Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/850

 826 PRESIDIO PEESTER JOHN may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session." Section 7 of article I. requires that every bill which passes con- gress must have the president's signature to become a law, unless, after he has returned it to congress with his objections, two thirds of each house shall vote in its favor. The presi- dent's duties, as determined by article II., sec- tion 3, are to give to congress from time to time information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and ex- pedient; to convene both houses on extraordi- nary occasions, and, in case of disagreement between them as to the time of adjournment, to adjourn them to such a time as he shall think proper ; to receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; to take care that the laws be faithfully executed ; and to commission all the officers of the United States. He can be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The presi- dents of the United States from the adoption of the constitution till the present time have been as follows: George Washington, 1789 to 1797; John Adams, 1797 to 1801; Thomas Jefferson, 1801 to 1809; James Madison, 1809 to 1817; James Monroe, 1817 to 1825; John Quincy Adams, 1825 to 1829; Andrew Jack- son, 1829 to 1837; Martin Van Buren, 1837 to 1841 ; William Henry Harrison, March 4, 1841, to April 4, 1841, when he died and was suc- ceeded by John Tyler, the vice president, who held office till 1845 ; James Knox Polk, 1845 to 1849; Zashary Taylor, 1849 to July 5, 1850, when he died and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore, the vice president, who held office till 1853; Franklin Pierce, 1853 to 1857; James Buchanan, 1857 to 1861 ; Abraham Lin- coln, 1861 to April 15, 1865, when he died, and was susceeded by Andrew Johnson, the vice president, who held office till 1869 ; Ulys- ses S. Grant, 1869 to the present time (1875). It will be seen that Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, and Grant were each twice elected, and that Tyler, Fill- more, and Johnson succeeded to the office from being vice presidents when vacancies oc- curred. Three other presidents, John Adams, Jefferson, and Van Buren, were vice presidents previous to their election to the principal office. PRESIDIO, a S. W. county of Texas, separated from Mexico on the south by the Rio Grande ; area, about 14,500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,636, of whom 4S9 were colored. It is supposed to contain valuable minerals, but has been little explored. There is some good farming land in the valleys of the Rio Grande and other streams. It is better adapted to grazing, but is deficient in water. It is unorganized, and is subject to Indian incursions. PRESQUE ISLE, a N. E. county of the S. pen- insula of Michigan, bordering on Lake Huron ; area, about 700 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 355. It is watered by several streams and lakes. The surface is undulating and the soil moderately fertile. Capital, Rogers City. PRESS, Printing. See PRINTING. PRESSENSE, Edmond Dehoult de, a French theo- logian, born in Paris, Jan. 7, 1824. He studied at Lausanne under Vinet, attended lectures in Berlin and Halle, and in 1847 assumed the charge of a free Protestant chapel in Paris. In 1871 he was elected as a republican to the national assembly. He belongs to the conser- vative branch of French Protestantism. His principal works are : Histoire des trois premiers siecles de V Eglise chretienne (4 vols., Paris, 1858-'61); Jesus- Christ, son temps, sa vie et ses ceuvres (3d ed., 1866) ; Le concile du Vati- can (1872) ; La liberte religiense en Europe en 1870 (Paris, 1874) ; and La vie morale des pre- miers Chretiens (1875). The first two works have been translated into German and other languages. He has also published several vol- umes of sermons, essays, and controversial treatises, and translated Neander's commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians, and is the chief editor of the Revue chretienne, which he founded. His wife, a Swiss lady, has writ- ten several books for the young (1854-'61). PR ESTER JOII, the name given by Euro- peans in the middle ages to a supposed Chris- tian sovereign or dynasty of sovereigns estab- lished in the interior of Asia. The name oc- curs first in the llth century, and according to one account he was an eastern potentate dwell- ing beyond Persia, who, having been convert- ed to Christianity by the spirit of a departed saint, caused his subjects to adopt the same faith. He was at once sovereign and priest of his people (whence his name Prester or Presbyter), and his sway, in its pastoral sim- plicity and benignity, was compared to that of kings in the patriarchal times. This story was found to be a mere fancy. The belief in the existence of Prester John, however, took a more tangible shape in the 13th century, and on the authority of some Nestorian priests he was said to be identical with Ung Khan, a powerful Tartar chief living in Karakorum, in eastern Tartary, who was overthrown and slain by Genghis Khan. Giovanni Carpini, a Franciscan friar, who in 1246 was sent on a mission to Batu Khan, the grandson of Gen- ghis, failed to discover the Christian monarch or his subjects, but supposed him to be estab- lished further to the eastward. A few years later another Franciscan, Rubruquis, penetrated as far as the court of Batu Khan in central Tartary, and was thence forwarded to Kara- korum, the residence of Mangu Khan, and the supposed seat of Prester John. His search for the latter was unavailing, but from a few Nes- torian priests whom he met there, he ascer- tained that Ung Khan had encouraged the propagation of Christianity in his dominions. The existence of Prester John nevertheless continued to be believed, and as late as the close of the 15th century the Portuguese, who