Dumba, Konstantin Theodor, Austro-Hungarian diplomatist, who became conspicuous as an agent of German propaganda in the United States during the European War. He went as Ambassador to the United States in 1913, and at the outbreak of the war endeavoured to organize a vast conspiracy there, with a view to hampering the productions of munitions for the Allies. Abusing his position of Ambassador, he planned explosions and strikes in American factories. On 1st Sept., 1915, J. F. J. Archibald, an American newspaper correspondent, was arrested at Falmouth, and among the papers found upon him was a letter from Dr. Dumba to Baron Burian, Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs, wherein the former suggested a plan of crippling the munition factories in America by creating strikes. President Wilson then demanded his recall, and he left the United States in Oct., 1915, Great Britain granting him a safe conduct.
Dumbar´ton, a royal and parliamentary burgh and seaport, Scotland, chief town of Dumbarton county, stands on the Leven near its junction with the Clyde, 16 miles W.N.W. of Glasgow. Shipbuilding is carried on to a great extent, and there are foundries and engine-works. Dumbarton unites with Port-Glasgow, Renfrew, Rutherglen, and Kilmarnock in sending a member to Parliament. Originally it was called Alcluyd, and it was the chief town of Cumbria or Strathclyde. Pop. 21,989. A little to the south is the famous rock and castle of Dumbarton, rising above the Clyde. The rock, which is of basalt, is 240 feet in height, and about 1 mile in circumference at the base. It is one of the fortresses stipulated to be kept in repair by the Act of Union, and the barracks contain accommodation for 150 men. There has been a stronghold here from the earliest times, and the fortress of Dumbarton occupied an important place in Scottish history.—Dumbartonshire, the county of Dumbarton, is partly maritime, partly inland, consisting of two detached portions, the larger and most westerly lying between the Clyde, Loch Long, and Loch Lomond, and the far smaller portion being about 4 miles east of the
former, and comprising only two parishes. More than half the area of the county is occupied by mountains, some of them attaining a height of upwards of 3000 feet. The lower lands are fertile, and in general well cultivated. More than one-half of Loch Lomond and fully two-thirds of the islands in it belong to Dumbartonshire. The Gareloch, an arm of the Firth of Clyde, forms a part of the county into a peninsula. The principal rivers are the Leven, from Loch Lomond, and the Kelvin, both belonging to the Clyde system. The chief minerals are coal, limestone, ironstone, and slate, all of which are wrought more or less. On the banks of the Leven and elsewhere are extensive cotton printing and bleaching establishments; and there are extensive shipbuilding yards along the Clyde. Besides Dumbarton, the chief town, the county contains the towns of Helensburgh and Kirkintilloch, and the manufacturing villages of Alexandria, Renton, and Bonhill. Vestiges of the Roman wall of Antoninus still exist. The county returns one member to the House of Commons. Pop. 139,831.
Dumb-cane, a plant of the ord. Araceæ, the Dieffenbachia seguina, of the West Indies, so called from its acridity causing swelling of the tongue when chewed, and destroying the power of speech.
Dumdum, a military village and extensive cantonment, Hindustan, province of Bengal, 4½ miles E.N.E. of Calcutta. The village is famous as being the scene of the first open manifestation of the sepoys against the greased cartridges, which led to the mutiny of 1857. Pop. 12,000.
Dumdum Bullet (so called from the arsenal at Dumdum, a small village 4½ miles from Calcutta), a hollow-nosed bullet which expands on impact, and so causes an ugly wound. It was used in Indian frontier fighting to stop the rushes of fanatical tribesmen. While the term 'Dumdum' bullet should strictly only be applied to hollow-nosed bullets, it is popularly applied to any kind of expanding bullet. Ordinary bullets can be converted into expanding ones by means of filing the cupro-nickel envelope until the lead core is exposed, by means of slitting the envelope at the shoulders, or simply by reversing the bullet in its socket. Expanding bullets are considered legitimate in big-game shooting, but in the Declaration signed at the Hague, 29th July, 1899, Germany expressly promised not to use such bullets in warfare. In spite of this the Germans freely used bullets of this kind in the European War.
Dumfries (dum-frēs´), a river port, railway centre, and until 1918 a parliamentary burgh, Scotland, capital of the county of same name, and the chief place in the south of Scotland; situated on the left bank of the Nith, about 6 miles from its junction with the Solway Firth. It is connected with the suburb Maxwelltown (in Kirkcudbright) by three bridges, one dating from the thirteenth century. It is a pleasing, well-built town, with various handsome public edifices. There are iron-foundries, hosiery and tweed factories, tanneries, and coach-building works. The River Nith is navigable to the town for vessels of under 60 tons, but the port has decreased in importance since the development of the railway system. Dumfries is a place of great antiquity. The church of the Minorites which once stood here was the scene of the murder of the Red Comyn by Bruce in 1306. Burns spent his closing years here, and the street in which he lived now bears his name. His remains rest under a handsome mausoleum, and a statue of him was erected in 1882. Dumfries was the head-quarters of the Young Pretender in 1745. Until 1918 Dumfries united with Annan, Sanquhar, Lochmaben, and Kirkcudbright (the Dumfries burghs) in sending a member to Parliament. Pop. 19,076.—Dumfriesshire, the county of Dumfries, abuts on the Solway Firth, having on its borders the counties of Lanark, Peebles, Selkirk, Roxburgh, Ayr, and Kirkcudbright; area about 1100 sq. miles or 702,946 acres, of which about a third is under cultivation. The surface is irregular, but for the most part mountainous, especially in the north and north-west districts, where the hills attain a considerable elevation, some of them exceeding 2000 feet. The dales of the Nith, Annan, and Esk, the chief rivers of the county, contain fine pasture holms and good arable land. Oats, potatoes, and turnips are the most common products. Good cattle are reared, and are much in request for the English market. The sheep on the hill pastures are mostly Cheviots; on the lower and arable lands the Leicester breed prevails. The minerals most abundant are coal, lead, iron, antimony, and gypsum. Coal and lead are worked to a small extent. Limestone and freestone abound in various parts. There are no manufactures worth mentioning. The county returns one member to the House of Commons. Its principal towns are Dumfries, Annan, Sanquhar, Lockerbie, Moffat, Langholm, and Lochmaben. Pop. 72,825.
Dumont (du˙-mōn), Pierre Étienne Louis, the friend and literary assistant of Mirabeau and Jeremy Bentham, was born at Geneva in 1759, died at Milan 1829. Ordained a minister of the Protestant Church in 1781, he attached himself to the democratic party in Geneva, and when the opposite party gained the ascendency he went to St. Petersburg, in 1782, where he was appointed pastor of the French Reformed Church. Soon after he accepted an offer to act as tutor to the sons of Lord Shelburne, afterwards Marquess of
Lansdowne, which brought him to London, where he became intimate with Jeremy Bentham and Sir Samuel Romilly. Visiting Paris during the first years of the Revolution, he gained the friendship of Mirabeau, whom he assisted in the composition of speeches and reports, and of whom he wrote some interesting Recollections. On his return to London he formed that connection with Bentham which fixed his career as a writer; recasting, popularizing, and editing Bentham's works in a form suitable for the reading public. He returned to Geneva in 1814 and became a Senator.
Dumont d'Urville (du˙-mōn du˙r-vēl), Jules Sebastien César, French navigator, was born in 1790, killed in a railway accident between Paris and Versailles 1842. After completing his studies at Caen, he entered the French navy, in which he ultimately rose to be rear-admiral. From 1826 to 1829 he commanded the corvette Astrolabe, which was sent to obtain tidings of La Pérouse, and to make hydrographic observations. He made surveys of the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, and found remains of the shipwreck of La Pérouse on one of the Pacific islands. The result of this voyage was the publication of Voyage de Découverte autour du Monde. In 1837 he sailed with the Astrolabe and Zélée on a voyage of Antarctic discovery, and after many dangers, and having visited many parts of Oceania, he returned in 1840. On his return he began the publication of Voyage au Pôle sud et dans l'Océanie, which was finished by one of his companions.