374 



LIBERIA. 



and invalid. The suit was dismissed by the lower 

 court, and on appeal the action was sustained 

 by Chief-Justice Holt, Judges Pryor and Lewis 

 concurring. Judge Bennett dissented and 

 brought in a minority opinion. Justice Holt, in 

 conclusion, said: 



If through error of opinion the convention exceeded 

 its power, and the people are dissatisfied, they have 

 ample remedy without the judiciary being asked to 

 overstep the proper limits of its power. The instru- 

 ment provides for amendment and change. If a 

 wrong has been done, it can, and the proper way in 

 which it should, be remedied is by the people acting 

 as a body politic. A new constitution lias been 

 formed and promulgated according to the forms of 

 law. Great interests have already arisen under it; 

 important rights exist by virtue of it ; persons have 

 been convicted of the highest crimes known to law 

 according to its provisions ; the political power of the 

 Government has in many ways recognized it ; and un- 

 der such circumstances it is our duty to treat and 

 regard it as a valid Constitution, and now the organic 

 law of our Commonwealth. 



Political. The Democratic State Conven- 

 tion met at Louisville on May 25 to elect dele- 

 gates to the National Convention. The party 

 opposed to the nomination of Mr. Cleveland 

 gained a victory in the choice of temporary 

 chairman by a vote of 427 to 290. The platform 

 approved the principles of the Democratic na- 

 tional platform of 1888 ; condemned the princi- 

 ples of the Republican party as exemplified in 

 its iniquitous tariff legislation, its advocacy of 

 the " force bill," and its wastefulness of the pub- 

 lic funds; called for tariff reform and an eco- 

 nomical administration of the Government ; de- 

 manded a sound and stable currency composed 

 of or redeemable in gold and silver, and declared 

 it to be the mission of the Democratic party to 

 preserve the parity in value of gold and silver 

 dollars, and to provide the means by appropri- 

 ate legislation for the free coinage of silver with- 

 out detriment to any business interest and to 

 the great relief of overtaxed and debt-ridden 

 people. 



The platform further denounced the Republic- 

 an party for the demonetization of silver ; con- 

 demned its subsequent legislation in regard to 

 silver coinage ; heartily approved the Democratic 

 administration of Grover Cleveland, and sent the 

 Kentucky delegation to Chicago uninstructed for 

 any candidate. 



The Republican State Convention met in April. 

 The resolutions affirmed its " full admiration of 



and adherence to the past history and to the pres- 

 ent principles and policy of the Republican par- 

 ty," approved the McKinley tariff bill and the 

 system of reciprocity as now inaugurated by the 

 party, and the earnest maintenance of the honor 

 and dignity of this republic in its relations to 

 and with foreign nations, and opposed the free 

 and unlimited coinage of silver, and recom- 

 mended its delegates to vote for the renomina- 

 tion of President Harrison. 



The total vote for President in November was 

 340,732, a falling off of 4,068 from the number 

 in 1888. It was divided as follows : Cleveland, 

 175,424; Harrison, 135,420; Weaver, 23,503; 

 Bidwell, 6,385 ; total, 340,732 ; Cleveland's plu- 

 rality, 40,004. 



Of the 11 Congressmen, 10 are Democrats. 



KNIGHTS OF INDUSTRY, an organiza- 

 tion formed in New York city in January, 1892, 

 not as a rival to the Knights of Labor, but to sup- 

 plement the work of that organization by politi- 

 cal action. The rules of the Knights of Labor 

 and other labor iinions prevent the members 

 from using the influence of the unions in politi- 

 cal work. The new body is intended mainly for 

 political purposes. Its aim is to protect Ameri- 

 can labor, and capital as well, from the com- 

 petition of foreign and domestic cheap goods 

 and cheap labor, and also from prison or con- 

 vict labor. Efforts are made to reconcile the 

 ideas of the capitalist with those of the laborer, 

 and the laborers favor those manufacturers who 

 agree to employ members of American working- 

 men's unions. It is proposed to establish a labor 

 bureau, where will be printed and published 

 many documents written by union men belong- 

 ing to the various trades. The documents will be 

 forwarded to all parts of the country, and will 

 be circulated in factories and shops by delegates. 

 The central council will establish branches in all 

 large cities of the United States, hold meetings, 

 distribute documents, and organize the working- 

 men for political action. Delegates will be sent 

 to conventions of the Republican and Demo- 

 cratic parties, and requests will be made that 

 certain planks shall be put into the platforms. 

 These will include protection to American labor 

 and capital, reduction of the hours of labor, de- 

 mands for legislation in favor of factory-inspec- 

 tion bills, against child, prison, and convict labor, 

 and in favor of a system of arbitration and prof- 

 it sharing that will tend to unite capital and 

 labor and do away with strikes. 



L 



LIBERIA, a republic on the west coast of 

 Africa. It was originally founded bv the efforts 

 of the American Colonization Society, which 

 purchased a tract near Cape Montserrado from 

 the native chiefs in 1820, for the purpose of 

 giving an opportunity to liberated slaves from 

 the United States to settle under conditions of 

 equality that were denied to them in America. 

 (For a general description, see " Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia " for 1887.) 



Finances. The revenue for 1888 was offi- 

 cially estimated at 35,000, and expenditure at 

 33,000. The chief expenses of the Government 



are for civil administration. In 1885 a revenue 

 of 40,000 was collected, and the expenditure 

 was 32,500. The chief source of revenue is the 

 customs. The debt contracted in 1891, includ- 

 ing arrears of interest, amounts to 200,000. 



Commerce. The chief exports are coffee, 

 palm oil, palm nuts, cacao, sugar, camwood, 

 gold dust, arrowroot, ivory, and hides. The 

 Liberian coffee is much esteemed. In 1889 the 

 quantity exported exceeded 1,000,000 pounds, of 

 which half went to Germany. The exports and 

 imports together are supposed to amount to 

 about 500,000. The trade is increasing with 



