NATIONAL CONFERENCE 382 NATIONAL OBSERVATORY Nations. V. Everit Macy retired as president of the Federation in 1919, and was succeeded by Judge Alton B. Parker. The official organ of the National Civic Federation is the "National Civic Feder- ation Review." NATIONAL CONEERENCE OP CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS, a national organization founded in 1874 to discuss problems of the administration of charity, and to promote progressive methods of dealing with dependents, de- fectives, and delinquents. An annual con- ference is held at which representatives of philanthropic private and State insti- tutions come together to consider reform legislation, and other problems of their work. The annual proceedings of the conference show the great advance which has been made in the United States in relief and correctional work. In recent years more attention has been paid to preventive and educational work, such as scholarships, vocational training, and minimum wage, social insurance, and health legislation. NATIONAL CONVENTION, in France, a legislative body constituted in the hall of the Tuileries, Sept. 17, and formally opened, Sept. 21, 1792, when M. Gregoire, at the head of the National Assembly, announced that that assembly had ceased its functions. It was then decreed, "That the citizens named by the French people to form the National Con- vention, being met to the number of 371, after having verified their powers, de- clare that the National Convention is constituted." This convention continued till a new constitution was organized, and the executive directory was installed at the Little Luxembourg, Nov. 1, 1795. The Chartists in England formed a Na- tional Convention in 1839. NATIONAL DEBT. See DEBT, NA- TIONAL. NATIONAL GALLERY, the principal depository of the pictures belonging to the British nation. The present build- ing, which was intended to accommodate the Royal Academy and National Gal- lery, stands in Trafalgar Square, Lon- don, and was finished in 1838 at a cost of $500,000. The collection is most valu- able to the student of art, and occupies more than 22 rooms. The various early and late Italian schools are extensively illustrated; there are good examples of the chief representatives of Italian art, as Raphael, Correggio, Paul Veronese. There are a few good examples of Mu- rillo and Velasquez and the Spanish school; and the great Dutch and Flemish painters, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, etc., are well represented. In the depart- ment of the "British and modern schools" the largest additions as yet made by pri- vate munificence are the gift of 157 pic- tures, made in 1847, the bequest of Jo- seph M. W. Turner, R. A., in 1856, the bequest of Henry Vaughan in 1900, and of George Galting in 1910. There are also national galleries of art in Edin- burgh and Dublin J the great public col- lections of Fans, Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Florence, Rome, etc., are men- tioned in the articles on those cities. NATIONAL GUARD. See MiLiTiA, State. NATIONAL MONUMENTS. On June 8, 1906, Congress passed a law which gave to the President power by proclama- tion to declare historic landmarks, and objects of historic or scenic interest that are on property controlled by the United States, National monuments. They are not materially different from National parks, except that Congress has never appropriated money for their mainte- nance nor created any especial commission to provide rules for them. Consequently they are distributed for the purposes of government between the Secretary of In- terior, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of Agriculture. Those con- trolled by the Secretary of Interior are: Natural Bridges, Utah (2,740 acres), containing the Augusta Bridge, El Mor- ro, N. M., an enormous rock on which the early Spanish explorers have carved in- scriptions* and Muir Woods, Cal. (295 acres). Under the control of the Secre- tary of War is Big Hole Battlefield, Mon- tana (5 acres). Under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture are: Grand Caiion, Ariz. (806,400 acres), Lassen Peak, Cal. (1,280 acres), Gila Cliff Dwellings, N. M. (160 acres), and Mount Olympus, Wash. (608,480 acres), a mountain area which is the breeding ground for great numbers of elk. NATIONAL OBSERVATORY, THE, a Government institution. Division of the Navigation Bureau of the Navy Depart' ment, Washington, D. C. Here the posi- tion of the sun, moon, planets, and stars is determined for "The American Ephem- erics and Nautical Almanac," and standard time is issued by radio and tele- graph at noon and 10 p. m. for naviga- tion, and the general public. The insti- tution also purchases, tests, and repairs instruments used in the navy, and con- ducts investigations of scientific and gen- eral interest. The observatory developed from the Chart and Instrument Depot of the Navy Department of 1838. Lieuten- ant Wilkes at his own expense built an
