RIO GRANDE DO NORTE 



RIOT 



731 



Rio Grande do Xorte, a maritime state of 

 Brazil, occupies the north-east angle of the country, 

 and is bounded on the N. and E. by th'e Atlantic. 

 Area, 22,195 sq. m. ; pop. (1890) 268,273, one-half 

 Indians. It derives its name from the river Rio 

 Grande, which flows into the Atlantic at the 

 capital, Rio Grande do Norte or Natal (q.v. ) ; but 

 the principal river is the Piranhas. The surface is 

 Hat along the shores, which are skirted by danger- 

 ous shoals and reefs, but is mountainous in the 

 interior. The principal crops are sugar and cotton ; 

 large herds of horses and cattle are reared on the 

 extensive pastures. 



Rio Grande do Sill, the southernmost state 

 of Brazil, is bounded on the N. and W. by the river 

 Uruguay, on the S. by the republic of "Uruguay, 

 and on the E. by the Atlantic. Area, 91,310 

 sq. m.; pop. (1890) 897,455, of whom 100,000 are 

 Germans and 52,000 Italians. The northern por- 

 tion of the state consists of an elevated plateau, the 

 edges of which are heavily timbered ; the southern 

 half is a rolling grassy plain, on which large num- 

 bers of cattle are kept. The climate is nealthy, 

 well suited for European*, ami the Germans and 

 Italians have established large and prosperous 

 colonies here. All the cereals and fruits of central 

 Europe can be grown advantageously, and the 

 inhabitants are awakening; to the importance of 

 developing the immense agricultural resources of 

 the state. The fisheries are of some importance 

 Along the coast stretch the two lagoons, Dos Patos 

 ( 174 miles long by 34 wide) and Mirim, connected 

 by a navigable channel. The principal articles of 

 export are beans, horns, hair, hides, bones, tallow, 

 jerked lieef, tongues, and mandioc flour, reaching 

 nearly half a million sterling in value. The imports, 

 valued at H million pounds sterling, consist of 

 cotton, woollen, and linen manufactures, coal, 

 earthenware, and hardware. The principal towns 

 are Porto Alegre (q.v.), the capital, Rio Grande, 

 and Pelotas. The town of Rio Grande stands 

 on the south side of the strait leading into the 

 southern end of the Lagpa dos Patos. Pop. 18,000. 

 In January 1891 a beginning was made with the 

 work of removing the sand-bar that obstructs the 

 entrance, the intention being to deepen the har- 

 bour and eventually make Rio Grande a great 

 port for southern Brazil. 



Kioja. a western province of the Argentine 

 Republic, with an area of 34,365 sq. m. and a pop. 

 of about 80,000. Much of it is desert, but in the 

 west there are very fertile Andes valleys, where 

 wheat, maize, vines, cotton, and tropical fruits are 

 grown. Copper, silver, and gold are mined. RlOJA, 

 the capital, founded in 1591, lies at the foot of the 

 Sierra Velasco, among orange groves and vine-clad 

 hills, 350 miles by rail NW. of Cordoba. Pop. 6000. 



Rioill, a town of France (dept. Puy -de-Dome), 

 is picturesquely situated on a hill, 8 miles by rail 

 N. of Clermont-Ferrand. It is built of dark lava, 

 and is a perfect treasure of domestic architecture, 

 especially of the Renaissance period. There is 

 considerable trade, and tobacco, linen, and machin- 

 ery are manufactured. Pop. (1891) 11,189. 



Rion. See PHASIS. 



Rio Negro, ( 1 ) one of the principal affluente of 

 the Amazon River, rises as the Guainia in south- 

 eastern Colombia, and flows east into Venezuela, 

 then south into Arnazonas in Brazil, and again east 

 and south-east until it empties into the Maranon, 

 after a course estimated at 1350 miles. Its chief 

 tributary on the right is the Uanpes ; on the left it 

 receives the Cassiquiare (q.v.), by means of which 

 communication is established between the Orinoco 

 and the Amazon, and also the Cababuri, Branco, 

 and other streams. It is over a mile broad when its 

 clear, inky-black stream enters the yellow, muddy 



Amazon. A few miles from its mouth is Mangos 

 (q.v.), on the left bank; and higher up the river 

 opens into great lagoons, nearly choked with 

 numerous islands. See A. R. Wallace's Travels on 

 the Amazon and Bio Negro ( 1853). (2) A river of 

 Argentinia, which rises in the Andean Jake of 

 Nahuel-Huapi, flows north-east as the Cunuonilla 

 and afterwards the Limay, and receives the name 

 of Rio Negro at its junction with the Neuquen, 

 after which it flows east and south-east into the 

 Atlantic Ocean. It is over 500 miles long, and for 

 small steamers it is navigable all the way. Near 

 its mouth there are great saline lakes, from which 

 immense quantities of salt are collected. It bounds 

 on the north and gives its name to a national 

 territory, formerly part of Patagonia, and now con- 

 taining an area of 81,895 sq. in. of for the greater 

 part level but barren soil. The chief town is 

 Viedina (pop. 1500), 20 miles from the mouth of 

 the Rio Negro. 



Rioiiegro, a town of Colombia, in Antioquia, 

 some 15 miles SE. of Medellin. It was founded in 

 1545, and the National Convention met here in 1863. 

 Pop. 9000. 



Itionero, a town of Southern Italy, 12 miles 

 N. of Potenza ; it suffered greatly from earthquake 

 in 1851. Pop. 11,383. 



Riot consists in the joint unlawful action, by 

 breach of the peace or by causing terror to the 

 public, of three or more persons assembled together 

 \vhether they originally assembled for these pur- 

 poses or no. When a riot becomes formidable any 

 justice of the peace may command the persons 

 assembled, if not less than twelve in number, to 

 ili^perse peaceably by a form of words called reading 

 the Riot Act (1 Geo. I. chap. 5), thus: 'Our 

 Sovereign Lord the King (or Lady the Queen) 

 cliargetn and commandeth all persons being 

 assembled immediately to disperse themselves, and 

 peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their 

 lawful business, upon the pains contained in an Act 

 of King George for preventing tumults and riotous 

 assemblies. God save the King (or Queen).' (The 

 omission of these last four words makes the reading 

 nugatory.) To justify the use of military force in 

 the prevention of serious outrages and damage to 

 persons and property, it is not necessary to wait 

 for the proclamation to be read, still less to wait 

 for an hour after it has been read. Though death 

 or wounds result to those composing the mob, such 

 hurt is not a criminal offence. The rioters are guilty 

 of felony, and are liable to penal servitude for life. 

 Prosecutions under the Riot Act must be com- 

 menced within twelve months of the time of 

 committing the alleged offence. Sometimes the 

 Riot Act is read more than once during the dis- 

 turbance, in which case the second or third reading 

 does not supersede the first. The Riot Damages 

 Act, 1886, provides compensation from the rates to 

 those whose property is damaged during a riot. 

 Less serious than riot are unlawful assembly, a 

 meeting of three or more for an unlawful object, 

 but where no part of the object is actually carried 

 out ; and rout, where the assembly proceeds to 

 execute the act, but does not actually accomplish 

 it : and ujfrny, that is, a fight between two or more 

 in some public place (e.g. a prize-fight), but it 

 must not be premeditated. In private the dis- 

 turbance would be an assault. Among notable 

 riots have been those in Scotland on account of the 

 Union (1707); the Porteous Mob in Edinburgh 

 (1736); Lord George Gordon's ' No Popery ' Riots 

 (1780); at Birmingham (1791) in connection with 

 the Commemoration of the French Revolution ; the 

 Luddites(1811,1812); Peterloo(1819); Reform Riots 

 at Kristol (1831 ) ; Chartist Riots ( 1838-39) ; Rebecca 

 Riots in Wales (1843); religious riots at Belfast 



