324 STATES GENERAL met in Paris in 1302, and by their support induced the king to reassemble them in 1303 and again in 1308, when they voted for the condemnation of the knights templars. The example of Philip was imitated by his suc- cessors. During the wars with Edward III. of England the states general acted with such authority in the affairs of the revenue as to make the court dependent on their decisions. The disasters which befell the nobility at Cr6cy and Poitiers enabled the third estate to play an unusual part at this time. The people of Paris acquired an undue influence, while the provinces were imperfectly represented. In 1357 an ordinance of the dauphin Charles left the raising and disposition of the revenues to the states general, and declared the members inviolable. During the next 80 years they met frequently ; but in 1439, by voting a fixed sum for the support of a standing army, they re- moved one of the principal reasons for their convocation. Henceforward they met at long intervals. A resolution to meet biennially, passed on the accession of Charles VIII. and approved by the court, remained without ef- fect ; and finally the kings came to feel that they could rule without the nation. The last meeting before the revolution, that of 1614-'15, was marked by disputes between the orders, in which the third estate was humiliated. In all, the body had assembled about 35 times in three centuries. In place of the states general the kings at times convened an assembly of the notables, or prominent men of all ranks, who, being nominated by the sovereign or the privy council, more readily complied with the royal demands. The notables assembled in 1626 for the last time previous to the reign of Louis XVI., when they were again convoked in 1787 and 1783. These assemblies having shown their inefficiency, the disorders of the king- dom induced Louis XVI. to revive the states general; and on May 5, 1789, their sessions were opened at Versailles. Under the old kings the states general were the only assem- bly in France which may be said in a measure to have formed a national legislature. Their sessions, however, were very brief, occasion- ally lasting only a few days, and they were generally called together to vote subsidies or deliberate on the measures of the court, not to devise laws for the state, though they were expected to present their lists of grievances (cahiers de doleance) to the sovereign. The as- sembly voted by orders, which made it easy for the clergy and nobles to thwart the measures of the third estate. Against this division the third estate rose in 1789. They insisted on a vote by members, and carried through their demand by constituting themselves the nation- al assembly. (See CONSTITUTIONAL CONVEN- TION, and FRANCE, vol. vii., p. 385.) Several of the provinces hot originally included in the French crown, as Brittany, Burgundy, Na- varre, Languedoc, and others, possessed special assemblies called etats provinciaux, to whose STATISTICS approval the demands of the sovereign were submitted. The third estate early obtained a place in these bodies, and in the states of Languedoc they had a vote equal to that of the other orders combined. These assemblies gradually lost their importance, and disap- peared with the revolution. II. The national assembly of the Dutch republic, consisting of the deputies of the provinces, who were chosen by the provincial assemblies or states. The deputies of each province had one collective vote. The term continues to be the official designation of the Dutch legislature. STATICS. See MECHANICS. STATISTICS, the systematic collection and classification of facts relating to the social and industrial conditions of the people. One of the first to systematize statistics and give to them a scientific character was Gottfried Achenwall, who lectured on that subject in the university of Gottingen about the middle of the 18th century, and gave the name (Ger. Staat, state) to the science. A. L. von Schlo- zer (died 1809), a pupil of Achenwall, devel- oped the science more fully. During the pres- ent century marked progress has been made in statistical science. The chief countries of Eu- rope have organized statistical bureaus, de- partments, or commissions, which collect and publish periodically facts relating to the con- dition of the people in every phase of life. France, Belgium, Sweden, Prussia, and Italy rank specially high in this respect. In Lon- don, Paris, and other European cities are sta- tistical societies which publish periodicals. In 1862 a statistical seminary, for affording instruction in the theory and practice of the science, was established in Berlin, through the efforts of Dr. Engel, and a professorship of statistics was established in the university of that city in 1874. In England statistical re- ports on the various interests of the United Kingdom are published annually by parlia- ment. In the United States statistics of com- merce and navigation are published monthly and annually by the bureau of statistics ; those relating to education are published annually by the commissioner of education, and those relating to agriculture by the bureau of agri- culture. Great importance is attached in all countries to the thorough and frequent col- lection of vital statistics, which are of the highest value in determining questions of health, duration of life, movement of popula- tion, &c. As early as 1686 the clergy in Swe- den were required to keep registers of mar- riages, births, and deaths. In most if not all of the countries of Europe these statistics are carefully collected and published periodically. In England they are under the charge of the registrar general, who publishes an annual re- port. No provision has been made by the United States for the collection of vital statis- tics except when the decennial censuses are ta- ken. In many of the states, however, records of births, marriages, and deaths are required
