiefly by admixture of phormium (New Zealand flax) and Russian hemp. MANILIUS, a Roman poet, was the author of a poem in five books called Astronomica. Nothing is recorded of the author; he is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. His very name is uncertain, but was probably Marcus Manillas. From the work itself it may be gathered with much probability that the writer lived under Augustus or Tiberius, and that he was a citizen of and resident in Rome. He bears the name of a distin guished plebeian family. His work is one of great learn ing ; he had studied his subject in the best writers, and generally represents the most advanced views of the ancients on astronomy. It is, however, destitute of poetical or literary merit. It is difficult to explain how a work of such learning on a subject which was studied with such interest by the ancients should have remained so neglected. Firmicus, who wrote in the time of Constantino, has so many points of resemblance with the work of Manilius that he must either have used him or have followed some work that Manilius also followed. As Firmicus says that hardly any Roman except Caesar, Cicero, and Fronto had treated the subject, it is probable that he did not know the work of Manilius. The latest event referred to in the poem is the great defeat of 9 A.D. MANIN, DANIELE (1804-1857), president of the Venetian republic in 1848-49, and one of the principal founders of Italian independence, was born in Venice on the 13th May 1804. He studied at Padua, graduating as doctor of laws when only seventeen years of age, and soon after translated Pothier s large treatise Sar le Droit Romain. To his father, an eminent barrister, he was indebted not only for much of his skill in jurisprudence but for his strong republican bias, having as a boy con stantly heard him denounce indignantly the injustice of Bonaparte in handing Venice over to Austria by the scandalous treaty of Campio Formio. In 1830 Manin commenced practice as an advocate, but only to become conscious of the harsh restrictions laid by Austria upon the administration of law. That and the following year showed some stirrings of political life in Italy ; and Manin, already the leading spirit in Venetia of the new national party, strove to train his countrymen to united purpose and action. The question of a railway to Milan, for in stance, or whether the Indian mail should go by Venice, was utilized to quicken the patriotic instinct by thwarting the Government, and that without neglecting the great principle &quot;legality and publicity&quot; which till 1848 was his unswerving rule of conduct. In 1847 he spoke ably on political economy at the scientific congress held in Venice, and soon after presented two petitions to the &quot; congregation,&quot; a shadowy delibera tive assembly which was tolerated by Austria. His principal demands were separate government of Venice and Lombardy, revision of the code, an annual budget, freedom of the press, and religious equality. On the 18th January 1848, soon after Radetsky s cruel treatment of Milan, he was arrested, but only to intensify the patriotic enthusiasm of the people. The population of Venice marched past his prison silently and mournfully, every head uncovered. The carnival (that year spent in gloom) was scarcely over, however, when the glad news from Sicily, Naples, and Paris so worked upon their minds that the Austrian authorities were forced to feel that the revolutionary wave had reached Venice. On the 17th March Manin was carried in triumph to the Place St Mark, and virtually declared dictator. Now that the moment for action was come he immediately formed a civic guard, and by his energy and earnestness inspired all classes of the citizens to act as one man. On the 22d the dictator became president of the new republic of St Mark, to cope alone with all the difficulties of administration, organiza tion, and finance. In March 1849, on the defeat of King Charles Albert, Venice had to prepare herself resolutely for defence ; and on the 2d April there was passed in the palace of the Doges a decree in two clauses : &quot; (1) Venice will resist the Austrians at whatever cost ; (2) the president Manin is invested with unlimited powers.&quot; On the 26th May one outlying fort was taken, but on the 3d July, when Rome and Mazzini had succumbed to the French, Venice and Manin were still strenuous in their heroic defence. Only when cholera had also attacked them, when food and ammunition were spent and people were dying of hunger, when every house not burned down was riddled by the shot and shell of the bombardment, and no gleam of hope from without was visible, was the capitu lation signed, 24th August, on terms of amnesty to all except the president and thirty-nine other citizens. Leaving Venice on the 27th, with his wife and two children, Manin spent the rest of his life in Paris, where he maintained a anodest independence by teaching his native language. His energies were still devoted to the unification of Italy, so that, whether as a republic or as a kingdom, she might be freed from Austrian domination. He died of heart disease on the 22d September 1857, and was buried in the family tomb of Ary Scheffer. In 1868 the remains were removed to Venice, and honoured with a public funeral. See Henri Martin, D. Manin, 1859, and L 1 Unite Balicnnc, 1861 (Martin also wrote the article in the Biogr. Univcrsclle) ; C. L. Chassin, Manin ct I Italic ; Errera s Vita di D. Manin, Venice, 1872 ; P. de La Faye s Documents, Ac., de D. Manin, I860. Other writers are Ernest Legouve, A. de La Forge, and Edmund Flagg (New York). MANIOC or MANDIOC. See CASSAVA and AREOW- EOOT. MANIPUR, a native state in north-eastern India, lying between 24 35 and 24- 48 30&quot; N. lat, and between 93 and 94 40 E. long., is bounded on the N. by the Naga country and the hills overlooking the Assam valley, on the W. by Cachar district, and on the E. by Independent Burmah. On the south the boundary is undefined, and abuts on the country inhabited by various independent wild hill tribes of Lushais, Kukts, &c. The state consists of an extensive valley, estimated at about 650 square miles in extent, and a large surrounding unsurveyed tract of difficult mountainous country stretching between Assam, Cachar, Burmah, and Chittagong. The total area is estimated at about 7600 square miles. The population of the Manipur valley and the surrounding hills is supposed to be about 74,000 hill-men and 65,000 Manipuris. The hill ranges generally run north and south, with occasional connecting spurs and ridges of lower elevation between. Their greatest altitude is in the north, where they reach to upwards of 8000 feet above sea-level. The principal geographical feature in the valley is the Logtak Lake, an irregular sheet of water of considerable size, but said to be yearly growing smaller. The valley is v/atered by numerous rivers, the Barak being the most important. The hills are densely clothed with tree jungle and large forest timber. There are large herds of wild elephants} as well as tigers, leopards, bears, buffaloes, &c. The country seems to be singularly free from poisonous snakes ; the cobra does not appear to exist in the valley, but the boa constrictor is found in the dense forests to the south. The first relations of the British with Manipur date from 1762, when the raja solicited British aid to repel a Burmese invasion, and a treaty was entered into. The force was recalled, and XV. 62