104 CARPEAUX, JEAN B. 



county assessors. He also decided that an act 

 of the Legislature legalizing "the several void 

 acts of the State Board of Equalization and of 

 the Board of Supervisors" was of no effect, as 

 " the Legislature cannot by a curative or other 

 act legalize a void or unconstitutional act." 



It was decided in another case that the 

 Legislature cannot, while providing a system 

 of education for the youth of the State, ex- 

 clude from its benefit certain children merely 

 because of their African descent, and that the 

 law providing for the education of children 

 of African descent in separate schools, to be 

 provided at the public expense the same as 

 other schools, is not in conflict with the con- 

 stitution of the State, or that of the Nation. 



The Legislature met at Sacramento on the 

 6th of December. The new Governor, Wil- 

 liam Irwin, was inaugurated on the 9th, and 

 delivered an address, made up chiefly of recom- 

 mendations on subjects for legislation. The 

 business of the session was hardly under way 

 before the close of the year. 



CARPEAUX, JEAN BAPTISTE, the well- 

 known French sculptor, was born at Valen- 

 ciennes in 1827, and died near Paris, October 

 23, 1875. He studied first in his native town, 

 and was then sent to Paris to study at the ex- 

 pense of the Departement du Nord. He then 

 went to Rome. His earlier works evince lack 

 of invention. His bass-relief of " Flora," in the 

 new Pavilion de Flore, is considered a master- 

 piece. His group of u La Danse," at the top of 

 the staircase of the new Opera-House, exhibits 

 indeed great technical skill, and a bold nudity, 

 such as is characteristic of later French art. 

 One night some one threw a bottle of ink upon 

 this group. His less noticeable works are the 

 bronze fountain " Quatre Parties du Monde " 

 near the Observatoire, a bust of the Princess 

 Mathilde, a statue of the young Prince Impe- 

 rial, and a bust of Alexandre Dumas, fila. 

 During the last two years he had been a great 

 sufferer. Going to Nice, he there made the 

 acquaintance of a Wallaclrian, Prince Stirbey, 

 who received him into his chateau at Ansieres, 

 at the gates of Paris, where he received every 

 attention until the day of his death. His na- 

 tive town claims the honor of raising a monu- 

 ment to his memory. 



CENTRAL AMERICA (AMERICA CENTRAL), 

 the tortuous isthmian strip of territory connect- 

 ing North and South America, extending from 

 Mexico, about latitude 7, to Colombia, latitude 

 18 north. ^ It varies in breadth from 30 to 300 

 miles, and its shores are washed respectively 

 by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. 

 It comprises the five independent republics of 

 Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, San Salva- 

 dor, and Costa Rica, with an aggregate area 

 of some 175,000 square miles, and a population 

 of about 3,000,000. 



The east coast of Central America was vis- 

 ited by Columbus in 1502 ; and Pedro Alva- 

 rado, sent in 1523 by Hernan Cortes, then in 

 Mexico, to subdue the country, completed this 



CHEMISTRY. 



mission in 1525. The whole region remained 

 under Spanish colonial rule until 1823, when, 

 becoming independent, the five colonies united 

 to form a federal republic, which was dis- 

 solved in 1839. Since that time several short- 

 lived federations have been established, and in 

 February, 1872, four of the States were rep- 

 resented at an international conference held at 

 La Union, San Salvador, for the purpose of de- 

 liberating upon the terms of a new treaty of 

 confederation. Owing, however, to the lan- 

 guid indifference of Nicaragua, this new at- 

 tempt at restoration proved ineffectual. But 

 the project has by no means been abandoned, 

 and strenuous efforts for its realization are 

 spoken of, in which Guatemala would appear 

 to be the active and ruling spirit. 



We subjoin a^translation of the circular sub- 

 mitted by the government of General Barrios 

 to the sister states, and containing the bases 

 proposed for the foundation of the new con- 

 solidated Republic of Central America : 



1. That the five republics should maintain their 

 independence and the territory of Central America 

 intact. 



2. That they should likewise adopt the demo- 

 cratic form of'government, and the liberal institu- 

 tions thereto appertaining. 



3. That peace should be maintained between the 

 five republics, and that, in the event of internal dis- 

 cord, pacific means should be adopted for the rees- 

 tablishment of harmony. 



4. A uniform system of diplomatic and consular 

 representation abroad should be organized. 



5. That the five republics should unite in urging 

 the claims of any one of them against a foreign 

 power. 



6. That they should unite in making contracts for 

 lines of steamships and telegraphs, for the purchase 

 of vessels to guard the coasts, and for any other en- 

 terprise of mutual benefit. 



7. That the five republics should be united by 



8. That a postttl system at once expeditious, safe, 

 and cheap, snould be established. 



9. International rights should be uniform, and 

 treaties with foreign powers of equal effect in the 

 five republics. 



10. That in the five republics the same civil, penal, 

 commercial, and customs laws should obtain in the 

 matter of exports, imports, and weights and meas- 

 ures. 



11. That public instruction should be similarly 

 organized in all of them, and a mutual-aid system 

 observed in regard to text-books, etc. 



12. That literary and professional titles be equally 

 recognized in the five republics, proof of the authen- 

 ticity thereof being the only requisite thereto. 



13. That the natives of each one of the republics 

 enjoy the rights of citizenship in all of them. 



14. That the extradition of criminals be extended 

 to a larger number of crimes than in treaties with 

 foreign powers. 



CHEMISTRY. Salicylic Acid. Though 

 long known to chemists, and described in 

 many of the text-books, this substance has 

 during the past year acquired new interest 

 and importance from the discovery by Prof. 

 H. Kolbe, of the University of Leipsic, that it 

 possesses valuable antiseptic and disinfecting 

 powers ; equaling carbolic acid in these re- 

 spects, and having in addition the very decided 



