GRAND ARMT OF THE REPUBLIC. 



329 



form part of the defensive system, and the 

 English fleet, in conjunction with the Italian 

 navy, will be able to guarantee the coasts and 

 the ports of Italy against a French descent. 



Colonies. There have been taken recently 

 under the protectorate of the Imperial Gov- 

 ernment the following territories in Africa: 

 (1) The territory of Togo on the Slave Coast, 

 with the districts of Porto Seguro and Little 

 Popo; (2) the territory of Cameroon, bound- 

 ed on the north by the right bank of the Rio 

 del Rey and on the south by the Campo river; 

 (3) the territory on the west coast of South Af- 

 rica, bounded by the left bank of the Counene 

 river on the north, and on the south the 

 Orange river, with the exception of Whale 

 Bay, and extending to territories in the in- 

 terior acquired by treaty ; (4) the territories 

 of the negro chiefs of Usagara, Nguru, Use- 

 guha, and Ukami, described in the patent of 

 protection issued on February 27, 1885 ; (5) 

 the territory of Vitou. 



On March 28, 1887, the territory of Victo- 

 ria, which was under the protectorate of Great 

 Britain, was formally handed over to the Ger- 

 man authorities to be thenceforth incorpo- 

 rated in the colony of Cameroon, in accordance 

 with an agreement between the two govern- 

 ments. 



In the Pacific ocean the protection of the 

 Emperor has been extended over the Marshall 

 Isles, which have an area of 110 square kilo- 

 metres and 10,000 inhabitants, and over the 

 regions acquired by the Company of New 

 Guinea. The latter comprise King William's 

 Land, situated on the northeast coast of New 

 Guinea, with an area of 179,250 square kilo- 

 metres, and 109,000 inhabitants; the Bismarck 

 Archipelago, with 52,200 square kilometres of 

 land surface, and 188,000 inhabitants; and the 

 portion of the Solomon Islands that is situated 

 north of the line of dernarkation agreed on be- 

 tween Great Britain and Germany on April 6, 

 1886, having an area of 22,000 square kilo- 

 metres, and about 80,000 inhabitants. 



GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. However 

 objectionable secret societies may be on gen- 

 eral principles, the fact of their wide-spread 

 existence is an indisputable proof of their 

 popularity. They are found in all nations and 

 under all conditions of civilization and barbar- 

 ism, and, after an ineffectual struggle to sup- 

 press them, even the most conservative of our 

 universities and colleges have been forced to 

 make the best of them and recognize their in- 

 fluence as one of the elements of social life that 

 must be accepted, and, if possible, converted to 

 good and useful ends. No combination of per- 

 sons can exist, indeed, without some interior 

 affairs of its own which it is not policy to give 

 to the world at large. 



It is not strange, therefore, that when the 

 idea of a society of veteran soldiers was first 

 conceived it should have been deemed wise to 

 organize it with a system of signs, grips, and 

 passwords, which may seem very unnecessary 



to outsiders, but have their uses in strengthen- 

 ing the bond that unites its membership. 



Springfield, Illinois, was the birthplace of 

 the Grand Army of the Republic, better known 

 by its initials as the G. A. R. During the win- 

 ter of 1865-'66, a considerable number of sol- 

 diers who had served in the armies of the 

 United States were gathered in"\he vicinity of 

 Springfield, and Dr. B. F. Stephenson, late 

 surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, 

 was so prominent in perfecting the organiza- 

 tion that to him belongs the credit of having 

 founded the now powerful, prosperous, and 

 well-organized association that numbers its 

 members by the hundred thousand. 



After much discussion among the original 

 projectors, it was decided that the element of 

 secrecy was best adapted to further the objects 

 of the order, and at the first regular meeting a 

 ritual was adopted, with- prescribed oaths and 

 ceremonies of initiation, and the association 

 was launched with a purpose that has been 

 most successfully carried out. 



The first post was formed in Decatur, Illinois, 

 on the night of April 6, 1866, and the entire 

 staff of compositors of the Decatur u Tribune " 

 being, as it happened, eligible to membership, 

 was mustered in. This enabled the young 

 fraternity to have its printing done with closed 

 doors, and four hundred copies of the ritual 

 were soon printed and bound for distribution. 

 The town was placarded with notices like the 

 following: u G. A. R., Post No. 1, Decatur, 

 April 6, 1866," and in a short time a large 

 proportion of the veterans in the neighborhood 

 had applied for membership. The objects of 

 the order, as publicly announced, were as 

 follow : 



First : To preserve and strengthen those kind 

 and fraternal feelings which bind together the 

 soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to 

 suppress the late rebellion, and to perpetuate 

 the history and memory of the dead. 



Second: To assist such former comrades-in- 

 arms as need help and protection, and to ex- 

 tend needful aid to the widows and orphans of 

 those who have fallen. 



Third : To maintain true allegiance to the 

 United States of America, based upon a par- 

 amount respect for and fidelity to the national 

 Constitution and laws ; to discountenance what- 

 ever tends to weaken loyalty, incites to insur- 

 rection, treason, and rebellion, or in any man- 

 ner impairs the efficiency or permanency of 

 our free institutions ; and to encourage the 

 spread of universal liberty, equal rights, and 

 justice to all men. 



The organization of Post No. 1, at Spring- 

 field, was soon followed by that of Post No. 2 

 at the same place, and Dr. Stephenson was 

 recognized as Provisional Commander-in-Chief. 

 In the mean time, other associations having the 

 same general end in view, seeing the advan- 

 tage of united action, dissolved their organi- 

 zations, and were duly received into the Grand 

 Army of the Republic. 



