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* BIRMINGHAM. Ill BIRMINGHAM. iii,<;s are the post-office, the corporation buildings, tlie town-lmll, the exchange, the rooms of the Koyal Society of Artists, the borough jail, and the splendid Central Raihvay Station, covering r2?4 a^res. The chief ecclesiastical edifices are the Anglican churches of Saint Martin and Saint Philip, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint Chad, and the liaptist Wyclif Chapel of Fourteenth-Century Gothic. The central part of Birmingham, the worst overcrowded section be- fore 1876,has been vastly improved since then, and has become the best ])art of the city. This was accomplished by the nuinicipality condemning the district and purchasing it for some $8,000,000. A considerable income is derived from the leases, and in 19.51 the city will come into possession of all the buildings erected on its land. Besides nine parks, of which the chief are Aston Park on the northeast, Cannon Hill Park on the south, and the Botanical Gardens, seven gardens and recreation-grounds are distributed over the city. Birmingham has been at the head of the large progressive cities of England in the work of modernizing its institutions. In 1875 it reorgan- ized its health department, which set itself to work eradicating insanitary conditions. One of the first tasks was the providing of a pure water- supply. Some 3000 polluted wells were closed, to prevent the sjjreading of zymotic diseases. That, combined with the condemnation of insanitary houses, the increase of disinfecting facilities, and a rigorous inspection of food-supplies, helped to reduce the average death-rate from 26 per 1000 to less than 20. In the insanitary districts the reduction was from 00 and more per 1000 to 2a. With the same purpose in view the city im- proved its sewage system by providing a mod- em svstem of sewage and garbage collection combined with a sewage-farm: it erected baths and wash-houses, hospitals, asylums, special arti- sans' dwellings, etc. Jlost of Birmingham's mu- nicipal undertakings date back to 1874-75, when Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, as mayor of the town, inaugurated the new era. At that time. also. I'irmingham bought out the water company at a cost of more than .$0,000,000. Since then great extensions and improvements have been carried out. and a new supply obtained from Mid-Wales, SO miles frftm the cit.v, for which more than .$30,000,000 was appropriated. The gas-works were acquired by the city in 1875 for $10,000,000. The price of gas was reduced about .33 per cent., which did not prevent the citv from getting a net income of more than .$1.50.000. after allowing for interest charges and sinking-fund payments. In 1899 the .supply of electricity was also munici- palized. Free libraries in Birmingham date back to 1860. They consist of a Reference Li- brary, Central Circulating Librarv, and nine branch libraries. The cit.v owns the markets and slaughter-houses, which yield a considerable net income, in addition to facilitating the inspection of the food-supply of the citv. It also owns its street railways, which are operated by private companies, paying a high rental to the cit.v. -■is an industrial centre, especial l.v one in which production on a small scale is carried on to a considerable extent. Birmingham is taking great pains to provide all the facilities for technical (diieation that can be obtained. In 1896 a numicipal technical school was erected at a cost of nearly $500,000. The school is attended by nearly 3000 pupils, who are charged a small fee for tuition. In addition to that, the Midland Institute and Mason College provide similar facilities. The well-known Queen's College is connected with the London University. The city maintains also a school of art, with branches in several of the board schools. The art gallery and museum, also maintained by the munici- pality, form an integi-al part of the art school. The elementarv schools are under the control of the school board. The cliaritaljle institutions, maintained by endowments, legacies, and dona- tions, comprise the General, Queen's, and Chil- dren's hospitals, general dispensary, as.vlums for lunatics, for the blind, deaf and dumb, sanato- rium, and almshouses. Biimingham is the largest manufacturing town in England after ^Manchester. It became very early the seat of iron manufactures on account of its proximity to a forest and exten- sive iron-mines. Its principal industry at pres- ent is the manufacture of iron and steel prod- nets. Its manufactures comprise steam and gas engines, electric motors, hydraulic presses, rail- way cars, guns, and machinery. In addition there are glass-works, chemical-works, breweries, etc. Female workers are generally employed in the lighter trades. Birmingham returns seven members to Par- liament. (For the local government of cities of this class, see Great Britain.) It is the seat of an American consulate, and the see of a Roman Catholic bishop. Like most of the gi-eat industrial cities. Birmingham increased rapidly in population during the Nineteenth Centurv. In ISOI it had 60,000 inhabitants: in 1901, 522,200: an increase of 770 per cent, in a cen- turv, and of 21.5 per cent, in the last decade (1891, 430.000). History. Birmingham was an old town of the Anglo-Saxons (Beormings Ham). After the Conquest it was ruled by the De Birmingham family till 1527. In mediteval times it was a thriving commercial and industrial place. Dur- ing the Civil War it was stanchl.v Puritan, and supplied the armies of Parliament with arms. Prince Rupert burned it in lu43. Its great com- mercial importance dates from the Seventeenth Centur.v, when the restoration of Charles II. brought from France a fashionable rage for metal ornaments, and Birmingham supplied the de- mand with unexampled vigor. In the latter part of the Seventeenth Century the Birmingham smiths began to manufacture swords and guns. Its hardware manufactories as earlv as 1727 are said to have supported 50,000 ])ers(ms. The earliest attempts at cotton-spinning by rollers were made in 1730. The opening of the coal and iron fields of Lancashire added greatly to its prosperit.v, so that in 1745 it was one of the principal inland towns of England. By 1761 its manufactures were known throughout the world. Toward the end of the Eighteenth Century it was a centre of Lil)eral agitation, being the home of Dr. Priestlev. The Reform and Chartist move- ments had powerful support in the town. BlBLiOGKAi'iiy. Bunce, Uislori/ of the Corpora- lion of Birmingham, icith a Hicclch of the Ear- lier Government of the Toun (Birmingham, 1885) ; Foster, Uoir We Die in Larr/e Townn; a lecture on the comjjarative mortality of Bir- mingham and other large towns (London, 1875) ; Griflith, History of the Free (School.1, Colleges, Hospitals, and Asylums of liirminghum (London,