Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/545

Rh R H R H O 525 constitution," under whose provisions it was claimed that Thomas Wilson Dorr was chosen governor. Later in the year 1842 a convention called by the regularly constituted authorities adopted the present constitution, under whose provisions the State government was organized in 1843. The governor (chosen annu- ally) has no veto power. The legislative body, known as the General Assembly, comprises a senate and a house of representa- tives, each one of the thirty-six cities and towns choosing a single senator. The General Assembly begins its annual sessions in May at Newport, adjourning, after a few days, for a much more extended session at Providence beginning in the following January. The judicial body consists of one supreme court, with subordinate courts for the respective counties, the justices being chosen by vote of the General Assembly. The suffrage is a limited one, a property qualification being required in certain instances. The State is represented in the national Congress by two senators and two representatives. In the quadrennial election of president, Rhode Island has four votes in the "electoral college." In the Civil War of 1861-65 Rhode Island took an active part, furnishing for the defence of the Union 24,042 men. (W. E. F.) ERODES, an island in the ^Egean Sea, belonging to the Turkish empire, lying off the south-west coast of Asia Minor, between 35 52' and 36 28' N. lat. and 27 40' and 28 15' E. long., about 10 miles south of Cape Alepo. Its length is about 45 niiles from north-east to south-west, its greatest breadth 22 miles, and its area nearly 424 square miles. The island is diversified in its surface, and is traversed from north to south by an elevated mountain range, the highest point of which, named in ancient times Atabyris or Atabyrium, and still called Atairo, rises to an elevation of 4560 feet. It commands a view of the elevated coast of Asia Minor towards the north, and of the Archipelago, studded with its numerous islands, on the north-west; while on the south-west is seen Mount Ida in Crete, often veiled in clouds, and on the south and south-east the vast expanse of waters which wash the African shore. The rest of the island is occupied in great part by ranges of moderately elevated hills, on which are found extensive woods of ancient pines, planted by the hand of nature. These forests were formerly very thick, but they are now greatly thinned by the Turks, who cut them down and take no care to plant others in their place. Beneath these hills the surface of the island falls lower, and several hills in the form of amphitheatres extend their bases as far as the sea. Rhodes was famed in ancient times for its delightful climate, and it still maintains its former reputation. The air is pure and salubrious, and it is said that there is hardly a day throughout the year in which the sun is not visible. The winds are liable to little variation ; they blow from the west, often with great violence, for nine months in the year, and at other times from the north ; and they moderate the summer heats, which are chiefly felt during the months of July and August, when the hot winds blow from the coast of Anatolia. Rhodes, in addition to its fine climate, is blessed with a fertile soil, and produces a variety of the finest fruits and vegetables. Numerous streams and rivulets, which take their rise in the central range, water the surround- ing plains and valleys of the island. The inhabitants have a great taste for gardens ; and around the villages are extensive cultivated fields and orchards, containing fig, pomegranate, and orange trees. On the sloping hills carob-trees, and others both useful and agreeable, still grow abundantly ; the vine also holds its place, and produces a species of wine which was highly valued by the ancients, though it seems to have degenerated greatly in modern times. The valleys afford rich pastures, and the plains produce every species of grain ; the wheat is of an excel- lent quality ; and, but for the extortions of its barbarian rulers, the island might be the seat of agriculture as well as commerce, and might export large quantities of corn. The commerce of the island has been of late years in- creasing at a rapid rate. Many British manufactures are imported by indirect routes, through Smyrna, Constanti- nople, Beyrout, and other places. Cotton stuffs, calicoes, and grey linen are among the goods most in demand. It is not so much, however, the peasantry of the island who use these British goods, for they prefer their own home- made stuffs ; but they are exported to the neighbouring coast of Anatolia, between Budrum and Adalia, and thence conveyed into the interior. The expansion of the trade has been very much owing to the establishment of steam navigation direct to the island, which is now visited regu- larly by French and Austrian steamers, as well as by some from England to Smyrna. The only town of any importance in the island is the capital, Rhodes, which stands at the north-east extremity. It rises in an imposing manner from the sea, on a gentle slope in the form of an amphitheatre. It is surrounded with walls and towers, and defended by a large moated castle of great strength. These fortifications are all the work of the Knights of St John. Above them rise the domes and minarets of the mosques, and the tufted stems of the palm trees, which adorn this like most other Oriental towns. The interior of the city does not correspond to its outward appearance. No trace exists of the splendour of the ancient city, with its regular streets, well-ordered plan, and numerous public buildings. The modern city of Rhodes is in general the work of the Knights of St John, and has altogether a mediaeval aspect, the streets being for the most part narrow and winding, though the houses, as well as the public edifices, are in general solidly built of stone, and present at almost every step some memorial of the past in the escutcheons and coats of arms with which they are adorned. The picturesque fortifications also by which 'the city is surrounded remain almost unaltered as they were in the 15th century, and it has been remarked by numerous travellers that scarcely any city of western Europe has preserved its mediaeval aspect so unchanged as this last refuge of European civilization in the East. The principal buildings which remain are the church of St John, which is become the principal mosque ; the hospital, whence the charity of the knights was liberally dispensed to the faithful from all quarters of the world, and which has been transformed into public granaries ; the palace of the grand master, now the resi- dence of the pasha ; and the senate-house, which still con- tains some marbles and ancient columns. Of the streets, the best and widest is a long street which is still called the Street of the Knights. It is perfectly straight, and formed of old houses, on which remain the armorial bearings of the members of the order. On some of these buildings are still seen the arms of the popes and of some of the royal and noble houses of Europe. The only relics of classical antiquity are the numerous inscribed altars and bases of statues, as well as architectural fragments, which are found scattered in the courtyards and gardens of the houses in the extensive suburbs which now surround the town, the whole of which were comprised within the limits of the ancient city. The foundations also of the moles that separate the harbours are of Hellenic work, though the existing moles were erected by the Knights of St John. Rhodes has at present two harbours. The least of these lies towards the east, and its entrance is obstructed by a barrier of rocks, so as to admit the entrance of but one ship at a time. It is sufficiently sheltered, but by the negligence of the Turks the sand has been suffered to accumulate until it has been gradually almost choked up. The other harbour is larger, and also in a bad condition ; here frigates of thirty guns may anchor, and are sheltered from the west