IMS 



OALLARDON. 



OALWAY. 



1116 



Italy, and numbers some wealthy merchant*, manufacturers, and 

 banker* among iu population. 



The canton is divided into 15 district*, namely : St-Oal), Tablat, 

 Ronehach on the banks of the Lake of Constance, I'uter Itlieiutlml, 

 Ober KheiuUial, Werdenberg, Sargans, Gaster, See Bexirk (or Lake 

 Circle) on the banks of the Lake of Zurich, Ober Toggenburg, l'ntr 

 Toggenburg, Alt Toggenburg, Neu Toggeuburg, Wyl, Gossau. The 

 finest districts are the Rhcintha). Ronchach, St-Oall, Wyl, the greater 

 part of the Toggouburg, and the 8m Becirk : the "miiiiiig or southern 

 districts are mountainous. 



St.-Gatt, the capital of the canton, situated in a pleasant valley on 

 the Steinsch, is a well-built town, well supplied with water, and con- 

 tains 1 1 ,229 inhabitants. It is still surrounded by old walls, but the 

 ditch has been filled up and converted into gardens. The principal 

 buildings are the abbey-church, now the cathedral, one of the finest 

 in Switzerland, with handsome paintings ; the gymnasium, the 

 assembly room, the town-bouse, several hospitals and asylums, and 

 the public granaries. The old abbey library has above 1000 manu- 

 scripts, many of them valuable ; several of the classics which were 

 considered ss lost were discovered in the middle ages in this library. 

 The abbey-buildings are now used for the gymnasium, and the abbot's 

 house for public offices. St. -Gall is one of the most commercial towns 

 of Switzerland. The environs are embellished with numerous country 

 houses and promenades. St-Gall is 40 miles E. from Zurich and 45 

 miles N. from Coire in the Orisons. The town sprung up round 

 a cell founded here in the 7th century by St. Gall or Gallen, an 

 Irish monk, who taught the people agriculture and Christianity. An 

 abbey rose over the cell fifty years after the death of the saint under 

 the auspices of Pepin 1'IIeristhdl, and became a celebrated school 

 from the 8th century. To the labours of the monks of St-Gall are 

 owing the preservation of the works of several of the classical authors. 

 The insecurity of the times from the beginning of the llth century 

 compelled the abbot to fortify big monastery, and frequently he and 

 his monks sallied forth sword in hand against their assailants. The 

 revenues of the abbacy increased in time so considerably, that the 

 abbots became territorial lords of a considerable portion of northern 

 Switzerland, and ranked as princes of the empire. In the beginning 

 of the 16th century Appenzell threw off the yoke of the abbot ; and 

 the town of St-Gall, which owed its origin and prosperity to the 

 abbey and its inmates, became restive under the rule of the abbots, 

 and gained its independence at the Reformation. At the French revo- 

 lution the abbey was secularised, and its revenues were soon after 

 sequestrated. The last abbot died in 1829 iu the convent of Muri. 



Rapptrtmyl is prettily situated on a peninsula projecting into the 

 Lake of Zurich : a wooden bridge, 4600 feet long, crosses over to the 

 south bank of the lake. The town has some manufactories and about 

 1500 inhabitants. Altttatten, in the Upper Rheinthal, in the midst of 

 a fertile country, is a place of some trade, with sulphur springs, and 

 about 2000 inhabitants, who manufacture muslins. Kheintk, in the 

 Lower Rheinthal, on the left bank of the Rhine, has about 1500 inha- 

 bitants : the red wine made in the neighbourhood ranks high among 

 the wines of Switzerland. 



The government of St. -Gall is a democracy. The members of the 

 Great Council are chosen in their respective districts by the citizens 

 above twenty-one years of age. They are elected for two years. 

 The Great Council appoints from among its body the members 

 of the Little Council or executive for four years. It also appoints 

 those of the criminal court and of the court of appeal The citizens 

 of each district appoint every year their own ammsn, or prefect, and 

 other local authorities. The constitution of St-Gall is one of the 

 most democratic among the representative cantons of Switzerland : it 

 approaches nearly to that of the pure democracies of the little cantons. 

 The revenues of the state are derived from the income-tax ; licences 

 for shops, public-houses, and sporting ; stamp-duties, tolls, monopoly 

 of salt, post-office, and national domains. Under the new constitution 

 of Switzerland the canton of St-Gall returns eight members to the 

 National Council. [SWITZERLAND.] 



OALLARDON. [ 



GALLATOWN. [ 



OALLA-TRIBES. . 



GALLE, POINT DE, a town, fort, and harbour on the south 

 coast of the island of Ceylon, 72 miles S. by E. from Colombo, 

 is situated in 6' 1' N. Ut, 80 16' E. long. The town and fort are 

 built on a low rocky promontory named the Point de Galle. The 

 harbour is formed between the point, which extends towards the east, 

 and a piece of land sloping inwards from the west, thus forming a 

 small bay. The entrance to the bay is about a mile wide, but as there 

 an many rocks in it a pilot is required to take the vessel to the 

 anchorage, which is abreast the town in 5 fathoms depth of water. 

 Thare is a pier; a jetty was constructed in 1847, and a new wharf in 

 1669. The increase in the number of steam-vessels calling at the 

 port chiefly ta take in coals has caused various proposals tobe mode 

 for improving the harbour, but funds are wanting. The fort, built 

 by the Dutch, is upwards of a mile in circumference, and contains 

 several large and commodious houses inhabited by Europeans. The 

 town, or pettah, inhabited by natives, is extensive, contains many 

 ' houses, and has a huge population. The government schools 

 itaiaed bete include an elementary school with 41 scholars in 



1852, a mixed school with 144 scholars, and a superior school !"> 

 females which had 88 pupils in 1852. An iron lighthouse, constructed 

 in London, was erected in 1848 ; the total height of the light above 

 the sea is 103 tout. The mail-steamers stop at Point de Galle, and the 

 letters, etc., are forwarded immediately to Colombo, whence they are 

 transmitted to all part* of Ceylon. Letters taken by steamers from 

 Point de Galle reach Madras in three days and Calcutta in nine days. 

 Bombay is reached by steam-vessel in six days. 



GALLI'POLI, the ancient CaUipolu, in the Thracian Chersonesus, 

 a town of European Turkey, is situated on the northern shore of the 

 eastern extremity of the Dardanelles, anciently denominated the 

 Hellespont Gallipoli is situated on a peninsula, and has two har- 

 bours, which are frequently the rendezvous of the Turkish fleet, of 

 which the port is one of the chief stations. It was selected as the 

 landing-place and depot of the first detachment* of the British and 

 French troops sent in the spring of 1854 to assist the Porte in 

 the war with Russia. Gallipoli occupies a considerable space : the 

 population is variously estimated; the number of residents does 

 not probably exceed 20,000. The population includes Turks, Arme- 

 nians, Jews, and some Greeks. It has an extensive bazaar, with 

 domes covered with lead, and the shops are tolerably well supplied. 

 The dwellings are destitute of comfort, and the streets are kept 

 in a dirty state. Some improvement was effected in the appear- 

 ance of the town in May 1854 by the allied troops, particularly the 

 French, who set to work to write up names on the corners of the 

 streets and to number the houses, and otherwise to introduce some- 

 thing like regularity. The trade of the town is chiefly in corn, wine, 

 and oil. In the vicinity some profitable cultivation is carried on, but 

 not to any great extent Excellent water-melons grow in the neigh- 

 bourhood. Gallipoli is interesting as being the first place in Eunipu 

 where the Turks acquired dominion, having been taken by them in 

 1357. There are several ancient remains in the town and neighbmir- 

 hood, of which the most noticeable are the magazine and cellar* built 

 by Justinian, and the tumuli to the south of the city, which are said 

 to be the tombs of the Thracian kings. The only defences of the 

 town are an old square castle and tower, probably built by Baja/.rt. 

 Gallipoli is the see of a Greek bishop. Several foreign conHuls 

 reside in the town. Numerous steam-vessels, English, Freneli, 

 Austrian, and Turkish, call at Gallipoli on their passage to and from 

 Constantinople. 



GALLIPOLI. [OTRANTO, TEBRA DI.] 



GALLOWAY, an extensive district in the south-west of Scotland, 

 comprising the shire of Wigtown and stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 

 with part of the shires of Ayr and Lanark. It appears to have been 

 independent until the overthrow of the Picts, when the Scottixh 

 monarcbs assumed a feudal superiority over the lords of Galloway. 

 The lordship subsequently descended to the family of Douglas, with 

 whom it remained till 1455, when, by the rebellion of James, earl 

 of Douglas, the estates became forfeited to the crown. 



G ALSTON, Ayrshire, Scotland, a small market-town in the parish 

 of Galston, on the left bank of the river Irvine, 22 miles S. by W. 

 from Glasgow and 5 miles E. from Kilumrnock by road ; and 39 miles 

 from Glasgow by the Glasgow and South-Western railway. Tlu- 

 population in 1851 was 2538. The inhabitants of the town are . 

 cotton weavers. Besides the parish church there are chapels for Free 

 Church and United Presbyterian congregations; and an Endowed 

 school. In the town i the ancient castle of Bur. In the neighbour- 

 hood are the remains of a Roman camp, and vestiges of a stone circle. 

 Loudon Castle, the seat of the Marquis of Hastings, is near the town. 



GALT. [CANADA.] 



GALWAY, a maritime county of the province of Connaught, in 

 Ireland, lies between 52 65' and 53 42' N. hit, 7 53' and 10" 17' 

 W. long., and is bounded N. by Mayo and Roscommon, E. by King's 

 county and Tipperary, S. by the county of Clare, and W. by the 

 Atlantic Ocean. The extent of coast, which is very irregular, has 

 been estimated at 400 miles ; and the Shannon and Suck, both navi- 

 gable rivers, form the eastern boundary of the county. Its greatest 

 length from east to west is 164 miles, from north to south 52 miles. 

 The area comprises 1,566,354 acres, of which 742,805 are arable, 

 708,000 uncultivated, 23,713 in plantations, 1601 in towns, and 90,030 

 under water. The county of Galway is the largest in Ireland except 

 Cork ; its population in 1851 was 298,564, exclusive of Galway town. 



Surface, Hydrography, and Communication*. With the exception 

 of the Slieve-Baughta Mountains, which cover the south coast of the 

 county from the Clare boundary to Loughrea [CLARK], and mi 

 extenaion of the Bnrriu Mountains on the south-west, the whole of 

 that part of Galway which lies east of Lough Corrib is compara- 

 tively flat, and although to a great extent encumbered with bog, is 

 pretty generally improved and productive. A low table-hind running 

 north and south and joining the Slieve-Dart Mountains on the northern 

 boundary separates this part of Galway into two nearly equal 

 districts, the waters of one of which run eastward into the Suck 

 :ui.l Shannon, and those of the other westward into the head of 

 Galway Bay and Lough Corrib. The district of the Suck is most 

 encumbered with bogs ; it contains much well-improved land, particu- 

 larly in the neighbourhood of Ahascragh and Balliuasloe. The < I 

 extending eastward from the head of Galway Bay is the richest part 

 of the county. The surface of the county east of Lough Corrib is 



