Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/771

 MAOAFEE he made a considerable fortune, the greater portion of which he lost, however, at the peace of 1783, when with the other loyalists of the city he was compelled to abandon America. He returned to Scotland in May of that year, and soon afterward purchased the estate of Sauchrie in Ayrshire. He took a prominent part in the affairs of the county, was in the commission of the peace, a trustee of the roads, and deputy lord lieutenant of the county. It was in the course of his duties as a magistrate and trustee of roads that his attention was first drawn to the subject of road making. In 1798 he was sent by the government to the west of England to regulate and remove abuses in the victualling of the navy, in which service he was kept till 1802, when he removed from Falmouth to Bristol. After 1827 he re- sided at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. From 1798 to 1815 he was engaged during all his leisure in travelling through Great Britain and in- vestigating the condition of the roads. In this investigation, made at his own expense, he travelled 30,000 miles and spent more than five years and 5,000. In 1811 he made a communication to a committee of the house of commons upon the state of the roads of the kingdom, containing the outlines of his system and directions for repairing roads. In 1815 he was appointed surveyor general of the trust or district of roads of Bristol, and in 1816 commenced carrying his system into operation. He met with great opposition from the farmers, traders, and common people, as well as from the employees under the old system ; but after the benefits of the system became palpable, the rapidity of its adoption was remarkable. With- in four years 700 miles of road in 15 different trusts were made ; and within eight years he had given his personal attention and advice and assistance to no fewer than 70 trusts in 28 different counties in Great Britain. In a few years, out of the 25,600 miles of public roads in the kingdom, nearly seven tenths were macadamized ; and at his death it is believed that there were not 250 miles of the whole not macadamized. (See EOAD.) Mr. Macadam never demanded nor received any remuneration from the various authorities, committees, and trusts by whom he was consulted, except what was freely tendered ; and very many of them never even paid the expenses that they oc- casioned him. In 1825 the British parliament voted him 4,000 toward paying his expenses, and an additional sum of 2,000 as a con- sideration for the benefit the nation had de- rived from his labors and the free gift of his invention. Even this inadequate compensa- tion was never wholly paid. He was at the same time 'offered knighthood, which he re- fused ; but a similar offer was accepted by his son James, superintendent of the road district of London, who died in. 1852. MACAFEE, Daniel, an Irish clergyman, born at Bushmills, county Antrim, in 1792, died in London, Jan. 11, 1873. His parents designed MACAO 765 him for the ministry of the Reformed Presby- terian church, but at the age of 14 he con- nected himself with the Wesleyans. Being prevented by economical reasons from being admitted to the ministry of the latter church, he labored for several years with the Primitive Wesleyans. In 1827, however, he was ac- cepted by the Irish conference, and became conspicuous in that connection. The last years of his life were passed in London in a super- numerary relation. He was the author of numerous polemical writings, chiefly directed against Catholicism and rationalism. A vol- ume of his sermons has also been published. MACAO, a Portuguese dependency and city on the coast of China, at the mouth of the Canton river, in lat. 22 10' 30" K, Ion. 113 32' E.; area, 12 sq. m.; pop. about 100,000, of whom 90,000 are Chinese, and the remainder a mixed multitude of nearly all nations. The city occupies a peninsula on the S. E. side of the island of Heang-shang. A low narrow isthmus about m. wide joins this peninsula to the main island. A barrier wall formerly extended across the isthmus, and the Chinese maintained a guard there to prevent foreigners from passing. These have been removed, and no restrictions now exist. The city is built chiefly on the acclivity of two hills around a large semicircular bay. Its whitewashed houses make a pretty appearance from the roadstead, but the streets are narrow, and the Chinese population live in miserable and filthy dwellings. The best part of the place consists of a long line of well built houses on the beach, in front of which is a promenade called the Praya Grande. There are 12 Por- tuguese churches and several convents. The chief public buildings are the senate house, the governor's palace, and the English factory. On the hills around the city are forts which have an imposing appearance, but are badly armed with worn-out cannon. The principal Portu- guese officials are the governor, the judge, and the bishop. There is a college here for the education of Catholic priests, a grammar school in which Portuguese is taught, an English hos- pital, and several other benevolent institutions. The harbor of Macao has not sufficient depth of water for large vessels, which anchor in the roads E. S. E. of the city and about 5 m. dis- tant. Little shipping is owned in the place, and the trade is carried on almost wholly by Chinese and British merchants. The climate is healthy and temperate, and the city is a fa- vorite resort for invalids from India. Macao was granted to the Portuguese in 1585 by the Chinese emperor, in reward for their services in repelling the incursions of a Japanese pirate. It had, however, been the seat of a factory be- fore that period, and between 1553 and 1561 was the residence of the poet Camoens, who held a small judicial office there, and wrote a part of the " Lusiad" in a grotto in a garden behind the city. Macao was for a long period the seat of a great trade, not only with China,