the smallest of the United States of North America, lying between N. Lat. 41. 18. and 42. 3., W. Long. 71. 6. and 71. 55.; bounded on the N. and E. by Massachusetts, S. by the Atlantic, and W. by Connecticut. Its length from N. to S. is 47 miles; greatest breadth, 37.; area, 1306 square miles. The surface, though undulating and broken, rises in no place to the elevation of mountains, hardly even to what may be called hills; the highest point, Mount Hope, in the E. of the state, being only 300 feet above the sea. Narraganset Bay, a fine sheet of water, stretches northwards from the Atlantic, and divides the state into two unequal portions. Its length is about 30 miles, and its breadth about 12. It has various arms stretching into the land, especially on the eastern side. Among these are Mount Hope Bay, stretching to the N. E.; Providence Bay, to the N.; and Greenwich Bay, to the N.W. The greater part of the state lies to the W. of this inlet, a small portion to the E., and some part is composed of the islands in the bay. Rhode Island, which has given its name to the state, has a length of 15 miles, an average breadth of 3, and an area of about 50 square miles. The fertility of its soil, and mildness and salubrity of its climate, have made this a favourite place of resort, and obtained for it the appellation of the Eden of America. To the W. of it lies the island of Canonicut, to the N.W. Prudence Island; while Block Island, in the Atlantic, about 10 miles off the coast, also belongs to this state. The rivers that water the state are of no great length or volume, but flow with a considerable fall and a steady supply of water, so as to afford good water-power. Providence River, flowing southwards from Massachusetts into the north arm of Narraganset Bay, with its affluents the Pawtucket and Pawtuxet, and the Pawcatuck, which waters the S.W. of the state, and falls into Stonington harbour in Connecticut, are the principal streams that flow through Rhode Island state. The mineral resources of the country are not of much importance. Iron, anthracite coal, limestone, marble, and serpentine have been obtained here; but no mines, and only a few quarries, are worked. The continental part of the state has a soil composed of gravelly loam, which is pretty fertile, though somewhat difficult of cultivation. On the islands, where the formation is in general slaty, the soil is more productive. Throughout the state the soil is more suitable for grazing and dairy farming than for the plough. Rhode Island itself is celebrated for its cattle and sheep, butter and cheese. The whole extent of cultivated land in the state amounted in 1850 to 356,487 acres, and the produce was 539,201 bushels of maize, 215,232 of oats, 651,029 of potatoes, 5036 of grass seeds, 129,692 lb. of wool, 995,670 lb. of butter, 316,508 lb. of cheese, and 74,818 tons of hay; besides more or less of rye, barley, wheat, pulse, hops, &c. The value of orchard fruits amounted to L13,328, that of market products to L20,475, that of live stock to L319,293; and that of slaughtered animals to L189,056. Oak, chestnut, walnut, and pine trees are the chief kinds of timber grown in the state; but there are no extensive forests. The climate is mild and temperate, not unlike that of Great Britain, the vicinity of the ocean tending to moderate the heat of the summer and the severity of the winter. Manufacturing industry is extensively developed in Rhode Island, and is assisted by the great amount of water-power in the country. It contained in 1850, 1144 establishments, each producing goods upwards of L100 in value. Among these were 158 cotton factories, with an aggregate capital of L1,335,000, employing 4959 men and 5916 women, consuming L755,950 worth of raw materials, and producing goods to the value of L1,343,147; 45 woollen factories, with a capital of L202,600, employing 987 men and 771 women, consuming L292,780 worth of raw materials, and producing goods valued at L496,209; 21 forges, furnaces, &c., with a capital of L127,200, employing 1020 men, consuming L77,085 worth of raw materials, and producing 11,208 tons of cast and wrought iron, valued at L198,144; several breweries and distilleries; and 10 taneries, with a capital of L8380, consuming L8460 worth of raw material, and producing manufactured leather to the value of L16,682. In the manufacture of cotton this state is, in proportion to its population, the first, and in that of woollen stuffs the second among the states of the Union. Ship-building is not so much attended to now as it once was, owing to the failure of the necessary supply of timber. An active commerce is carried on, both with foreign countries and with the seaports of the United States. Cotton and woollen stuffs, along with apples, cheese, and butter, form the principal articles exported. The value of the imports in 1852 was L42,017, and that of the exports L37,325. The number of vessels built in the year was 14, tonnage 3205; the total tonnage of those owned in the state 41,049, of those that entered 20,550, and of those that cleared 16,929. Many of the ships are employed in the whale, cod, and mackerel fishery. Internal communication is provided for by railways, of which there were in January 1857, 65 miles in operation, connecting Providence the capital, with the chief towns in the adjacent states. There are in Rhode Island 93 banks, 38 of which are in Providence, besides 18 savings-banks, containing in May 1855 deposits to the amount of more than a million sterling. The executive power is vested in a governor, elected annually by the people, along with a lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor, appointed in the same way. The salary of the governor is L200. Legislative power is in the hands of a general assembly, consisting of a senate, composed of the governor, lieutenant-governor, and a member from each of the 32 towns in the state, and a house of representatives of 72 members. The right of voting, and of being elected to public office or membership of the legislature, is granted to every citizen of the United States owning real estate to the value of L27, or L1, 8s. a year. The judicial establishments consist of a supreme court and a court of common pleas; the former consists of one chief and three associate justices; the latter is held by one member of the supreme court in each county of the state. There is a state prison and a jail at Providence. Considerable attention is paid by the government to education. There is a university at Providence, which is in a flourishing condition. Besides this, there were, in 1850, 46 academies, with 75 teachers and 1601 scholars; and 416 primary public schools, with 518 teachers and 23,130 scholars. A normal school and a reformatory school are supported by the state; and there is a permanent school fund of L15,391. There were in the state, according to the census of 1850, in all 221 places of worship, with 98,736 sittings; of the former, 100 belonged to Baptists, 26 to Episcopalians, 23 to Methodists, 21 to Congregationalists, 18 to Quakers, 7 each to Roman Catholics and Christians, 4 each to the Union Church, Unitarians, and Universalists, 2 each to Swedenborgians and the Free Church, and 1 each to Jews, Mariners, and Second Adventists. The total amount of taxable property in Rhode Island in 1855 was L23,161,490. The country was originally occupied by the Narraganset Indians, and was first colonized by Europeans in 1636. Roger Williams, expelled from Massachusetts on account of his religious and political opinions, descended the Pawtucket, and settled on a piece of land which he bought from the Indians, and called Providence, in acknowledgment of "God's merciful providence to him in his dis- Rhodes." He was soon joined by a number of settlers; and he not only was among the first who allowed perfect liberty of conscience to men of all religions, but did much to enlighten and elevate the natives, whom he restrained by his mild influence from many acts of violence against his former persecutors. Two years afterwards another settlement was formed at Newport, by William Coddington and seventeen others, who had also been expelled from Massachusetts. Other settlements were subsequently formed; and these were united under the title of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and received a charter from Charles II. in 1663. This being one of the most liberal granted in America remained in force for 180 years. For a long time after the settlement of the colony, the prosperity and happiness of its people is attested by the barrenness of its annals in events. But in the revolutionary war the state played a conspicuous part. From the beginning of the contest Rhode Island was resolutely opposed to the British claims, and sent delegates to the first Congress in 1765. In 1776 a strong British force, under Clinton and Parker, sailed from New York, and occupied Rhode Island, blockading in the harbour of Providence the squadron of Commodore Hopkins. The Americans laid siege to Newport in 1778, but without success; and during their retreat an indecisive action took place at Quaker Hill. In 1779 Newport was abandoned by the British; and in the following year a French force arrived here, and the country was not further molested by the British. Rhode Island was the last of the original states to agree to the constitution, and only did so in 1790. To the war with Britain in 1812 the majority in this state was opposed; and like the neighbouring states it gave no support to the arms of the Union. In 1840 an association was formed for the purpose of amending the state constitution, and they called a convention for this purpose. A new constitution was framed, and supported by a party in the state; but owing to the illegality with which it had been prepared, was not recognised by the government, who proceeded, by another convention, to draw up a second constitution. The general excitement that prevailed, and the attempts of the suffrage party, as they were called who supported the illegal constitution, to obtain the government, prevented the other scheme from coming into operation; but their designs were finally frustrated, and a third constitution framed, which was agreed to nearly unanimously in 1844. Rhode Island is divided into five counties as follows:

| County | Pop. (1856) | Capitals | |------------|-------------|----------| | Bristol | 8,514 | Bristol | | Kent | 15,068 | E. Greenwich | | Newport | 20,007 | Newport | | Providence | 87,525 | Providence | | Washington | 16,439 | Kingston |

Total: 147,544