126    UNITED STATES GAZETTEER.

sacrifices of her sons in the cause of civil liberty were not outdone by any of her patriotic
confederates.

Boundaries and Extent. — Bounded by the State of New York and Lake Erie on the north;
by Delaware River, separating it from New Jersey, on the east; by the States of Delaware,
Maryland, and Virginia on the south; and by the State of Ohio, with a part of Virginia, on
the west. It lies between 39° 42' and 42° 15' north latitude, and reaches from 74° 44' to
80° 34' west longitude. Its dimensions are about 310 miles from east to west, by 160 miles
in width, comprising an area of 46,000 square miles.

Government. — The present constitution provides for the election of governor triennially by
the people; not to hold office longer than six years in nine: the Senate, consisting of 33
members, one third chosen each year, are elected for three years : the House of Representa-
tives contains 100 members, chosen annually. The judicial officers are appointed by the
executive, subject to the approval of the Senate. The secretary of state is exclusively an
executive appointment; and the treasurer is chosen annually by the legislature in joint ballot.
All white males 21 years of age, tax payers, residents for one year in the state, and for ten
days in the district, are qualified voters.

Judiciary. — The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, four District Courts, and
Courts of Common Pleas for 24 districts, into which the state is divided. The former is
composed of a chief and four associate justices, who retain their offices for 15 years. They
hold a court in bank once a year in four several districts. The District Courts are invested
with the civil jurisdiction of the Common Pleas in their respective districts, in all cases ex-
ceeding a certain amount involved: the judges of these courts are appointed for 10 years.
Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas hold office for 5 years; and any two of them may
hold a Court of Quarter Sessions in any county. Sheriffs, coroners, clerks of courts, registers
of wills, and recorders of deeds are elected by the people for 3 years, and justices of the
peace for 5 years.

Education. — Pennsylvania has recently done much for the advancement of free education.
There are in the state, independent of the city and county of Philadelphia, about 1500 school
districts, and near 10,000 common schools, containing over 400,000 scholars. For the support
of these institutions, some $700,000 to $800,000 are annually raised, partly by taxation in the
several districts, and partly through state appropriations. There are also a large number of
academies, and other literary or scientific institutions of a high grade, together with five or
six theological seminaries maintained by various Christian denominations. The Girard Col-
lege, near the city of Philadelphia, endowed by Stephen Girard with a fund of $2,000,000, and
devoted to the sqpport of destitute orphans, is perhaps the greatest charity of the kind in the
country. There'are two flourishing universities, — the University of Pennsylvania, founded in
1755 at Philadelphia, and the Western University at Pittsburg, — together with the following
colleges, founded between the years 1783 and 1S36: Dickinson, Jefferson, Washington,
Alleghany, Pennsylvania, Lafayette, and Marshall, besides sundry medical colleges.

Finances. — The public debt of the state is not far from $40,000,000 ; and the value of its
productive property is somewhat over $32,000,000. The annual income of the state, from all
sources, is about $5,000,000, and the expenditures exceed $4,000,000. The interest on the
public debt amounts to over $2,000,000 per annum.

Surface, Soil, fyc. The state presents a great variety of surface. Much of it is undulating
and hilly, and, in some localities, mountainous. There are also numerous level tracts, but few
of which, however, are of any considerable extent. South Mountain reaches across one corner
of the state, in a south-westerly course, from the River Delaware, through an uneven country,
to near the centre of the northern line of Maryland. Blue Mountain, extending in the same
direction, from the northern extremity of the Delaware, is a continuous elevation of 700 to
1200 feet above the base, and terminates in a lofty peak, called Pilot's Knob, near the southern
boundary of the state. A broken and hilly region lies northward of this range, bordered by
the Susquehanna and Lehigh Rivers, and celebrated for its vast deposits of anthracite coal
Several distinct mountains rise in this region, the summits of some of which consist of tracts