72 



GAMBIA 



GAMBLING 



contest between the deputy and the president 

 ended in the triumph of Gambetta who did not 

 go to prison and the resignation of MacMahon. 

 M. Grevy was elected president, but Gambetta 

 was regarded as the saviour of the Republic. 

 Though now the most powerful statesman in 

 France, and the maker and unmaker of cabinets, 

 he declined to take office, on the ground that 

 no strong government was possible until the 

 elective scrutin de liste had been adopted. In ( 1878 

 Gambetta fought a duel with M. de Fourtou, an 

 ex-minister, whom he had charged with falsehood, 

 but the hostile encounter had a harmless termina- 

 tion. Shortly afterwards Gambetta accepted the 

 E residency of the chamber, a post which he 

 eld till the autumn of 1880. In November of 

 that year the Ferry ministry resigned, being dis- 

 credited by the mismanagement of the Tunis 

 expedition. Gambetta was called upon to form 

 a cabinet, and succeeded, after much difficulty. 

 But, as it was practically a government of one, 

 opposition to the new premier set in, and when 

 he produced his scheme for the revision of the 

 constitution in January 1882 the chamber rejected 

 the scrutin de liste proposal by 305 to 1 10 votes, 

 and Gambetta immediately resigned. He after- 

 wards acted as chairman of the military committee, 

 but took little part otherwise in public affairs. 



On 26th November, as he was handling a revolver 

 at his residence at Ville d'Avray, the weapon acci- 

 dentally went oft', and the bullet entered the palm 

 of his hand and came out at the wrist. A report 

 subsequently prevalent asserted that the wound 

 was inflicted by a woman's hand. In any case, no 

 serious consequences were apprehended, and in 

 spite of sinister rumours he was reported conval- 

 escent on 13th December. The wound, however, 

 took an unfavourable turn ; internal inflammation 

 set in, and the patient suffered terrible agony. 

 Yet he was conscious and self-possessed until the 

 end, and expired on the last day of the year 1882, 

 being only forty-four years of age. He was buried 

 at Nice, France mourning for him as one of the 

 greatest of her patriots and sons, and as one who, 

 by his dauntless will, energy, and eloquence, had 

 indelibly impressed himself upon one of the darkest 

 periods of her national history. Reinach has edited 

 his Discours Politiques (10 vols. 1880-84), and 

 written a Life of him ( 1884). 



Gambia, a river of Western Africa, the more 

 southerly of the two great streams of Senegambia, 

 enters the Atlantic after a course estimated at over 

 1400 miles, by an estuary which in some parts 

 measures nearly 27 miles across, but contracts to 

 little more than 2 at the mouth (Bathurst, 13 24' 

 N. lat., 16 36' W. long.). It is navigable from 

 June to November for vessels of 150 tons up to 

 Barraconda, about 400 miles from the sea. The 

 whole of the lower river, extending to Georgetown, 

 180 miles from Bathurst, is British waters. Below 

 Barraconda the river overflows its banks in the 

 rainy season, and, like the Nile, leaves a fertile 

 deposit of mud. The British settlement of Gambia 

 occupies the banks of the river as far up as George- 

 town, though not continuously. Its actual area is 

 about 69 sq. m. , embracing St Mary's Island, a 

 sandbank about 3 miles long by 1 broad, mostly 

 covered with low swamps, but containing Bathurst 

 (q.v. ) ; British Combo, on the mainland opposite ; 

 Aibrida, on the north bank ; the Ceded Mile ; 

 and M'Carthy's Island, with Georgetown. The 

 climate is officially described as only ' fairly healthy 

 during the dry months.' Besides the weaving 

 of cotton into native cloths, there are manu- 

 factures of vegetable oils and bricks, and some 

 boat-building. The staple product is the ground- 

 nut, which is exported to the south of Europe for 

 the extraction of oil, although this trade has 



declined since 1858. Other products are hides, 

 rice, cotton, beeswax, kola nuts, and india-rubber, 

 and there is an active entrepot trade with the 

 neighbouring French settlements in cotton goods, 

 spirits, rice, kola nuts, and hardware. The imports 

 have an annual value of from 150,000 to 175,000 ; 

 the exports from 120,000 to 200,000. The trade 

 is mainly in French hands. The revenue (not 

 always covering the expenditure) fluctuates from 

 25,000 to 30,000. Formerly a dependency of 

 Sierra Leone, the settlement was created an inde- 

 pendent colony in 1843, and became a portion of 

 the West African Settlements in 1876 ; in 1888 it 

 was made a separate government. The settlement 

 is connected with Europe by telegraph cables, and 

 the Liverpool mail-steamers call fortnightly. Pop. 

 (1894) 14,978, including 62 Europeans, 2385 native 

 Christians, and 5300 Mohammedans. Except for 

 the British strip (total area, 2700 sq. in., pop. 

 50,000), the basin of the Gambia is French terri- 

 tory. See SENEGAMBIA. 



Gambler, GAMBIR, or PALE CATECHU, is an 

 important article of commerce, used to a small ex- 

 tent medicinally as an astringent, but very largely 

 in tanning and dyeing. It is an earthy-looking, 

 light-brown substance, often in small cubes or in 

 compact masses. It possesses no odour, but has 

 a bitter, astringent taste, subsequently becoming 

 sweetish. Under the microscope it is seen to con- 

 sist of small acicular crystals. It is prepared in a 

 very rude manner from the young leaves of the Un- 

 caria Gambir, a native of the countries bordering 

 the Straits of Malacca. As the plant, which grows 

 to 8 or 10 feet, constantly produces young leaves, 

 the manufacture is carried on throughout the year. 

 The leaves are boiled in water, squeezed, and the 

 decoction evaporated to a thick consistence, when 

 it is poured into buckets, and treated in a curious 

 manner. The workman takes a stick, which is 

 moved vip and down in the mass, and, as the 

 gambier dries on it, it is scraped off and allowed to 

 harden. It is asserted that stirring the mass does 

 not produce an equally good article. 



Gambler, JAMES, BARON, Admiral, was born 

 in the Bahamas, 13th October 1756, entered the 

 navy, and off Ushant fought with distinction as 

 commander of the Defence under Lord Howe in 

 1794. As admiral he commanded the British fleet 

 at the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, and 

 was rewarded with a peerage. At the battle of 

 Aix Roads in 1809 he refused to act on the advice 

 of Lord Cochrane ( see DUNDONALD ), was tried by 

 court-martial, and ' most honourably acquitted. ' 

 He attained the high rank of Admiral of the Fleet 

 in 1830, and died 19th April 1833. The Memorials 

 of him ( 1861 ) by Lady Chatterton has no value. 



Gambler Islands, or MANGAREVA, a Poly- 

 nesian group of six larger and several smaller 

 islands, under a French protectorate, in 23 15' S. 

 lat. and 135 W. long. Area, 15 sq. m. ; pop. 450, 

 all Catholics. 



Gambler-Parry. See MURAL DECORATION. 



Gambit. See CHESS. 



Gambling, or GAMING, may be defined as the 

 practice of playing for a money stake games 

 depending solely on chance, like roulette, for 

 instance, or those other games into which the 

 element of skill enters, as in the cases of whist. or 

 billiards. Gambling was not countenanced by the 

 Roman law ; but a curious exception seems to 

 have been made when, by the terms of the wager, 

 the loser had to provide refreshment or hospitality 

 for the winner. Before the passing of an enact- 

 ment for the restriction of games and gaming, all 

 games like cards and dice, and all exercises, were 

 legal at common law so long as they were indulged 

 in for recreation and played fairly and without 



