KULTURKAMPF. 627 KUMAUN. ever, is Jated from the cnaotnient by the Prus- sian JJii't (May 11-14, 1873) of a iSeries of four laws aiming at the regulation of the Catholic and Evangelieal clergy. These were introduced by Falk, Hismarck's Minister of Public Worship, and, together with certain supplementaiy legisla- tion, were known as the Falk or ilay Laws. The first of these laws provided that all candi- dates for ecclesiastical office should have received a three years' university training in the liberal arts, and required them to pass a State examina- tion ; it also placed all theological seminari*3 under .State control, and gave the provincial au- Ihorities the right to confirm or annul all ec- clesiastical appointments. The second law sub- jected the discipline of the churches to the supreme authority of a specially created ecclesi- astical court. The third law further limited the exercise of disciplinary authority by the clergy. The fourth law made it obligatory on converts to obtain the consent of a magistrate before changing their confession. The May Laws were received with a storm of protest, and the Catholic bishops as a body refused to recognize their valid- ity. The opposition of the Catholic clergy was met with more drastic measures by the Govern- ment. In April. 1875, all recusant priests were dejirived of their stipends, and in May all re- ligious orders and congregations were abolished, with the exception of those devoted to the care of tlie sick. The Reichstag in the same year )iassed a law making marriage a civil contract. The Pope's encyclical of 1875 declaring all the anti-clerical legislation void was answered by the Prussian Government with the use of force, ilany of the bishops and the lower clergj- were fined, exiled, or imprisoned, and the Church or- ganization in Prussia was practically destroyed. In 1S77. 8 out of 15 bishoprics, and more than 1400 out of some 4000 parishes, were vacant. By this time, however, Bismarck had discovered that he had gone too far. The people were aroused by what had ceased to be a State policy and had be- come persecution, and in 1877 .sent an increased delegation of Clericals to the Reichstag. New questions, besides the rise of the Socialist Party and the need of economic legislation, drew the Chancellor's attention, and in joining conflict with the Socialists he found that he had need of the support of the Clerical Centre. The accession of Leo XIII. prepared the way for the resump- tion of friendly relations. Negotiations were opened in 187S. and were continued in the follow- ing year. Fnik was displaced in the Ministry of Public Worship, and in a series of five laws, enacted between 1880 and 1887, the May Laws were practically nullified. Consult: Hahn. Oe- schichte (les Kiilturkanipfs in Preiixurn (Berlin, 1881) : Wiermann. (Irschichte (lea KuJIitrknmpfs (2d ed. Leipzig, 1886). See BisM.RCK-Scn6K- ii.vfSEx; Germ.^ny; Poutical Pasties, section on Germany. KTJM. kriTlm. or KOM, kim. The chief town of the province of the same name in Irak- Ajcmi. Persia, situated 90 miles southwest of Teheran, on the route between that place and Ispahan (Map: Persia, D 4). It is in a half- ruined state, but is regarded as one of the most sacred places of pilgiimage in Persia, and great numbers of pilgrims flock annually to the tomb of Fatima, a sister of Imam Riza, and the tombs of niimerous other saints. The population is esti- mated at 20,000. Kum is supposed to have been founded by the Saracens at the beginning of the ninth century, and flourished until the in- vasions of the Afghans in the eighteenth century. KUMAMOTO, koo'ma-m.yt6. A prefectural city and strongly fortified garrison town of Japan, situated near the western coast of the island of Kiushiu, on the river Shirakawa, and about lour miles above its mouth (Map: Japan, B 7 ) . It is well built and full of gardens. It was formerly the seat of the Daimios of Higo, and was besieged by Saigo and his army during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. It is distant only 25 miles from the volcanic peak Aso-j-ama, and suffered from severe earthquakes in 1889. It is the terminus of the first section (170 miles) of the Trunk Railway of Kiushiu, leading from !Moji on the north to Kagoshima. The Buddhist temple of Hommyoji outside of the town is a popular place of pilgrimage. The harbor is ac- cessible to small craft. Population, in 1898, 61,- 463. KTJMARASAMBHAVA, koomii'ra-sum'- b'hu-va ( Skt., birth of Kumara). Tlie name of one of the most celebrated poems of the Hindus. Its author is Kalidasa ( see Kalidasa ) , and its subject is the legendary history connected with the birth of Kumara, or Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war. (See Kabtiketa.) It consists of 18 cantos, the first seven of which have been ren- dered into English verse by Griffith (London, 1879) ; there is an edition of the Sanskrit text with commentary published by the Nimaya Sagara Press (Bombav, 1893), and another (ib., 1898). KUMASSI, koomas'sf, or COOMASSIE. The capital uf the negro Kingdom of Asbanti. in the British Gold Coa.st, in Western Africa, situ- ated about latitude 6° 30' X., some 150 miles north of the port of Sekondi on the Gulf of Guinea (Map: Africa. D 4). The town is built on a rock surrounded by marshy land, and its streets are well laid out. In the centre is a market-place, u.sed also as a parade ground and an exchange. Kumassi is the seat of a British Resident. It is connected with Sekondi by t^ie Government railroad. Population, estimated at about 30,000. Kumassi was taken by the British in 1874 and again in 1896. See Ashaxti and Gold Coast. KXTMATTN, koo-mil'oon. A division of the United Provinces of Agra, British India, con- sisting of the three districts of Xaini Tal, AI- mora. and Garhwal. Area, 13.703 square miles; population, in 1891, 1,181,500; in 1901, 1,156,- 750. It lies chiefly on the south slope of the Himalayas, comprising upward of thirty sum- mits in that range, which vary in altitude from about 18.000 feet to nearly 26,000. With the ex- ception of a belt from 2 miles to 15 miles broad, on its southern frontier, the whole country is one mass of mountains and forests. Its principal rivers are the Pindar and Kailganga, tributaries of the Alaknanda, and the Gogra. The chief minerals are gold, copper, and lead. Throughout the southern belt biennial crops of wheat, barley, oats, millet, peas, and beans are produced, with rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, ginger, and turmeric. Xear the end of the eighteenth century Kviniaun was seized by the Gurkhas. Their frequent raids into the neighboring territory, however, resulted in the annexation of Kumaun by the British in 1815. The principal town is Almora (popula-
