160 SOMAULI sor Selim II. By the Turks he was surnamed the Legislator (Kanuni), and the Kanun Na- meh, or code of laws and regulations, drawn up under his direction, formed the basis for a long period of the Turkish administration of government and justice. He was also a patron of literature and art; in his reign the use of the Turkish language in literature superseded that of the Persian. SOM U I.I, or Soinal. the general name of the tribes inhabiting that portion of Africa S. of the gulf of Aden, and extending from Cape Guardafui and the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb to the Doho river. The eastern tribes are called Burri, the western Gulbedh. The prin- eastern tribes are the Midjertheyn, the ..ursumgalli, and Dulbhanta; the principal western, the Habr Awal, the Habr Tul Jaala, and the Habr Gerhajis. The eastern tribes are generally peaceable and orderly, the west- ern savage and warlike. They are all Moham- medans, and are very superstitious, believing in charms and witchcraft. They live gener- ally in houses made of mats. Slavery exists among them. In war they use shields, spears, bows, and poisoned arrows. Their principal articles of trade are various kinds of gums, tragacanth, myrrh, and especially frankincense. They are generally governed by chiefs, who however have little power. The characters and modes of life of the various tribes differ greatly. Their language is a mixture of Arabic and Galla words, and the race is supposed to be of the same mixed origin. SOMERS, John, lord, an English statesman, born in Worcester, March 4, 1651, died April 26, 1716. He was educated at Trinity college, Oxford, and in 1676 was called to the bar at the Middle Temple, but remained some years longer at the university, publishing several po- litical pamphlets, and a variety of metrical and prose versions from classical authors. He be- gan to practise law in London in 1682, acquired great professional eminence, and became a leader of the whig party. He represented Worcester in the convention which met in January, 1689, and was a member of the two committees (acting as chairman of the second) which prepared the "Declaration of Eight." In 1689 he was appointed solicitor general and knighted, in 1692 attorney general, in 1693 lord keeper of the great seal, and in 1697 lord chan- cellor, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Somers of Evesham. After ineffectual atu-uipts to fasten upon him a charge of mal- administration, and also of complicity in the piracies of Capt. Kidd, whom he had helped fit out a ship to capture pirates, an unsuccess- ful motion was made in the house of commons April 10, 1700, that the king should be re- quested to dismiss him. But his absence by illness from the debates upon a measure dis- tasteful to William, assumed to be by design induced the king on the 17th of the same month to remove him. In the next year an attempt was made lo impeach Somers on 14 distinct SOMERSET charges, the most important of which referred to an illegal issue at the king's request of blank commissions under the great seal for the pur- pose of negotiating certain treaties, to his al- leged complicity with Kidd, and to his acqui- sition of various unreasonable grants from the crown in addition to the salary and fees of his office ; but the commons declined to prosecute the impeachment, and he recovered the favor of the king, whose last speech to parliament was written by him. On the accession of the whigs to power in 1708, Somers was appointed president of the council, and held the office until the return of Harley and the tories in 1710. Subsequently he participated in legis- lative duties until his death, which happened from apoplexy. A number of original letters and papers, illustrating his life and character, perished by fire in 1752. The so-called " Som- ers Tracts" (16 vols. 4to, l748-'52; new ed. by Sir Walter Scott, 13 vols. 4to, 1809-'15) consist of pamphlets selected chiefly from his library. R. Cooksey wrote " Life and Charac- ter of Lord Somers" (4to, 1791). SOMERS ISLANDS. See BERMUDAS. SOMERSET, the name of four counties in the United States. I. A W. county of Maine, bordering on Canada, intersected by the Ken- nebec river, and drained by the head streams of the Penobscot and Walloostook rivers; area, 3,800 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 34,611. The surface is diversified, and the soil generally good. There are several small lakes, and the N. part is covered with forests, affording vast quantities of timber for export. The Maine Central and the Somerset railroads enter it. The chief productions in 1870 were 31,202 bushels of wheat, 106,657 of Indian corn, 296,- 185 of oats, 92,767 of barley, 20,536 of buck- wheat, 31,408 of peas and beans, 988,179 of potatoes, 113,481 tons of hay, 366,442 Ibs. of wool, 796,238 of butter, and 169,349 of cheese. There were 7,222 horses, 11,132 milch cows, 5,886 working oxen, 14,954 other cattle, 78,- 400 sheep, and 3,590 swine ; 23 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 2 of edge tools and axes, 5 of furniture, 8 of tanned and 5 of curried leather, 1 of paints, 1 of paper, 6 of sash, doors, and blinds, 6 of turned and carved wood, 3 of woollen goods, 9 wool-carding and cloth-dressing establishments, 5 flour mills, and 39 saw mills. Capital, Skowhegan. II. A N. central county of New Jersey, bounded N. E. by the Passaic and W. by the Lamington riv- er, intersected by the Raritan, and traversed by the Delaware and Raritan canal and sev- eral railroads ; area, 275 sq. ra. ; pop. in 1870, 25,510. The surface in some parts is very hilly, and the soil generally fertile, especially along the streams. The chief productions in 1870 were 218,766 bushels of wheat, 561,136 of Indian corn, 700,515 of oats, 86,684 of pota- toes, 42,034 tons of hay, 22,457 Ibs. of wool, 3,800 of flax, and 587,093 of butter. There were 6,263 horses, 9,992 milch cows, 4,922 other cattle, 7,302 sheep, and 7,883 swine;
