616 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



bin Sa'eed, of Yemenite origin, who was elected 

 Imam in 1741. His family have since ruled. 

 The present Sultan is Seyyid Feysil bin Turki, 

 second son of the late Seyyid Turki bin Sa'eed 

 bin Sultan, who succeeded his father June -1. 

 1888, and was formally recognized by the British 

 Government. In the beginning of the present 

 century the power of the Imam of Oman ex- 

 tended over a large area of Arabia, the islands 

 in the Persian Gulf, a strip on the Persian coast, 

 and a long strip of the African coast south of 

 Cape Guardafui, including Socotra and Zanzibar. 

 On the death of Sultan Sa'eed in 1856, one son [ 

 proclaimed himself Sultan in Zanzibar and an- 

 other in Muscat. Eventually the rivals agreed 

 to submit their claims to the arbitration of Lord 

 Canning, Viceroy of India, who formally sepa- 

 rated the two sultanates. Subsequent troubles 

 curtailed the area of the state in Asia. The 

 closest relations have for years existed between 

 the Government of India and Oman and a British 

 consul and political agent resides at Maskat. 

 The revenue of the Sultan amounts to about 

 $250,000. The population is poor; inland the 

 Sultan's authority is merely nominal and there 

 is little security for life and property. 



Oregon. The Constitution adopted in 1859 

 is still in force, except as stated below. Amend- 

 ments proposed in and approved by the Legis- 

 lature are submitted to the next elected Legis- 

 lature, and if then approved are formally sub- 

 mitted to the people for ratification; but this 

 method of ratification is not exclusive (see below). 

 The Legislature or Legislative Assembly, con- 

 sists of a Senate of thirty members, chosen for 

 four years (half their number retiring every 

 two years), and a House of sixty Representa- 

 tives, elected for two years. Members of either 

 House must be 21 years of age and must 

 have resided in their county or district for 

 one year next before election. Bills for raising 

 revenue must originate in the House of Represent- 

 atives. The Constitution was amended in 1902, 

 under the terms of which amendment the people 

 reserve to themselves the power to propose laws 

 and amendments to the Constitution and to 

 enact or reject the same at the polls independent 

 of the Legislative Assembly, and also reserve 

 the power at their own option to approve or 

 reject at the polls any act of the Legislative 

 Assembly. This is known as the initiative and 

 referendum. Not more than eight per cent, of 

 the legal voters are required to propose any 

 measure to be voted upon by the people at the 

 next ensuing general election. Measures thus 

 initiated are enacted or rejected at the polls 

 independently of the Legislative Assembly. 

 Under the referendum, any bill passed by the 

 Legislative Assembly, except such as are for 

 the preservation of the public peace, health, 

 and safety, may, by petition signed by five per 

 cent, of the legal voters, be referred to the 

 people to be voted on for approval or rejection 

 at the next- ensuing general election. By 

 virtue of this provision several amendments 

 to the Constitution have been voted on, some 

 of which have been rejected and some adopted. 

 A number of laws have been enacted under 

 the initiative covering different subjects. The 

 chief executive officer of the State is the gov- 



ernor, who is elected for four years and exercises 

 the powers usually entrusted to governors, 

 including the pardoning power, and a limited 

 veto which does not extend to acts referred to 

 the people. Elective officers are the secretary 

 of state, treasurer, attorney-general, and super- 

 intnulent of public instruction, State printer, 

 and labor commissioner. There are thirty- 

 three counties in the State. 



Panama. The Republic of Panama was 

 constituted on November 3, 1903, having pre- 

 viously been a department of the Republic of 

 Colombia. The inhabitants of the Isthmus of 

 Panama being strongly in favor of the acquisi- 

 tion of the Panama Canal Concession by the 

 United States and the construction by them of 

 the canal, declared their independence. The 

 United States Government at once recognized 

 the new Republic, and concluded with it a treaty 

 on November 18, 1903, guaranteeing and agree- 

 ing to maintain its independence. Panama 

 then ratified the treaty. There is a President 

 elected for four years. The Chamber of Deputies 

 consists of thirty-two members elected for two 

 years. The Republic is divided into seven prov- 

 inces, each under a governor, with other 

 subordinate officials. 



Paraguay is a Republic, and is governed, 

 under a Constitution proclaimed in November, 

 1870, by a President elected for four years, a 

 Congress consisting of a Senate and a Chamber 

 Deputies, both elected by universal suffrage, 

 and five Ministers of State chosen by the Presi- 

 dent. The President has a salary of $9,500, 

 ministers of $3,000, and the Senators and Deputies 

 I each receive $1,000. The state religion is Roman 

 Catholic, but all others are tolerated. Educa- 

 tion is free and nominally compulsory. The 

 army numbers about 1,500 men, but every citi- 

 zen between 20 and 35 is liable to military 

 service. 



Pennsylvania. New Constitutions were 

 adopted in 1790 and 1838 and the one now in 

 force was adopted 1873, and amended 1901. 

 The legislative power is vested in a General 

 Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of 

 Representatives. General elections are held 

 biennally. The Senate consists of fifty mem- 

 bers chosen for four years, twenty-five Senators 

 being elected at each General Assembly election. 

 The House of Representatives consists of 204 

 members chosen for two years. Members of the 

 General Assembly must have been citizens and 

 inhabitants of the State four years and inhabit- 

 ants of their respective districts one year next 

 before their election^ Amendments to the Con- 

 stitution agreed to by a majority of each House, 

 approved by a majority in each House of Legisla- 

 ture next elected, and ratified by the electors at 

 a special election held for the purpose, become 

 part of the Constitution. The supreme execu- 

 tive power is vested in a governor who is elected 

 at the general election and holds office for four 

 years. He is not eligible for election for the 

 next succeeding term. He must be not less than 

 30 years of age and have been seven years resi- 

 dent in the State immediately before election; 

 he must not be a member of Congress nor can he 

 hold any office under the United States. His 

 duties include the command of the military and 



