Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/856

820 the protection of international law, and declared free to the ships of all nations, but a commission was constituted in November of that year for the purpose of putting the deltaic portion in the best possible state for navigation. It took the title of &quot;European Commission of the Danube,&quot; and consisted of the following representatives of the seven powers who had signed the treaty : the Chevalier de Becke for Austria, Major Stokes, RE., for England, Mon sieur Engelhardt for France, Herr Bitter for Prussia, Baron d Offenburg for Russia, the Marquis d Aste for Sar dinia, and Omar Fetzi Pasha for Turkey. Sir Charles Hartley was appointed engineer-in-chief. The commission fixed its seat at Galatz, and began its labours by estab lishing an engineering factory and depot at Tultcha, and constructing a telegraph line between Sulina, Tultcha, and Galatz ; but, after a discussion which lasted from Decem ber 1857 to April 1858, the delegates could not come to an agreement in regard to the relative claims of the St George s and the Sulina mouths, and had to refer the question to their respective Governments. A technical commission appointed by France, England, Prussia, and Sardinia decided unanimously in favour of St George s, but recommended, instead of the emhankment of the natural channel, the formation of an artificial canal closed by sluices at its junction with the river, and reaching the sea at some distance from the natural em bouchure. The choice of St George s made by this com mission was adopted at Galatz in December 1858, and six of the seven representatives voted for the canalization ; but, owing to various political and commercial considera tions, it was ultimately decided to do nothing more in the meantime than render permanent and effective the pro visional works already commenced at the Sulina mouth. These consisted of two piers, forming a seaward prolongation of the fluvial channel, and had been commenced in 1858, according to Sir Charles Hartley s plan calculated for a period of six or eight years. In their permanent form they were completed on 3 1st July 1861, having required for their construction 200,000 tons of stone, and 12,500 piles. The northern pier had a length of 4631 feet, the southern of 3000, and the depth of water in which they were built varied from 6 feet to 20 feet. At the commence ment of the works the depth of the channel was only 9 feet, but by their completion it had increased to 19 feet. Ten years afterwards it was found expedient to make the total length of the piers 5332 and 3457 feet. Various minor rectifications of the channel were also effected, and in 1865 a lighthouse was established in 44 51 N. lat. and 29 36 32&quot; E. long. The expenses of 1857, 1858, 1859, and part of 1860 were provided by the Ottoman Empire; but since that year the commission has been mainly indebted to a tax on the shipping of the river. Of what value the works of Sulina have proved may be shown by the fact that of 2928 vessels navigating the lower Danube in 1855, 36 were shipwrecked, while of 2676 in 1865 only 7 were thus unfortunate. By the treaty of March 13, 1871, signed at London by the seven powers, the commission is to exist for twelve years, and the works accomplished under its superintendence are declared permanently neutral. It is independent of the Roumanian Government, and has various sovereign powers over the Danube below Isakcha, such as the control of the police, the collection of taxes, and the disposal of its revenue. The same treaty autho rizes the permanent commission of the riparian states (Austria, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Turkey, Moldavia, Walla- chia, and Servia), which commenced its labours at Vienna in 1856, to collect a tax from all the vessels navigating the river, in order to pay the expenses of the proposed removal of the obstructions that still render dangerous the passage of the Iron Gate.

1em  DANVERS, a town of the United States, in the county of Essex, in Massachusetts, about two miles from Salem and fifteen miles N.N.E. of Boston, with which it is con nected by rail. The principal industry is the manufacture of boots and shoes, which employs a large proportion of the inhabitants, and annually puts into the market upwards of a million pairs ; there are also brickyards, tanneries, and a carpet factory. The most interesting building is the Peabody Institute, with its library and art-collections, founded in 1852 by George Peabody, the philanthropist, who was born at Danvers in 1795. Population in 1870, 5600.  DANVILLE, a town of the United States, the admin istrative centre of Montour county, Pennsylvania, is situated on the north branch of the Susquehauna river, fifty miles north-east of Harrisburg. To its position in the neighbourhood of Montour Ridge, with its abundant supplies of iron-ore, anthracite, and limestone, it owes its prosperity as one of the principal seats of the iron trade. The railroad iron of the Montour Iron Works is specially celebrated. The town was founded about 1780. Its popu lation in 1870 was 8436.  DANVILLE, a city of the United States, the adminis trative seat of Vermilion county, Illinois, on the Vermilion river, a tributary of the Wabash, about 125 miles south of Chicago. Situated in a rich and populous district, in the vicinity of an extensive coal-field, and well supplied with building materials and water, it forms a flourishing manu facturing centre with foundries, waggon works, locomotive works, and various other industrial establishments. It was founded in 1828, and in 1873 had about 7000 inhabitants.  D’ANVILLE, (1697-1782), a French geographer of the highest eminence, was born at Paris on the 11th July 1697. His passion for geographical research displayed itself from his earliest years. At the age of twelve, while reading the Latin authors at college, he amused himself with drawing maps of the countries which they described. While he was thus busily employing himself one day in the class, his master observed and was about to punish him ; but upon casting his eye upon the performance, he immediately judged him to be deserving rather of encouragement. After leaving college he derived much instruction from intercourse with the Abbe&quot; Longuerue, the celebrated antiquarian. D Auville from this time devoted himself entirely to geo graphy, particularly that of the ancient world. His first map, that of Ancient Greece, was published when he was fifteen, and at the age of twenty-two he was appointed one of the king s geographers, and began to delineate maps whuh attracted the attention of the most eminent authorities. The course of study on which D Anville entered was of great extent. Works professedly geographical formed the least part of it ; those of all the ancient and modern historians, travellers, narrators of every description, were assiduously examined. He studied also the philosophers, orators, and poets, but only for the sake of the occa-