CONGRESS ocracy" (written from a German standpoint and translated by Mrs. H. 0. Conant) ; Clark's " Congregational Churches of Massachusetts;" Felt's "Ecclesiastical History of New Eng- land;" Curaraing's "Dictionary of Congrega- tional Usages and Principles;" Sawyer's "Or- ganic Christianity of the Church of God;" Coleman's "Primitive Church;" Wellman's "Church Polity of the Pilgrims;" and Dex- ter's " Congregationalism." CONGRESS, in international politics, an as- sembly of the sovereigns or plenipotentiaries of several states to determine questions and con- cert measures of common interest. The term is of modern origin, the earliest important European congress having been that of Mini- ster and Osnabriick, which assembled in 1644, and concluded the peace of Westphalia in 1648. The subsequent congresses or conferences of most general interest have been those of the Pyrenees (1659), of Nimeguen (1676-'79), of Ryswick (1697), of Utrecht (1712-'13), of Aix- la-Chapelle (1748), of Teschen (1779), of Ra- stadt (1797-'99), of Erfurt (1808), of Chatil- lon (1814), of Vienna (1814-'15), of Aix-la- Chapelle (1818), of Carlsbad (1819) and Trop- pau (1820), of Laybach (1821), of Verona (1822), and of Paris (1856). The term con- gress is also sometimes given to literary and scientific associations. It is also the designa- tion of the combined senate and house of repre- sentatives which make the legislative branch of the government of the United States and the Spanish American republics, and of the house of representatives in the Spanish cortes. CONGREVE, William, an English dramatist, born at Bardsey, near Leeds, in February, 1670, died in London, Jan. 19, 1729. He re- ceived his early education in Ireland, and pro- posed to study law, but applied himself to wri- ting for the stage. His first comedy, "The Old Bachelor," was received with great favor at the Drury Lane theatre in 1693. In the following year appeared " The Double Dealer ;" in 1695, "Love for Love;" and in 1697, his tragedy of " The Mourning Bride." The open- ing line of the latter, " Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," has often been quo- ted ; and Dr. Johnson considered the description of a cathedral which occurs in the play as the most poetical in the whole range of the English drama. His writings have been severely cen- sured for their licentiousness ; but his comedies abound in witty dialogue and lively incident ; they secured for him a high reputation, and the admiration of Dryden and of Pope, the latter of whom dedicated to him his translation of the Iliad. Disappointed at the unfavorable reception of his last comedy, " The Way of the World " (1700), and worried by a contest with Jeremy Collier in regard to the morality of the English stage, he became disgusted and ceased to write plays. The munificence of Lord Halifax had placed him in easy circum- stances. He had appointments in the public service worth 600 a year, and afterward he CONI 247 obtained the office of secretary for Jamaica, which raised his emoluments to 1,200. He wished to forget that he was an author ; and when Voltaire waited upon him while he was in London, and took occasion to compliment his works, Congreve said that he would rather be considered a private gentleman than an au- thor. " If you had been merely a gentleman," retorted Voltaire, " I should not have come to visit you." He was on intimate terms with the duchess of Marlborough, to whom he be- queathed the bulk of his fortune, amounting to about 10,000; and she dedicated a monu- ment to him, and showed her regard for him in the most eccentric fashion. He was interred in Westminster abbey, the pall being borne by some of the most distinguished noblemen of England. Besides plays, his works comprise a romance and miscellaneous poems. A fine edition of his complete works, printed by Bas- kerville, appeared in Birmingham in 1761, and several others subsequently ; the latest of these, edited by Leigh Hunt (London, 1849), gave oc- casion for Macaulay's essay on "The Comic Dramatists of the Restoration." His comedies have been translated into French and German. CONGREVE, Sir William, an English engineer, born at Woolwich, May 20, 1772, died in Tou- louse, May 15, 1828. In 1804, being then an artillery officer, he invented the rocket known by his name, which was used for the first time against Boulogne in 1806. He rose to the rank of general of artillery, succeeded his father as superintendent of the royal laboratory at Woolwich, and was member of parliament suc- cessively for Gatton and Plymouth. He wrote an " Elementary Treatise on the Mounting of Naval Ordnance" (1812), and a "Description of the Hydro-pneumatic Lock " for sluices and canals (1815). He invented improved processes of manufacturing gunpowder, amalgamating metals, and printing bank notes, and gave some attention toward a new mode of propelling ships. It is said that, foreseeing a war in the East, he submitted to the British government two plans, the one to defend, the other to reduce Constantinople, according as England might side with or against the Turks. Hav- ing become implicated in some questionable financial operations, he retired to the conti- nent, where he remained till his death. CONI, or Cnnco. I. A province of Italy, in Piedmont, bordering on France and the prov- inces of Turin, Alessandria, Genoa, and Porto Maurizio; area, 2,755 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 616,817. About one half of the surface is level and the rest hilly and mountainous. The Ligurian and Maritime, and in the west the Cottian Alps, extend down into the province. It is traversed by the southern affluents of the Po, the most important of which is the Tanaro. Among the chief products are wheat, maize, mulberries, hemp, rice, and silk. In the moun- tains considerable cattle breeding and mining are carried on. The province is divided into the districts of Alba, Coni, Mondovi, and Sa-
