Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/735

* NORTH SEA. 627 NORTHWEST BOUNDARY DISPUTE. nf 20 feet between liigli and low tide. The winds 111 the North Sea are variable, those from the uest being the most prevalent. Kain and fogs iiceur at all seasons, and the violent northwest .-lorms blowing toward the shoals on the sonth- last eoast make navigation there exeeeilingly dangerous, especially along the eoast of .Tutlaml. Xi'verthelcss, owing to its favoralile jxisition, the Xorlh Sea is one of the most frecjuented and most important commercial highways of the world. Its fislieries are also among the foremost, provid- ing support for many thousand inliabitants of the surrounding countries. By means of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal ships ■ an now enter the Baltic Sea without making the passage around Jutland. Consult: Fulton. "On the Currents of the North Sea, and Their Relation to Fisheries," Sriitlfiiid Fislicrif Board Report for lS9(i ; Haas, l>t iitsclie Xordncc Kiistc, frieslsche Iitseln iiiid llrlgohind (Bielefeld, 1900). NORTH SHIELDS. A seaport of England. See Shields, South and Nokth. NORTH STAR, Order of the. A Swedish civil order of merit with four classes, founded in 174S liv Frederick I. The decoration is an eight-pointed vliite star surmounted by a crown and suspended from a black ribbon. The round, blue shield bears the polar star with five rays, and the device "Nescit oecasnm" ("It never sets" ) . It is conferred especially for notable scientific achievements. See Plate under Orders. NORTH TONAWANDA, ton'a-won'da. A city in Niagara County. N. Y., 10 miles north of Buli'alo; on the Niagara River, at the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, which separates the city from Tonawanda. also on the Erie Canal, and on the Erie, the Lehigh Valley, and the New York Central railroads (Map: New York, B 3). Sev- i-ral other lines pass tlirough the city on leased roads. It is an important industrial and com- mercial centre, knowni especially for its lumber and iron interests. There is an extensive pro- duction of pig iron, nuts and bolts, barrel organs, and steam merry-go-rounds. The manufactures include also roofing material, steam piping, steam radiators, steam pumps, and miniature railroads. According to the census of 1000. an aggregate capital of $.5,027,000 was invested in the various industries, the production of which was valued at $6,4-16,000. There is a public library with over 5400 volumes. North Tonawanda, chartered as a city in 1897. is governed by a. mayor, chosen every two years, and a unicameral council, elected two from each ward and three at large. The water-works are o ied and ojierated by the municipalitj'. Population, in 1890. 4793; in 1900. 9009. NORTHUMrBERLAND. The northernmost county of England, buumled on the east by the North Sea. and on the south, in part, bv the River Tyne (Map: England. D 1). The River Tweed and the Cheviot Hills are on the Scottish border. The whole surface, except the narrow coastal region, is uneven, with roimded hills, moorlands, and fertile wooded valleys. The sum- mers are cooler, but the winters milder, than in the southern counties. The coast region and the valleys are cultivated, producing turnips and cereals; the western part is largely pastoral. The chief industries are coal-mining and the manufactures which depend upon the coal sup- ])ly; the salmon fisheries are also of importance. Population, in 1891, .506.030; in 1901, 602.900. The county returns four members to Parliament. Newcastle-upon-Tj'ne, the chief city of Northum- berland, is a separate eoimty borough. Among the considerable towns are Tynemouth, Wallsend, and Cowpen. Northumberland contains numer- ous historic landmarks, including remains of Hadrian's Wall and of Roman military roads and famous battlefields of the Scottish wars. BiULloGR.riiY. Hodgson, Uistory of Xorth- iimbcrluiid (Newcastle, 1820-40), is the standard work, and is continued in Hodgsou-Hinde, Ooi- cral Uistory of yortltuinhcrland (Newcastle, 1858). Materials collected by Hodgson are also used in Bateson, Uistory of Xorthuinhcrland (12 vols., Newcastle, 1893 ct seq.), an elaborate and complete work. Consult also: Gibson, Xorth- umhcrlund Caslics, Churches, and Antiquities (London, 1848-54) ; Hartshorne, Feudal and Military Antiijuilies of Xorthumherland (O.xford, 1858); Bruce, Roman Wall (London, 1874); Lebour, Geology of Xorthumherland and Durham (Newcastle, 1886) ; Andrews, Bygone Xorthum- ierland (London. 1899) ; and the Proceedings of the Surtrcs Sucictif (Durham, 1835 et seq. ). NORTHUMBERLAND, Earl.s of. See Percy. NORTHUMBERLAND, .loiix Dudley, Duke of. An English politician, father-in-law of Lad.v .Jane Grey, whom he plotted to place on the throne of England. See Grey, Lady Jane. NORTHUMBERLAND, Robert de JIow- BR.Y-, Earl of ( ?-c.ll25). An English baron, whose father and uncle came over with William the Conqueror. He was created Earl of North- umberland .about 1081, and seven years after- wards fought to support Robert of Normandy's claim to the English crown against that of the latter's younger brother, William Rufiis. He burned Bath, besieged Ilchester, carried fire and sword over western Wiltshire, and then began a eonfiict with the Bishop of Durham. His next antagonist was King Malcolm of Scotland, whom he slew near Alnwick in 1093, and two years afterwards he headed an insurrection against William II. in favor of his cousin, the Count d'Aumale. The King besieged Northum- berland in his strong castle at Bamborough, and the Earl, being lured therefrom on a pretense, was captured after a stout resistance at Tynemouth ^Monastery. It is supposed that he was kept a ]irisoner for the remainder of his life. NORTHUM'BRIA (ML. Xorthumhria, from AS. hoc]', north + //«m6re, Humber). In Anglo- Saxon England, a kingdom of the Heptarchy (q.v. ) formed out of the two earlier kingdoms of Bernieia, established by Ida in 547, and extend- ing from the Forth to the Tees, and Deira, ex- tending from the Tees to the Humbcr. .Ethelric of Bernieia in 588 drove out .Ella of Deira and united the two under his rule. L'nder Oswalil (died 642) it Avas the strongest kingdom in the Heptarehv and the champion of Christianity against pagan Mereia. Its separate existence was brought to an end by Egbert in 827. The name survives in the modern county of Northum- berland. NORTHWEST BOUNDARY DISPUTE. The dispute between the L'nited Slates and Great