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Rh NEWCASTLE 379 keelmen s hospital (1701), the female penitentiary (1831), the Royal Victoria asylum for the blind (1838), the Northern Counties institution for the deaf and dumb(1839), the Northern Counties female orphan institution, and the Philipson memorial orphanage for boys (1876). Newcastle owes its prosperity to its convenient situation on a tidal river, and to the immense stores of coal in the neighbourhood, which, besides being largely exported, have stimulated a great .variety of industries which are dependent on their use. It began to export coal about the end of the 13th century, but the trade received a severe check by the Act of Edward I. which made the burning of it in London a capital offence. In the reign of Edward III. licence was granted to the inhabitants &quot;to dig coals and stones in the common soil of the town without the walls thereof in the place called the Castle Field and the Forth.&quot; North and South Shields are both important ports at the mouth of the Tyne, and the whole of the river to about 10 miles from its mouth is lined on both sides with quays, shipbuilding yards, chemical works, furnaces, and numerous manufactories. The quay in front of the town, extending from the hydraulic bridge to the Ouseburn, forms a fine thoroughfare of about a mile in length ; and by means of dredging a depth of water has been obtained at the shore permitting vessels of large tonnage to approach, although the berths of the ocean steamers are a little farther down the river. The quay is supplied with the most improved mechanical appliances, and by a double line of rails has direct communication with the North-Eastern Eailway. In 1853 the number of sailing vessels in the coasting trade that entered with cargoes was 2132 of 164,440 tons, cleared 11,172 of 1,502,813 tons ; of steamers entered 399 of 81,886 tons, cleared 429 of 97,154 tons. In the same year, in the foreign and colonial trade, the entrances with cargoes were 2555 sailing vessels of 350,190 tons, and 70 steamers of 17,243 tons ; the clearances 5396 sailing vessels of 864,291 tons, and 70 steamers of 17,243 tons. In the annual statement of the shipping of the United Kingdom for 1882 the returns for the coasting trade are not given for Newcastle sep arately; but for the Tyne ports, which include, in addition to Newcastle, North and South Shields, the numbers were entered with cargoes and in ballast 10,152 of 3,377,108 tons, cleared 8214 of 2,361,248 tons. The following table gives similar details of the foreign and colonial trade of the Tyne ports for the same year: Entered. Ports. British Ships. Tonnage. Foreign Ships. Tonnage. Total Ships. Total Tonnage. Newcastle 2,514 426 471 1,232,803 236,254 297,493 2,369 437 185 767,515 92,650 81,638 4,883 863 656 2,000,318 328,904 379,131 North Shields South Shields Tyne ports 3,411 1,766,550 2,991 941,803 6,402 2,708,353 Chared. Ports. British Ships. Tonnage. Foreign Ships. Tonnage. Total Ships. Total Tonnage. Newcastle 4,115 633 368 2,253,373 334,077 253,150 3,166 447 95 1,036,721 79,042 42,632 7,281 1,080 463 3,290,094 413,119 295,782 North Shields South Shields Tyne ports 5,116 2,840,600 3,708 1,158,395 8,824 3,998,995 In 1878 the value of the imports of foreign and colonial merchan dise for Newcastle vas 5,367,931, and for the whole Tyne ports 6,540,359; in 1882 the values were 7,650,085 and 9,028,925 respectively. The value of the exports of the produce of the United Kingdom for Newcastle in 1878 was 3,712,899, and in 1882 4,597,700, the value for the whole Tyne ports being 4,128,227 in 1878, and 5,337,983 for 1882. Besides coal, which is brought down the river in broad boats called keels, and of which 4,557,277 tons left Newcastle by sea in 1882, the principal exports are coke, iron, machinery, chemicals, alkali, glass, hardware, earthenware, and pig and sheet lead. The imports include various ores and chemical substances, timber, corn, provisions, and cattle. There is regular steam communication with the principal British ports, the Baltic ports, Norway, Montreal, and New York. The number of vessels built at Newcastle in 1882 for British owners was 75 of 85,121 tons, of which 68 with a tonnage of 82,468 were iron, and 3 with a tonnage of 1785 were steel. In the same year there were built for foreigners 25 ships of 27,102 tons burden. The principal other industrial establishments of the town and neighbourhood are engi neering and machinery shops, ordnance works, including the well- known Armstrong factory at Elswick, alkali manufactories, sheet and plate glass works, bottle works, stained glass works, potteries for earthenware, coachbuilding yards, hat factories, chemical works, sail, cable, and anchor works, and manufactories of nails, files, and spades and shovels. Within the present century the population of Newcastle has more than quadrupled. In 1781 the houses numbered 2389, with an estimated population of 30,000. The census of 1801 gave the number of houses as 3141 and the popula tion as 28,294 ; the numbers in 1821 were 4031 and 35,181; in 1871 they were 16,460 and 128,443; and in 1881 they had increased to 20,264 and 145,359. The number of males in 1881 was 71,100, and of females 74,259. The area of the municipal and parliamentary borough is 3371 acres. H istory. Newcastle owes its origin to the Pons ^Elii men tioned above. The most important relics of Roman occupation are a well in the centre of the buildings of the old castle, a mutilated statue of Hercules and a figure of Mercury preserved in the castle, numerous coins, altars, and various specimens of Iloman pottery. The foundations of the old Roman bridge, with the remains of the piers, were discovered during the dredging operations after the destruction of the old wooden bridge in 1771. On account of its position as a fortified town affording protection to the inhabitants of the monasteries of Tynemouth, Jarrow, Lindisfarne, and Wear- mouth, Newcastle was known in early times as Monkceastre or Monkchester ; along with these monasteries it was ravaged by the Danes, who massacred the monks and nuns within its walls. After the union of the kingdom under Egbert it continued till the Conquest to be the residence of the earls of Westmoreland and Northumberland. The town was destroyed by William the Con queror in 1068, after he had defeated Edgar Atheling and Malcolm of Scotland on Gateshead Fell, but in 1080 a fortress was reared at it by Robert Courthose, eldest son of the Conqueror, which, in contradistinction to the old fortress, was named Newcastle, and formed the nucleus of the present town, burgesses being gathered round the fortress to defend the country against the Scots. After the conspiracy of the barons under Earl Mowbray the town was stormed and taken by William Rufus in 1095. After the death of Henry I. it was seized by the Scots under David, and it remained in their possession until 1157, when it was restored by treaty to Henry II., who established at it a mint. The town was, under the three Edwards, the chief rendezvous of troops for the invasion of Scotland. In the reign of Edward I. it was surrounded by walls, after which it withstood attempts of the Scots to capture it in 1322, 1342, and 1389. In 1640 it was taken by the Scottish Covenanters under Leslie, who held it for a year, and are said to have destroyed most of the public documents. After the battle of Marston Moor it was besieged and taken by the Scots in October 1644, from which time it was held by the Parliament till the close of the war. When Charles gave himself up to the Scottish army at Xewark-upon-Trent,they took him to Newcastle, where he remained in their hands until, on the 28th January 1647, he was delivered up to the Parliament. Newcastle is a borough by prescription, and was first incorporated by Henry II. In the reign of Henry III. the government was vested in a mayor chosen by the burgesses, in lieu of a provost appointed by the crown. In 1400 it obtained a charter from Henry IV. constituting it a county in itself, with lord-lieutenant, sheriff, and magistrates of its own. Its privileges were confirmed and extended by Queen Elizabeth in 1589. Though it still retains the constitution of a county, the old corporation was dissolved by the Municipal Act of 1835, and the government vested in a mayor, sixteen aldermen, and forty-eight town councillors. Since 1282 it has returned two members to parliament. The gross estimated rental of the borough in 1871 was 457,868, and the rateable value 402,030; in 1882 these were 803,961 and 714,470. Among the eminent persons who have been connected with New castle are Ridley the martyr, Akenside the poet, Hutton the mathe matician, Brand the antiquary, Lords Eldon and Stowell, Lord Collingwood, Thomas Bewick, and George and Robert Stephenson. See Chorographia, or a Survey ofNewcastle-upon-Tine, by W. G., 1649, reprinted 1813 and 1818; John Bell, Collections for a History of Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1835; and Histories of Newcastle -on-Tyne, by Bourne (1736), Brand (1789), and Mac kenzie (1827). NEWCASTLE, a city of New South Wales, and the principal seaport on the northern coast, is situated on a steep acclivity rising from the sea, at the mouth of the Hunter river, about 75 miles north of Sydney. It is a well-built town, and most of the streets are paved, and lighted with gas. For the water supply a reservoir has been constructed on Monument Hill capable of holding 500,000 gallons. Among the public buildings the prin cipal are the court-house, the lunatic asylum, the grammar school, the school of arts (with a library of over 4000 volumes), the Victoria market building, and the custom house. The harbour, which is defended by a fort, and protected by a breakwater rendering it more easy of access in stormy weather, affords ample accommodation for present requirements, and has a depth at the shores of 23 feet. In 1883 the number of vessels that entered was 945