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* PORY. 296 POSEN. cerning North and Central Africa. From 1G19 to 121 he was seeretary to Sir George Yeardley, Governor of Virginia." While in Virginia he made several excursions among the Indians, the accounts of which, in Smith's (Iciirrall Historic, are of historical interest. He returned to Eng- land in 1021. but in 1023 went back to Virginia as a commissioner from tlie Privy Council. POSADOWSKY-WEHNER, p.i'za dov'skj- va'nPr. Artiu'R Adolf. Count von. Baron von Postelwitz (1S45— ). A CJerman statesman, born at Grossglogan, Silesia. After studying law and political science at Heidelberg, Berlin, and Bres- laii, he turned his attention to agriculture in 1809 and entered the Government service, at Posen, in 1871. As a Deputy to the Prussian House of Representatives in 1882-85 he sided with the Free-Conservatives. Elected president of the province by the Estates of Posen. in 1880, he com- pletely reorganized the administration of the province, and in 1803 was appointed State secre- tary of the Imperial treasury. Succeeding Btit- ticher as Jlinister of the Interior in 1897, he was entrusted with the representation of the Imperial Chancellor, and made Prussian Minister of State. The Ciernian tarilT of 1902 was one of the promi- nent results of his administration. He is the author of a Geschichte dcs schlesischen uracUifjen Geschlechts der Grafen Posadowsh-y-Wchner (Breslau, 1891). POSCHINGER, p6sh'ing-er, Heinkich, Ritter von (1S4.5 — ). A CJerman administrator and author. He was born at JIunich, studied law there and in Berlin, was for some years employed in the Bavarian State service, and in 1870 entered the Imperial employ as assistant in the chancery office. Afterwards he removed to Berlin, en- tered the Department of the Interior, and be- came governmental privy councilor. He wrote: Bankgefichichte des Eoiiiijrcichs Bayern (1874- 76) ; Banken im deutschen Reiche, Oeslerreich tind Schireiz (1877) ; Bankiresen iin-d Bankpolitik in Preussen (1878-79); Preiissen im Bundestag (2d ed. 1882-85) ; Lasalles Leiden 4th ed'. 1889); Fiirst Bismarck als Tolkswirt (1890); Aiixprachcit dcs- Fiirstcn Bismarck (1894-09); and many other works on Bismarck, politics, and banking. Poscliingcr edited, besides many docu- ments relating to Bismarck, Dcnkiciirdiykciteii des Ministcrpriisidciiten Otto Freiherr roi) Man- tcuffcl (1901) and Kinkcis scchsmoiiatliclie Haft im Zuchthause zu Xauijard (1901). POSEIDON, p.j-si'don. See Xeptune. POSEN, pO'zrn. A province of Prussia, bound- ed by Pomerania and West Prussia on the north, Russian Poland on the east, Silesia on the south, and Brandenburg on the west (Map: Prussia, G 2). Its area is 11,184 square miles. The sur- face is mostly flat. There are extensive tracts of ■wooded marshland, now partially converted into agricultural land. Posen is watered principally by tlie Warte and the Netz< and to some extent by the Vistula. There are a large number of lakes and .some important canals. Posen is chiefly an agricultural country. Over 00 per cent, of its area is under tillage and in gardens. In the dis- tribution of land large holdings prevail, about 58 per cent, of the productive land being divided into estates of 250 acres and over. Rye. wheat, oats, barley, and potatoes are produced exten- sively and partly exported. Large quantities of sugar beets are raised for local sugar mills. Cattle-raising is very important, and the ceiisus of 1897 shows a large increase in the live stock of the province. The manufacturing industries are only slightly developed and employ (including all other indus- tries outside of agriculture) only 20 per cent, of the total population. The principal manufactures are spirits (of which Posen is one of the chief producers in Germany), beet sugar, machinery, bricks, and wooden wares. The exports include grain, cattle, wood, and wool. The railway lines have a total length of over 1200 miles, almost ex- clusively controlled by the State. Posen is divided administratively into the two districts of Posen and Bromljerg. with the town of Posen as the capital. In the Prussian Landtag the province is represented by 19 members in the upper and 29 delegates in the lower chamber. It retiirns to the Ciernian Reichstag 15 members. The population, in 1900, was 1,888,055, of whom about 70 per cent, were Roman Catholics. The Polish language and its dialects are spoken by the majority of the in- habitants. Posen formed a part of Poland till the first partition of that coimtry in 1772. when Prussia acquired the districts north of the Netze. The other portion was taken by Pru.ssia at the second partition in 1793. In 1807 it was annexed to the Duchy of Warsaw, but was restored to Prussia in 1815, receiving the title of a grand duchy. Posen has been the scene of bitter strife between the Polish and CJerman elements, and the Prussian Ciovernment has resorted to arbi- trary measures in its efforts to Germanize the region. POSEN (Pol. Poznan). The capital of the province of the same name in the eastern part of Prussia, situated at the confluence of the Cybina with the Warte, 00 miles north of Breslau (Map: Prussia, Ct 2). It is a first-class fortress and has a strong garrison. Its appear- ance has been greatly improved by the building of new quarters and the construction of mod- ern buildings. Of its numerous churches the most noteworthy are the eighteenth-century cathedral, well known for its golden chapel and for its fine nioniinients and the bronze statues of. the first two Christian kings of Poland, the sev- enteenth-century parish church, and the fifteenth- century Marienkirche, the oldest church in Posen. The principal secular edifices are the old town hall, rebuilt after the fire of 1530 and adorned with a slender tower 214 feet high; the adjoining modern town hall in Renaissance; the royal palace con- taining the State archives; the Raezyrtiski palace with the library of the same name; and the Ger- man theatre. Posen has a Roman Catholic and an Evangelical gymnasium, a seminary for teach- ers, and one for Catholic priests. The old forti- fications are being demolished. The new ones comprise about 12 inner and -0 outer forts. The principal manufactured products are ma- chinery of various kinds, spirits, flour, furni- ture, and cigars. There is also some trade in wood, grain, wool, and spirits. The population rose from 73.200 in 1800 to 117.014 in 1900, the in- crease being due principally to the annexation of adjacent rural communities. The inhabitants are principally Roman Catholics. Posen is one of the oldest cities of Poland. It became the see of a bishop in the tenth century and was the residence of the early Polish mon-