and included the famous “Peterloo massacre”; the Anti-Corn-Law League originated in Manchester, and Manchester has given its name to a school of Liberal politicians identified with the advocacy of peace abroad, free trade, no government interference with industry, and laissez-faire principles at home; the Bridgewater Canal 1762, the railway 1830, and the Ship Canal to the mouth of the Mersey 1894, mark steps in the city’s progress; since 1888 Manchester with Salford (198), on the opposite bank of the Irwell, have formed a county.

MANCHESTER, EDWARD MONTAGU, EARL OF, English statesman and general, eldest son of the first earl; sided with the Parliament in the Civil War, and commanded in the army, but was censured by Cromwell for his slackness at Newbury, which he afterwards resented by opposing the policy of the Protector; he contributed to the restoration of Charles II., and was in consequence made Lord Chamberlain (1602-1671).

MANCHURIA (21,000), a Chinese province lying between Mongolia and Corea, with the Amur River on the N. and the Yellow Sea on the S., is five times the size of England and Wales; the northern, central, and eastern parts are mountainous; the Sungari is the largest river; the soil is fertile, producing large crops of millet, maize, hemp, &c., but the climate in winter is severe; pine forests abound; the country is rich in gold, silver, coal, and iron, but they are little wrought; beans, silk, skins and furs are exported; the imports include textiles, metals, paper, and opium; the Manchus are the aristocracy of the province; Chinese settlers are industrious and prosperous; the chief towns are Moukden (250) in the S., Kirin (75) on the Sungari, and New-Chwang (60) on the Liao River, a treaty-port since 1858; Russian influence predominates in the province since 1890.

MANDAEANS, a community found working as skilled artisans in the Persian province of Khuzistan, and in Basra on the Euphrates; are a religious sect; called also Sabians, and holding tenets gathered from Christian, Jewish, and heathen sources, resembling those of the ancient Gnostics; their priesthood admits women; their chief rite is baptism, and hence their old name, Christians of St. John the Baptist.

MANDALAY (189), capital of Upper Burma, on the Irawadi, in the centre of the country, 360 m.  N. of Rangoon; was seized by the British in 1885.  The Aracan Pagoda, with a brazen image of the Buddha, attracts many pilgrims, and Buddhist monasteries cluster outside the town.  There are silk-weaving, gold, silver, ivory, and wood work, gong-casting and sword-making industries.  Great fires raged in it in 1886 and 1892.

MANDARIN, the name given by foreigners, derived from the Portuguese, signifying to “command,” to Chinese official functionaries, of which there are some nine orders, distinguished by the buttons on their caps, and they are appointed chiefly for their possession of the requisite qualifications for the office they aspire to.