French Academy.—Founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635. It has a membership of forty, known as the "Forty Immortals." Its principal object is to prepare a dictionary of the French language and to keep the Gallic tongue pure and capable of treating the arts and sciences. The first dictionary appeared in 1694. The Academy has been very severely criticised, especially in the selection of its members, many well-known men of letters having failed to be elected.
Gold in California.—John W. Marshall, in 1848, in connection with a man named Sutter, maintained a mill in California. Accidentally he picked up a small piece of metal which he discovered to be gold, and immediately the gold fever became epidemic, and California was overrun with gold miners.
Government
The Constitution of the United Stales is the basic law of the country, and all other laws and statutes are framed in a similar manner, each State, county, town, and city having its own laws or statutes.
Government, including that of the United States, is divided into three distinctive departments: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
The Executive head is known as President, Governor, Mayor, etc., and it is his duty to execute the laws.
The Legislative department is usually subdivided into two bodies,—a Senate or Upper House and a House of Representatives or Lower House. State Governments are formed similar to that of the National Government, the Upper House being known as the Senate, and the Lower House as the House of Representatives or Assembly. Most bills are presented to the Lower House, and do not become laws until they pass both the Upper and Lower Houses.
The Legislative authority of a city is usually vested in a board of Aldermen and a Council or Common Council, but occasionally there is only one legislative body, known as a Council.