Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/343

 MECKLENBURG MEDE 331 milch cows, 4,676 other cattle, 5,403 sheep, and 16,362 swine; 1 distillery, 11 saw mills, and 1 woollen mill. Capital, Charlotte. The people of Mecklenburg took an early and spirit- ed part in the resistance to Great Britain ; and in May, 1775, they publicly renounced alle- giance to the crown and adopted a declaration of independence. MECKLENBURG, a territory of northern Ger- many, belonging to the German empire, di- vided into the grand duchies of Mecklenburg- Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, bordering on the Baltic sea, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Hanover, Lauenburg, and Liibeck. The house of Mecklenburg is the oldest in Germany. The original inhabitants were of Germanic race, but were conquered during the great migration of nations by Slavic tribes. After long wars against the German monarch s, under the lead of native princes, the country was conquered about 1160 by Henry the Lion of Saxony, who divided it among his nobles, and gave a part of it to Pribislas, the descendant of a native dynasty, under the name of the principality of Mecklenburg. The reigning house was subse- quently divided into two branches. The elder line was founded by John the Theologian, whose grandson Henry II. (or IV., 1302-'29) enriched it by the domain of Stargard. The sons of the latter, Albert and John, were made dukes in 1349 ; and a great-grandson of Albert became duke of the whole of Mecklen- burg. Afterward the country was again di- vided into two lines, remaining so till 1628, when, on account of a supposed alliance with Denmark, Wallenstein was made ruler of the country. In 1632 the expelled dukes were restored to power by Gustavus Adolphus, and shortly afterward the final division of the country into the two parts took place. MECKLENBURG-SCHWEEIN has an area of 5,138 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 557,897, chiefly Luther- ans. A ridge of hills traverses the country, but the surface is generally level. It abounds in forests and lakes. Miiritz is the largest lake, and Lake Malchin the most remarkable for its fine scenery. The chief river is the "War- now, which at Rostock expands to a breadth of about 2,500 ft., and falls into the sea at Warnemunde. The soil is fertile and well cultivated. Agriculture is the chief employ- ment of the population. The principal product is wheat. Horned cattle and sheep are numer- ous, and the horses are celebrated. The num- ber of vessels entering the ports in 1872 was 1,002, tonnage 113,740. The registered ship- ping comprised 426 vessels, tonnage 142,954. The legislature consists of 622 proprietors of Ritterguter or knights' estates, and 40 repre- sentatives of towns. Every two years the diet forms a joint assembly with that of Mecklen- burg-Strelitz for common legislation. The pub- lic debt in 1872 was estimated at $5,000,000, nearly half of which was caused by loans for the construction of railways. The country is divided into the provinces of Mecklenburg and Wenden, the principality of Schwerin, the city of Rostock, and the lordship of "Wismar. It contains 40 towns, the largest of which, and the principal trading port, is Rostock. Schwerin is the capital. MECKLENBUEG-STBELITZ con- sists of the dominion of Stargard or duchy of Strelitz (area, 909 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 79,976) on the east and the principality of Ratzeburg (area, 144 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 17,006) on the west of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Stargard con- tains 53 lakes, of which the Tollen lake is the largest. The principal river there is the Havel, and in Ratzeburg the Trave. The government is the same as in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, ex- cepting in Ratzeburg, which is not represented in the legislature. The grand duke is assisted by a cabinet. He is noted for his great wealth. No official accounts of the revenue and ex- penditure are published. The public debt is estimated at about $1,450,000. Capital, Neu Strelitz. In 1867 both grand duchies joined the North German Confederation, and in 1868 the ZoUverein; and in 1871 they became parts of the German empire, toward the founda- tion of which the grand duke of Mecklen- burg-Schwerin had contributed by his services in the Franco-German war. (See FBEDEBICK FEANOIS II., vol. vii., p. 453.) By a special military convention concluded in 1872, the armies of both grand duchies were incorpo- rated with that of Prussia. As the constitu-' tion of the empire guaranteed to every par- ticular state a constitutional form of govern- ment, the liberals of Mecklenburg invoked the interference of the German Reichstag in be- half of the abolition of their feudal institutions. In consequence of the resolution passed by the Reichstag, the grand ducal governments sub- mitted drafts of a new constitution to the diet ; but in July, 1874, no agreement between the governments and the diet had been arrived at. MECOSTA, a central county of the S. penin- sula of Michigan, watered by the Muskegon and Chippewa rivers ; area, 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 5,642. The surface is undulating and the soil productive. It is traversed by the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 19,789 bushels of wheat, 15,734 of Indian corn, 27,805 of oats, 53,729 of potatoes, 47,510 Ibs. of butter, and 3,176 tons of hay. There were 385 horses, 660 milch cows, 1,085 other cattle, 917 sheep, and 741 swine ; 3 flour mills, and 2 saw mills. Capital, Big Rapids. MEDALS. See NUMISMATICS. MEDE, or Meade, Joseph, an English theolo- gian, born at Berden, Essex, in October, 1586, died in Cambridge in October, 1638. He grad- uated at Christ's college, Cambridge, in 1610, and obtained a fellowship. His most esteemed work, Clams Apocalyptica, appeared in Latin in 1627, and in English in 1643. This was the first rational attempt of an English theologian to explain the Apocalypse. A collective edi- tion of his works was published in London by Dr. Worthington in 1672.