Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/44

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COKE COLBERT (1792) ; " A Commentary on the Holy Scrip- tures " (6 vols. 4to, 1807); "History of the West Indies " (3 vols., 1808-'!!) ; " History of the Bible," and "Defence of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith and the Witness of the Holy Spirit." COKE, Thomas William, earl of Leicester of Holkham, an English agriculturist, born May 4, 1752, died June 30, 1842. He was regard- ed, after the death of the duke of Bedford, as the first, agriculturist in the kingdom. His estate of Holkham, in Norfolk, the rental of which he raised in the period of some 60 years that it was in his possession from 2,000 to above 20,000, was the pride of the county. His annual sheep shearing, at which he en- tertained hundreds of guests for several days, was reckoned the greatest agricultural festival in the world. His methods of cultivation were based upon scientific principles. He in- troduced choice breeds of cattle and the rota- tion of crops, and recommended the extensive planting of turnips. He represented the county of Norfolk in parliament, with a brief interval, from 1776 to 1832. An intense hatred of tory- isra constituted almost the whole of his political system, but he spoke little except when agricul- tural measures were before the house. In 1837 he was created earl of Leicester of Holkham. Sixty years before he had been twice offered a peerage ; but he refused to accept anything but the earldom of Leicester, which had been held by his maternal great-uncle, whose estates he inherited, but not his title, which had mean- time been given to another person. As this earldom was still held by Marquis Townshend, the title was varied for Mr. Coke by the addi- tion of the name of his own estate. COLAPOOR, or Rolapoor. I. A rajahship of Bombay presidency, British India, bounded N. and K E. by Sattara, E. and S. by Belgaum, and W. by the Ghauts ; area, 3,445 sq. m. ; pop., including dependencies, about 500,000, mostly Mahrattas and Rainooses. The latter are a predatory, warlike tribe, resembling the Bheels, to whom, however, they are superior in intelli- gence. The people of certain maritime towns formerly subject to the rajah were much ad- dicted to piracy, and in 1765 the Bombay gov- ernment undertook to check them by sending an expedition against Colapoor. The fort of Malwan was captured, but the evil was not en- tirely suppressed till 1812. The country was af- terward repeatedly occupied by British troops. In 1842 the government was confided to an agent of the British, against whom a general rebellion was aroused in 1844. The rising was put down, and the control of the state was thenceforth exercised directly by the British in the name of the rajah. II. The capital of the rajahship, situated in a secluded valley, little visited by Europeans, 185 m. S. S. E. of Bom- bay, and 130 m. S. of Poonah. It is fortified, though with little strength. The first decided outbreak in the Bombay presidency, during the rebellion of 1857, occurred here. COLBERG, or Kolberg, a town of Pomerania, Prussia, in the circle and 24 m. W. of the city of Koslin, on the Persante, near its mouth in the Baltic ; pop. in 1872, 13,130, exclusive of a garrison of about 1,600 men. It possesses a harbor called Miinde, and contains a cathedral, an ancient ducal castle, now used for a char- itable institution, several churches, hospitals, factories, salt works, distilleries, extensive sal- mon and lamprey fisheries, and considerable export trade. The town house and aqueduct are worthy of note. Colberg has a gymnasium and a house of correction, and is noted for its sea bathing. It is memorable for the sieges it stood in 1760 and again in 1761 against the Russians, to whom it capitulated in the latter year, and in 1806-'7 against the French, when it was successfully defended by Gneisenau. In February, 1873, the government proposed to dismantle the fortress. COLBERT, a N. W. county of Alabama, re- cently formed from a portion of Franklin coun- ty, bounded N. by the Tennessee river, and W. by Mississippi; pop. in 1870, 12,537, of whom 4,639 were colored. It is intersected by Big Bear creek and other affluents of the Tennessee. The Memphis and Charleston rail- road passes through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 12,682 bushels of wheat, 291,402 of Indian corn, 14,347 of oats, and 3,986 bales of cotton. There were 1,190 horses, 799 mules and asses, 1,623 milch cows, 2,699 other cattle, 2,735 sheep, and 8,267 swine. Capital, Tus- cumbia. COLBERT. I. Jean Baptist*, marquis de Sei- gnelay, a French statesman, born at Rheims, Aug. 29, 1619, died in Paris, Sept. 6, 1683. The son of a merchant, he obtained employ- ment as a clerk in an Italian banking house at Paris, at the recommendation of Mazarin, who soon after intrusted him with the management of his private affairs. On his deathbed the cardinal said to Louis XIV. : " Sire, I am in- debted to you for all that I possess ; but I think I am requiting all your majesty's favors by giv- ing you Colbert." At once admitted to the king's confidence, he began by exposing the maladministration of Fouquet, whom he suc- ceeded in 1661 as comptroller general. Col- bert's administration became a blessing to France. Order was restored in the finances, the revenue was increased, and the treasury was enabled to furnish the means for foreign wars as well as for internal improvements. The public debt was greatly reduced, and the manufacturing interest was revived. Several large manufactories were established at the ex- pense of the government, the most celebrated of which was that of the Gobelins. Land taxes were lessened and more justly assessed ; the excise upon salt was reduced ; highways and roads were kept in repair, and new ones estab- lished ; the Atlantic was united to the Medi- terranean by the canal of Languedoc, and water communications were extended through nearly all parts of France. He was appointed