GAMBIA 



341 4 



GAMBLE 



a leader of the uncompromising 

 an ti -imperialist party. A speech 

 attacking the Ollivier ministry in 

 1870 helped to 

 bring aboutthe 

 May plebiscite 

 on the pro- 

 posed con- 

 stitutional 

 changes. When 

 the news of 

 Sedan a r- 

 rived, he pro- 

 claimed pub- 

 y the es- 

 tablishment 

 of the republic, and became minis- 

 ter of the interior, Sept. 4, 1 870. On 

 Oct. 7 he escaped from the besieged 

 capital in a balloon, and joined 

 the government at Tours as minis- 

 ter of war as well as of the interior. 

 At Tours, and later at Bordeaux ; 

 aided principally by de Freycinet, 

 he showed astounding energy, in 

 most adverse circumstances, in 

 levying and equipping fresh armies 

 and organizing plans of national 

 defence. Elected to the national 

 assembly for Strasbourg, Feb., 

 1871, he resigned office when the 

 surrender of Alsace was acquiesced 

 in, and retired to Spain. 



In the summer he returned to 

 politics, founding the newspaper 

 La Republique Fra^aise in Nov., 

 1871. Henceforth his energies, and 

 his popularity assured by his ora- 

 torical gifts, were directed towards 

 consolidating the new republic 

 against monarchist influences, and 

 to this end he was a determined 

 opponent of MacMahon during his 

 presidency. Gambetta was elected 

 president of the chamber of depu- 

 ties in Jan., 1879, and under 

 Grevy's presidency was premier 

 from Nov., 1881, to Jan., 1882, re- 

 signing on the defeat of his pro- 

 posals for electoral reform. An 

 accidental wound from a pistol 

 brought about his death at his 

 villa at Ville d'Avray, near Sevres, 

 on Dec. 31, 1882. The Gambetta 

 monument in the Place du Car- 

 rousel, Paris, by Boileau and Aube, 

 was erected in 1886. On Nov. 11, 

 1920, to mark the jubilee of the 

 third French Republic, Gambetta's 

 heart was buried in the Pantheon, 

 Paris. SeeLife,PaulDeschanel, 1920. 

 Gambia. River of W. Africa. 

 It rises in Futa-Jallon in French 

 Guinea, flows generally westward 

 for over 500 m., and falls into the 

 Atlantic at Bathurst. At its estu- 

 ary it is 12 m. broad, and it is navi- 

 gable for 300 m. 



Gambia. British colony in W. 

 Africa. It is situated on both sides 

 of the lower portion of the river 

 Gambia, below the Falls of Barra 

 Kunda, and include^ the colony of 

 St. Mary's Island and the five pro- 



vinces, North Bank, South Bank, 

 etc., which form a protectorate. 

 The area of the colony proper is 4sq. 

 m., and that of the protectorate, 

 which extends 250 m. inland, is 

 about 4,500 sq. m. In 1618 James I 

 granted a charter to a trading com- 

 pany which built Fort James, and in 

 1631 ,1662,andl783othercompanies 

 were founded. Formerly part of the 

 W. African Settlements, itwas made 

 a separate colony in 1888. The 

 capital is Bathurst (<?.?;.), on the 

 island of St. Mary. The pop. (about 

 200,000) consists . of Mandingos, 

 Jolas, Sarahulis, and Fulas, four- 

 fifths Mahomedans. The exports 

 are chiefly ground-nuts, rubber, 

 rice, hides, wax, and palm kernels. 



Gambler, GAMBIR OR PALE 

 CATECHU. Extract prepared from 

 the leaves and young shoots of 

 Uncaria gambler, a climbing shrub 

 which grows in the Malay Archi- 

 pelago. The leaves are boiled with 

 water, the liquid strained and eva- 

 porated until a soft extract is ob- 

 tained. Gambier is used chiefly for 

 tanning, the purer qualities being 

 employed in medicine as an as- 

 tringent. The Malays use gambier, 

 in combination with areca and 

 betel, for chewing. 



Gambier. Group of seven small 

 islands in the Pacific Ocean, be- 

 longing to France. They lie in 

 lat. 23 12' S:, and long. 135 W. 

 Total land area, 8 sq. m. The 

 largest island is Mangareva, and all 

 are of coral formation. The inhabi- 

 tants are mostly Roman Catholic 

 converts, with some immigrants 

 from Easter Island. Pop. 1,533. 



Gambier, JAMES GAMBIER, 

 BARON (1756-1833). British sailor. 

 Born at New Providence, Oct. 13, 

 1756, he went to sea at 11 years 

 of age. In 1778 he was captured by 

 the French admiral d'Estaing, but 

 was released after a few months, 

 and was present at the relief of 

 Jersey, 1779, and at the capture 

 of Charleston, 1780. In 1794 he 

 commanded the Defence, which, 

 in the battle of June 1, was the 

 first to break through the enemy's 

 line. In 1795 he was promoted 

 rear-admiral and a lord of the 

 admiralty, becoming vice-admiral 

 1799. In 1800 he was commander- 

 in-chief at Newfoundland, a.nd in 

 1804 returned to the admiraltv. 



~s^Wl? 



where he re- 

 mained until 

 1806. During 

 this period of 

 officeheordered 

 the discontinu- 

 ance of the 

 rule enjoining 

 officers to en- 

 force the salute 

 from all foreign 

 vessels within 

 the king's seas, 

 an order in force since the reign 

 of John. 



In 1805 he became admiral, and 

 in 1807 sailed to the Baltic, bom- 

 barding Copenhagen and captur- 

 ing the Danish fleet. For this he 

 was raised to the peerage. In 1809 

 he commanded the Channel fleet 

 when Lord Cochrane attempted to 

 destroy the French fleet by fire- 

 ship?, an operation of which Gam- 

 bier disapproved so strongly that he 

 refused to help Cochrane, and him- 

 self demanded a court-martial for 

 his failure of duty. He was ac- 

 quitted, and retained his command 

 until 1811, being promoted ad- 

 miral of the fleet in 1830. He died 

 April 19, 1833. 



Gambit. Method of opening a 

 game of chess in which by the 

 sacrifice of a pawn or piece in one 

 of the early moves a player seeks 

 to obtain some advantage over 

 his opponent. There are vari- 

 ous gambits the king's gambit, 

 queen's gambit, king's knight's 

 gambit, etc. On the opponent 

 declining to take the piece offered, 

 it is called the " gambit declined." 

 The term comes from the Italian 

 phrase dare il gambetto, to trip up 

 (gamba, leg). See Chess. 



Gamble, SIR DOUGLAS AUSTIN 

 (b. 1856). British sailor. Born 

 Nov. 8, 1856, he entered the navy 

 in 1870. Lieu- 

 tenant, 1879, 

 and captain, 

 1899, he 

 reached the 

 rank of rear- 

 admiral in 

 1908. From 

 1893-96 he was 



a member of 

 Sir Douglas Gamble, , , 



British sailor tne naval m- 



Detenham telligence de- 



nartment. and naval adviser to the 



^ Y) X;^w^{"w> j 



Gambia. Map of the British colony and protectorate bordering the W. African 

 river of this name 



