Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/129

* BHODESIA. 109 RHODODENDRON. land and Jlatabplclaiul. The judges of the High C'uuit are appointed by the Secretary of State from a list submitted by the company. The na- tive all'airs are under the control of a secretary who is assisted by native commissioners. The ndlitary police of the territory is under the con- trol of the High Conunissioner for South .Vfrica. According to an informal census taken in 11)01 Jlashonaland contained 4021 Europeans, 328,72!) natives, and 187 Asiatics; and Matabcleland 7011 Europeans, 102,211 natives, and 90U Asiatics, In the first half of the nineteenth century the territory now known as Southern Khodesia was held by the ilatabeles, who were forced bj- the Boers to retreat nortli of the Limpopo. With the discovery of gold in that part of the continent Cecil Kliodes succeeded in concluding a treaty with Lobengula, under wdiich the chief of the Matabeles bound himself not to enter into any agreement with any power without the approval of Great Britain, In 1880 the mining rights over the territory were also secured by Cecil Rhodes ( q.v. ) for a consideration of a monthly salary of £100 to Lobengula, 1000 rifles, and a large quantity of ammunition, A royal charter was obtained for the British South Africa Company in 1880, and a considerable military force was sent to explore the interior of the country. An up- rising of the Matabeles in 1893 ended in the over- throw of Lobengula and the formal annexation of Matabcleland, A more serious uprising occurred after the withdrawal of the white police to Bech- uanaland, in 1896, The rebellion soon spread to Ma.shonaland, and it was only with the assistance of troops dispatched from Natal and Mafeking that peace was restored in 1897, B1BLIOGRA.P11T. Greswell, Oeoffraphy of Africa South of the Zambezi (London, 189.3) ; Keane. South Africa (ib„ 189.5): Keltie, Partition of Africa, contains bibliography (ib,, 180,5) ; Thom- son, Rhodesia and Its Government (ib,, 1898); Dawkins, Precis of Information Concerning South- ern Rhodesia, with bibliography (n,p, 1800) ; Hall and Neal, The Ancient Ruins of Rhodesia (New York, 1902). RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS, TuE, A num- ber of stipends established under the will of Cecil .John Rhodes (q,v,), who died in 1902, be- queathing a large part of his estate in trust for the purpo.se of maintaining a certain number of British, American, and German students at Ox- ford University, in the belief that "a good under- standing between England, Germany, and the United States will secure the peace of the world, and that educational relations form the strongest tie." The founder suggested the fol- lowing basis for awarding these scholarships: (1) Proficiency in literary and scholastic attain- ments, wdiich was to count three-tenths ; (2) suc- cess in outdoor sports, two-tenths; (3) qualities of manhood, etc., three-tenths; (4) qualities of leadership, two-tenths. Qualifications second and third were to be decided upon by a vote of the fellow students, first and fourth by the masters of the respective schools where candidates prepare. The number of scholarships to be thus distributed are as follows: Rhodesia, 9; Cape Colony, 12; Na- tal, 3; Australia, 18; New Zealand, 3; Canada, 6; Newfoundland, 3; Bermuda, 3; Jamaica, 3; two to each State and Territory of the United States, and 15 to Germany. The annual value of the Colonial and American scholarships is £300, tenable for three years. Only onetliird of the Colonial and one-half of the American scliol- arships are to be lilled each year. The dIspoMil of the German scholar.ships is at the pleasure of the Emperor, In the United States the first qualifying exam- ination, based on the Oxford Responsions, or the first Oxford public examination, was set down for 1904, and was to consist of Latin, (!reek, and ele- mentary mathematics. These examinations are to be hchl under the auspices of the Slate com- mittees designated by the tru.stees for selecting suitable candidates for the scholarships. The chairmen of these committees arc either (he pres- idents of the State Universities, as is the ease iu most (if the Western and Southern States, or the Presidents of certain jirominent universities, as is the ca.se in most of the New Englanil ami East- ern States, In California, Maine, N'ermonl, and Washington, appointments are to be made by the several chartered universities and colleges in ro- tation. Candidates must be from 20 to 2.5 years of age and nuist have attended two years at a rec- ognized institution of higher learning. Scholars must be unmarried and citizens of the United States. RHODIUM (Neo-Lat., from Gk. ^Mioj, rose- like, from (i65op, rhodon, rose). A metallic chemical element that was discovered by WoUas- ton in 1804. It occurs with other members of the platinum group and alloyed with gold as "rhodium gold,' or rhodite, a mineral fdund in ile.xico. The element is separated by ;>dding iron to the mother liquors from which ]>latinum has been extracted. The precipitate thus obtained is fused with lead and litharge, after which lead, copper, and palladium are removed by dilute nitric acid, and the residue heated with barium dioxide, then washed and distilled with aquii regia to remove osmium. The remaining solu- tion contains the rhodium, which is then isolated by a somewhat complicated process. Rhodium (symbol. Rh ; atomic weight. 103,01) is a white, hard, malleable metal that fuses at about the same temperature as platinum, and absorbs oxygen like that metal. It combines with oxygen to form a monoxide, a sesquioxide, a dioxide, and probably a trioxide. The metal itself, when added in small quantities to steel, is said to form an alloy that has exceedingly val- uable properties. RHO'DODEN'DRON (Neo-Lat., from Gk. (ioS6devdpoi>, oleander, from p6Soi>, rhodon, rose + 54vSpov, dendron, tree). A genus of about 200 trees and slirubs, including Azalea (q.v.), of the natural order Erieaceie. The species of Rhododen- dron proper have evergieen leaves, and many of them are of great beauty both in foliage and in flower. They varv in size from a few inches in height to trees 50 to 60 feet high and 18 inehpg in diameter. A few small species are natives of Continental Europe and of Siberia, but the greater number are found in temperate North America, and in the mountains of India. .Rhododendron maarimum, so designated when the far larger Indian species were un- known, is a common American ornamental shrub or small tree which forms impenetrabh' thick-is in the Alleghany Mountains, and is magnificent when in fiower. The flowers are large, in um- bellate corymbs, varying in color from pale carmine to lilac. Rhododendron ponliciim, a very