a town of Prussia, government of Coblenz, on the right bank of the Rhine, here crossed by a suspension-bridge, 7 miles N.N.W. of Coblenz. It is regularly built, in the form of a square; and the streets, which are broad and straight, intersect one another at right angles. At the west end, near the Rhine, stands the palace of the Prince of Wied, a fine building surrounded by gardens, and containing an extensive library and collections of Roman antiquities and of natural history; the latter of which was made by Prince Maximilian of Wied in North America and Brazil. Neuwid has one Roman Catholic and three Protestant churches, a synagogue, several schools, infirmaries, &c. The manufactures of the place are considerable, and consist of silk, cotton, wool, leather, hats, carpets, tobacco, chicory, hardware, beer, brandy, vinegar, &c. A large trade is carried on in manufactured articles, and also in pipe-clay, timber, iron, lead, corn, wine, and other products of the neighbouring country. The town was founded in the first half of the eighteenth century, upon the principle of affording complete toleration to every religious sect; and it rapidly rose to a flourishing condition, being peopled by Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Moravians, &c. The principality of Wied was for a long time independent, but was annexed to Prussia in 1814. Pop. 6559.

NEVA, a river of Russia, flows from Lake Ladoga to the Baltic, into which it discharges itself by several mouths at St Petersburg, after a course of about 40 miles. It forms the only outlet of the four lakes of Onega, Ilmen, Saima, and Ladoga; and owing to the vast extent of these sheets of water, that of Ladoga being the largest in Europe, it conveys an immense quantity of water to the sea. Its average breadth is 1500 feet, its depth about 50 feet; and, flowing with a velocity of 37 inches per second, it has been calculated to carry to the Gulf of Finland 116,000 cubic feet of water in a second. Such a body of water, moving at such a rate, would be exempt from the influences of frost, were it not for the long continuance of the winter, and the quantities of ice which are drifted down from the lakes by the violent storms to which they are subject. Owing to the combination of these circumstances, the river is generally frozen for four or five months in the year. The following are the dates of the opening and closing of the river by ice for each year from 1851 to 1856:

| Year | Opening | Closing | Duration of Freezing | |------|---------------|---------------|----------------------| | 1851 | April 18th | December 4th | 158 days | | 1852 | May 10th | October 29th | | | 1853 | April 28th | November 30th | 181 | | 1854 | April 26th | November 21st | 147 | | 1855 | April 19th | November 23rd | 149 | | 1856 | April 30th | November 10th | 159 |

NEVADA SIERRA. See Spain.

NEVERS, a town of France, capital of the department of Nièvre, stands on the right bank of the Loire, at its confluence with the Nièvre, 153 miles S.S.E. of Paris. It is built on the slope of a hill, and has a fine appearance when seen from the opposite side of the river; but the streets are narrow, steep, irregular, and dirty. Of the walls and towers that formerly defended the town some remains are still to be seen, and one of the old gates, called the Porte du Croux, still remains. The cathedral, a building of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, stands at the top of the hill. It has a heavy appearance outside, but the interior is richly carved; and the choir contains some fine painted glass and old tapestry. The Romanesque church of St Stephen, built in 1063, is the oldest in Nevers. There are two other old churches, one of which is now used as a warehouse, and the other as a brewery. The former palace of the dukes of Nevers is now the town-hall, and the park behind it has been converted into a public garden. The town is entered from Paris by a triumphal arch, erected to commemorate the victory of the French at Fontenoy in 1745. Nevers also contains an arsenal, barracks, a college, several schools, a public library, and a society of agriculture, science, and art. It is the seat of a prefecture, of a bishopric, of a court of first resort, and of a court of commerce. The manufactures of Nevers are very considerable; that of pottery has been carried on here for eight centuries, and employs about 700 hands. Cannon and shot, chain-cables, anchors, massive machinery, implements of husbandry, violin-strings, glue, candles, beer, vinegar, ropes, and other articles are also made here. The trade of the place is also considerable; and there is a good harbour here on the river.

1 Articles which form a considerable part of the produce of a country, though contraband of war, have sometimes been allowed to be conveyed in neutral ships. But even in that case belligerents have been accustomed to detain them, not for confiscation, but for pre-emption. (Robinson's Admiralty Reports, i. 244.)

2 For an account of this famous case, see Robinson's Admiralty Reports, i. pp. 340-379. In an elaborate argument, Sir William Scott (afterwards Lord Stowell) states, with his usual ability, but with too sensible a bias, the reasons for his judgment. Its legality was questioned in a tract by Mr J. F. W. Schlegel, professor at Copenhagen, translated into English, and published in London in 1801. Schlegel was answered by Dr Croke in a tract entitled Remarks on Mr Schlegel's Work on the Visitation of Neutral Vessels under Convoy, published in the course of the same year. Timber, iron, steel, coal, wool, leather, wine, cattle, and manufactured goods form the chief articles of commerce. The town is ancient, and is mentioned by Caesar, under the name of Noviodunum. Here that general, in 52 B.C., fixed his head-quarters, and here he left his hostages, supplies, baggage, and military chest. After his defeat at Gergovia, the people of Noviodunum rose against the Romans, massacred all of them who were in the town, and plundered the stores. The place was afterwards called Neivirnum, whence the modern name is derived. It was formerly the capital of a county, which was raised by Francis I. to the rank of a duchy. It was united to the crown of France by Charles III. of Gonzaga, the last duke, who sold the duchy in 1665 to Cardinal Mazarin. It then formed the province of Nivernais. Pop. (1856) 16,082.

NEVIN, or NEFS, a town of Wales, Carnarvonshire, on the shore of Carnarvon Bay, 20 miles S.S.W. of the town of Carnarvon. The town is ill built. It has a parish church, several chapels, and a number of schools. Some trade is carried on by steam navigation with Liverpool in agricultural produce. Edward I. held a festival and tournament here, soon after his conquest of Wales; and the position of the lists can still be traced. Pop. (1851) 1854.

NEVIS, one of the Leeward Islands, in the West Indies, is situated in N. Lat. 17. 10., W. Long. 62. 42. It has an area of about 20 square miles; and consists of a single conical mountain, rising to the height of 2500 feet above the sea, and surrounded by a tract of flat, fertile, and well-cultivated land. Nevis is well watered by streams and rivulets. It was formerly thickly wooded, and even now timber is plentiful on the island, especially on the higher parts of the mountain. The surface, from the shore to a considerable height, is occupied by sugar plantations; and though the soil of the higher districts is less fertile, the climate is not so warm, and many European vegetables are successfully cultivated. The island has no harbours, but there are three roadsteads, the best of which is that of Charlestown, the capital, which stands on the shore of a large bay. Nevis contained in 1850, 380 horses, 2110 horned cattle, 1605 sheep, and 351 mules. Sugar, molasses, and rum are the chief articles of produce; and these, along with live stock, furnish the principal exports of the island. The value of the exports in 1854 was L32,794, and of imports in the same year L20,933. Beef, pork, meal, flour, and cotton and linen stuffs are the principal articles imported. The number of vessels that entered in 1854 was 86, and their tonnage 4921; of those that cleared 85, and their tonnage 4518. The government is in the hands of a president, who is subject to the governor-in-chief of Antigua; and there is a council of seven, and a representative assembly of nine members. For ecclesiastical purposes, the island is divided into five parishes; and there is a Wesleyan mission, which has been in operation here since 1789. There were in 1854 fourteen schools, attended by 1707 scholars; but though the state of education is thus far satisfactory, the instruction is of a somewhat superficial and unpractical character. No government aid is given to the schools. There is an hospital on the island for the poor and infirm, which receives an annual grant of L150. The revenue in 1854 amounted to L3875, and the expenditure to L4123.

This island was discovered by Columbus, and named by him after the mountain Nieves in Spain, to which it bore some resemblance. It was first settled by the British in 1628 from the neighbouring island of St Kitt's, and soon rose to a high pitch of prosperity and importance; but in the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century it suffered severely from the ravages of an epidemic, the hostilities of the French, and the devastation of a hurricane. Nevis afterwards gradually regained its prosperity; but since the emancipation of the slaves it has been gradually declining; the proprietors, from their aversion to that measure, having endeavoured to preserve as much as possible of the old system, which had ceased to be applicable or beneficial in the present state of society, instead of adopting a system suitable to the changed state of affairs. The absence of any law respecting the relations of master and servant produces mutual distrust; and the acquisition of wealth by the Negroes is still discouraged by their employers. The white population does not exceed 60 adult males; while the whole population is estimated at more than 10,000.