Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/109

Rh deeply impressed with the folly of such a project, and he was seized with a strong desire to go up to London and driver his sentiments on the subject. But on the 21st of March, the day on which he left home a bitter easterly wiiid blew, and struck him in the throat and chest. He recovered a little for a few days after his arrival in London ; but on the 29th there was a relapse, and on the 2d of April 18G5, he expired peacefully at his apartments in Suffolk Street. On the following day there was a remarkable scene in the House of Commons. When the clerk read the orders of the day Lord Palmerston rose, and in impressive and solemn tones declared &quot; it was not possible for the House to proceed to business without every member recalling to his mind the great loss which the House and country had sustained by the event which took place yesterday morn ing.&quot; He then paid a generous tribute to the virtues, the abilities, and services of Cobden, and he was followed by Mr Disraeli, who with great force and felicity of language delineated the character of the deceased statesman, who, he said, &quot; was an ornament to the House of Commons and an honour to England. &quot; Mr Bright also attempted to address the House, but after a sentence or two delivered in a tremulous voice, he was overpowered with emotion, and declared he must leave to a calmer moment what he had to say on the life and character of the manliest and gentlest spirit that ever quitted or tenanted a human form. In the French Corps Legislatif, also, the vice-president, M. ForQade la Roquette, referred to his death, and warm expressions of esteem were repeated and applauded on every side. &quot; The death of Richard Cobden, &quot; said M. la Roquette, &quot; is not alone a misfortune for England, but a cause of mourning for France and humanity.&quot; M. Drouyn de Lhuys, the French minister of foreign affairs, made his death the subject of a special despatch, desiring the French ambassador to express to the Government &quot; the mournful sympathy and truly national regret which the death, as lamented as premature, of Richard Cobden had excited on that side of the Channel. &quot; He is above all, &quot; he added, &quot; in our eyes the representative of those sentiments and those cosmopolitan principles before which national frontiers and rivalries disappear ; whilst essentially of his country, he was still more of his time ; he knew what mutual relations could accomplish in our day for the prosperity of peoples. Cobden, if I may be permitted to say so, was an international man.&quot; He was buried at West Lavington Church, on the 7th of April, by the side of his only son, whose death, eight or nine years before, had nearly broken his father s heart. His grave was surrounded by a large crowd of mourners, among whom were Mr Gladstone, Mr Bright, Mr Milner Gibson, Mr Villiers, and a host besides from all parts of the country.  COBIJA, or, as it is officially called in honour of the first president of the republic,, is the principal port of Bolivia, and the chief town of the province of Atacama or Cobija. It is situated on the coast of the Pacific, about 800 miles north of Valparaiso in Chili, in 22 9 32 50&quot; S. lat. and 70 21 2&quot; W. long. ; and it occupies a low-lying position on the beach, at the foot of a lofty range of hills. The surrounding district is desolate in the extreme, and Cobija is totally dependent on impor tation even for the common necessaries of life. Water is very scarce ; the wells only satisfy the wants of about 400 or 500 persons, and the rest of the population has to be supplied by the distillation of the salt water from the sea. At one time fish formed a valuable article of consumption ; but since the rise of the mining industries the fishers have for the most part forsaken their nets. The town itself is poorly built, and consists of little more than one broad, long street. The harbour is comparatively safe ; but the landing-place is bad, and the danger from the surf con siderable. As a free port and the principal means of com munication with the interior, Cobija attracts a considerable amount of foreign trade. It owes its foundation in the course of last century to Charles III. of Spain ; it was declared a free port in 1827 ; and it attained the rank of capital of the department in 1837. In 1827 it consisted of little more than a few huts inhabited by Changas, or sea faring Indians ; and in 1855 it only numbered 500 or 6CO of a population. In 1858, however, the permanent inhabi tants were no fewer than 2000, and the floating population amounted to 4000 souls. (See Tschudi, lieise von San Pedro de Atacama nacli Cobija, 18GO.)   Plan of Coblentz. Military Prison and Lazaretto. Florins Church (Evang.) Market Hall. School of Art. Hospital. General Commando. Deutsches Hans. I.iebfrauenkirche. Casino (Civil). Commissariat Magazine. Woisser Thor. Liihr Thor. 11. Theatre. 12. Post Office. 13. Prison (Civil). 14. Government Buildings. 15. Building-yard for the Forti fications. 16. Gouvernement. 17. Commandantur. 18. Castle. 19. Capuchin Church. C. Mainzer Thor. D. JIosol Thor.

COBLENTZ (German, Coblenz), the capital of Rhenish Prussia, is pleasantly situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. From this circumstance it derived its ancient name of Confluentes, of which Coblentz is a corrup tion. This city is still of consequence from a military point of view, since it commands the junction of two great rivers. Its fortifications, which are very extensive, not only protect the town, but connect the works on the left bank of the Rhhie with the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein on the other side of the river. The city is almost triangular in shape ; two sides are bounded by the RLine and Moselle, the third by strong fortifications. These are pierced by two massive gates, the Lohr and Mayence gates, with draw bridges over the fosse. The military works, which were constructed on the combined systems of Carnot and Montalembert, include no fewer than 2G forts, and form a fortified camp capable of containing 100,000 men. The Rhine is crossed here by a bridge of boats 485 yards long, and by the Iron Bridge, built for railway purposes iu 1866 The Moselle is spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, 1100 feet in length, erected in 1344, and also by a railway bridge. In the more ancient part of Coblentz are several buildings which possess an historical 