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MACROSPORANGIUM

1141

MADEIRA

he inaugurated his famous Covent Garden management, during which he did mu°h to improve and elevate the English stage. Mac-ready made a number of visits to the United States, during the last of which a riotous mob, trying to break into Astor Place for the purpose of attacking him, was fired upon by the military and several lives were lost. Macready took his farewell of the stage at Drury Lane, Feb. 26, 1851, and passed his remaining days in retirement at Sherborne and Cheltenham; dying at the latter on April 27, 1873. As an actor Macready sought to combine the dignity of the Kembles with the naturalness of Kean. In addition to being an actor of great power, he was a man of fine literary taste and of pure, elevated character. See Biography by Littleton.

Macrosporangium (mak'ro-spd-r&n'fi-um) (in plants). See MEGASPORANGIUM.

Macrospore (mdk'ro-spdr) (in plants). See MEGASPORE.

Macrosporophyll (m&k'rd-spor'o-fil) (in plants). See MEGASPOROPHYLL,

MacVeagh (mak-vdr), Wayne, lawyer and diplomat, was born near Phoenixville, Chester County, Pa., April 19, 1833. He graduated at Yale in 1853, was admitted to the bar in 1856, and three years later was elected district-attorney of his native county, where he served till the outbreak of the Civil War. He was commissioned a captain of infantry in 1862 and major of cavalry in 1863. Mr. MacVeagh was appointed minister to Turkey by President Grant in 1870. He became attorney-general in the cabinet of President Garfield, but resigned upon the inauguration of President Arthur, mr. MacVeagh supported Grover Cleveland for president in

1892, and was sent as minister to Italy in

1893.   For years he was a prominent leader of the Civil Service Reform Association of Philadelphia.

Madagascar (m&d'd-gtis'kdr), a large island off the southeastern coast of Africa, from which it is separated by Mozambique Channel. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, reckoning Australia as a continent, being 980 miles in length, and its greatest breadth is 360 miles. Its total area is 228,000 square miles,, Madagascar consists of an elevated region in the center, 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea, and a nearly level country surrounding the high land. The island is also surrounded with a belt of forest from 10 to 40 miles wide The former capital, Antananarivo, is situated near the center of the island, and contains about 100,000 inhabitants. The chief ports are Tamatave on the eastern coast (population 15,000) and Majunga on the northwestern coast (about 250 miles from Africa), population 5,000. English missionaries first entered Madagascar in 1820, and were greatly encouraged in their work by King Radama, but when Queen Rana-valona I came to the throne in 1828, a severe

persecution followed, and they were com* pelled to leave. Many native Christians were put to death, and Europeans generally were excluded from the island. But on the death of the queen in 1861 there was a complete change in the policy of the government, and since that time the people have made great progress in religion as also in all the arts of civilization. In 1877 all African slaves were freed., and considerable effort has been made to improve the military system and reduce the administration of law to a fixed and equitable system. In 1896 Madagascar, with Nossi-Be and Ste. Marie Islands, was proclaimed a French colony, though a French resident-general had been received at the capital as far back as 1885. In February, 1897, the native queen was deposed by France and deported to Reunion and subsequently to Algiers. France now rules the island entirely, under a governor-general aided by an administrative council. Many parts of the island are known to be rich in mineral ores. The chief exports, besides gold, are rubber, rice, hemp and other fibers. The population is 3,054,658. Roads have been- built from Tamatave to Antananarivo and thence to Majunga and the principal military posts. Over 100 miles of railway from Tamatave to Antananarivo have been completed. There are in service 130 miles of telephone and 3,450 miles of telegraph lines, and cable connection has been made with Mozambique. Postal communication has been established through the island, and automobiles are used for this purpose between Antananarivo and Mahatsara on the eastern coast. The imports and exports in 1910 were 34,595,000 and 47,881,000 francs respectively. In 1907 the estimated expenditure of the home government was 19,755,390 francs, all for military purposes. There is a debt of 99,283,000 francs for railways and similar improvements. (

madeira (ma-dd'ra), an island in the Atlantic belonging to Portugal, off the northwest coast of Africa, about 32 miles long and from 10 to 15 broad. The island (area 314 square miles) is of volcanic origin, and is occasionally visited by earthquakes. It is traversed by* a mountain-chain running east and west; and the coasts are steep and rough, affording few harbors. Wine is the product for which Madeira has long been noted, several kinds of grapes being produced. There also is a considerable export of sugar. The inhabitants, estimated at 155,000 in number, are a mixture of Portuguese, Moors and negroes, and are described as a vigorous, industrious and peaceful race. The capital, Funchal (population 20,844), is the chief seaport and a noted health-resort. The Madeira islands, which the Romans had known as the Purple Islands, were rediscovered in 1346, if not earlier, and began to be colonized by the Portuguese in