It is little wonder that, in these circumstances, the choice of a successor to Pellegrini, whose term of office expired in 1892, should have been felt to possess peculiar importance. General Bartolomé Mitre was proposed by theporteñosas their candidate. He had been absent from Argentina on a journey to Europe, and on his return in April 1891, a popular reception was given to him at which 50,000 persons attended. A petition was presented to him begging him to be a candidate for the presidency, and with some reluctance the veteran leader gave his consent. His partisans, however, found themselves confronted by a compact provincial party, who proposed to put forward the other strong man of the republic, General Roca, to oppose him. But the two generals were equally averse to a contestà outrance, which could only end in civil war. They met accordingly at a conference known asEl Acuerdo, and it was arranged that both should withdraw, and that a non-party candidate should be selected who should receive the support of them both. The choice fell upon Dr Saenz Peña, a judge of the supreme court, and a man universally respected, who had never taken any part in political life. This compact aroused the bitter enmity of Dr Leandro Alem, who did his utmost to stir up the Union Civica to a campaign against the neutral candidate. Finding that the more conservative section of the union would not follow him, Alem formed a new association to which he gave the name of Union Civica Radical. Such was his energy, that soon a network of branches of the Union Civica Radical was organized throughout the republic, and Dr Bernardo Irigoyen was put forward as a rival candidate to Dr Saenz Peña. But Alem was not content with constitutional opposition to the Acuerdo, and his movement soon assumed the character of a revolutionary propaganda against the national government. His violence gave Pellegrini the opportunity of taking active steps to preserve the peace. In April 1892 Alem and his chief colleagues were arrested and sent into exile.
In the following month (May), the presidential elections were held; Dr Saenz Peña was declared duly elected, and Dr José Uriburu, the minister in Chile, was chosen as vice-president.
The idea of Dr Saenz Peña was to conduct the government on common sense and non-partisan lines, in fact to translate into practical politics the principles which underlay the compromise of the Acuerdo. He was a straightforwardSaenz Peña president.and honourable man, who tried his best to do his duty in a position that had been forced upon him, and was in no sense of the word his own seeking. No sooner, however, was he installed in office than difficulties began to crop up on all sides, and he quickly discovered that to attempt to govern without the aid of a majority in congress was practically impossible. He had had no experience of political life, and he refused to create the support he needed by using his presidential prerogative to build up a political majority. Obstruction met his well-meant efforts to promote the general good, and before twelve months of the presidential term had run public affairs were at a deadlock. Dr Alem, who had been permitted to return from exile, was not slow to profit by the occasion. Embittered by his treatment in 1892, he openly preached the advisability of an armed rising to overthrow the existing administration. Public opinion had been outraged by the immunity with which the governors of certain provinces, and more particularly Dr Julio Costa, the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, had been allowed to maintain local forces, by the aid of which they exacted the payment of illegal taxes and exercised other acts of injustice and oppression. A number of officers of the army and navy agreed to lend assistance to a revolutionary outbreak, and towards the end of July 1893 matters came to a head. The population of Buenos Aires assembled in armed bodies with the avowed intention of ejecting the governor from office, and electing in his stead a man who would give them a just administration. The president was for some time in doubt whether he had any right to intervene in provincial affairs, but eventually troops were despatched to La Plata. There was no serious fighting. Negotiations were soon opened which quickly led to the resignation of Costa, and the return of the insurgents to their homes. While these disturbances were taking place in the province of Buenos Aires, another revolutionary rising was in progress in Santa Fé. Here the efforts of Dr Alem succeeded in supplying a large body of rebels with arms and ammunition, and he was able, by a bold attack, to seize the town of Rosario and there establish the revolutionary headquarters. This capture so alarmed the national government that a force was sent under the command of Roca to put down the insurrection. The revolt speedily collapsed before this redoubtable commander, and Alem and the other leaders surrendered. They were sentenced to banishment in Staten Island at the pleasure of the federal government.
But the suppression of disorder did not relieve the tension between the congress and the executive. During the whole of the 1894 session, the attitude of senators and deputies alike was one of pronounced hostility to the president. All his acts were opposed, legislation was at a standstill and every effort was made to force Dr Saenz Peña to resign. But although he experienced the utmost difficulty in forming a cabinet, the president was obstinate in his determination to retain office without identifying himself with any party. A definite issue was therefore sought by the congress on which to join battle, and it arose out of the death sentences which had been pronounced on certain naval and military officers who had been implicated in the Santa Fé outbreak. The president had made up his mind that the sentence must be carried out; the congress by a great majority were resolved not to permit the death penalty to be inflicted. It was a one-sided struggle, for without the consent of the congress the president could not raise any money for supplies, and congress refused to vote the budget. But heavy expenses had been incurred in putting down revolutionary movements in various parts of the provinces, and war with Chilewas threatened upon the question of a dispute concerning the boundaries between the two republics. In January 1895 a special session of congress was summoned to take into consideration the financial proposals of the government, which included an increase in the naval and military estimates. Congress, however, had now got their opportunity, and they used the time of national stress to bring increased pressure to bear upon the president. On the 21st of January Dr Saenz Peña at last perceived that his position was untenable, and he handed in his resignation. It was accepted at once by the chambers, and the vice-president, Dr José Uriburu, became president of the republic for the three years and nine months of Peña’s term which remained unexpired.
Uriburu was neither a politician nor a statesman, but had spent the greater portion of his life abroad in the diplomatic service. His knowledge of foreign affairs was, however, peculiarly useful at a juncture when boundary questionsUriburu President.were the subjects that chiefly attracted public attention. After disputes with Brazil, extending over fifteen years, about the territory of “Misiones,” the matter had been submitted to the arbitration of the president of the United States. In March 1895 President Cleveland gave his decision, which was wholly favourable to the contention of Brazil. The Argentine government, though disappointed at the result, accepted the award loyally. The boundary dispute with Chile, to which reference has already been made, was of a more serious character. The dispute was of old standing. Already in 1884 a protocol had been signed between the contending parties, by which it was agreed that the frontier should follow the line where “the highest peaks of the Andine ranges divide the watershed.” This definition unfortunately ignored the fact that the Andes do not run from north to south in one continuous line, but are separated into cordilleras with valleys between them, and covering in their total breadth a considerable extent of country. Difference of opinion, therefore, arose as to the interpretation of the protocol, the Argentines insisting that the boundary should run from highest peak to highest peak, the Chileans that it should follow the highest points of the watershed. The quarrel at length became acute, and on both sides the populace clamoured from time to time for an appeal to arms, and the resources of both countries were squandered in military and naval preparations for a struggle. Nevertheless despite these obstacles, President Uriburu did something during his term of office to relieve the nation’s financial difficulties. In 1896 a bill was passed by congress, which authorized the state by the issue of national bonds to assume the provincial external indebtedness. This proof of the desire of the Argentine government to meet honestly all its obligations did much to restore its credit abroad. Uriburu found in 1897 the financial position so far improved that he was able to resume cash payments on the entire foreign debt.
In 1898 there was another presidential election. Public opinion, excited by the prospect of a war with Chile, naturally supported the candidature of General Roca, and he was elected without opposition (12th October 1898).Roca President.The first question which he had to handle was the Chilean boundary dispute. During the last months of President Uriburu’s administration, matters had reached a climax, especially in connexion with the delimitation in a district known as the Puña de Atacama. In August an ultimatum was received from Chile demanding arbitration. After some hesitation, on the advice of Roca the Argentines agreed to the demand, and peace was maintained. The principle of arbitration being accepted, the conditions were quickly arranged. The question of the Puña de Atacama was referred to a tribunal composed of the United States minister to Argentina and of one Argentine and one Chilean delegate; that of the southern frontier in Patagonia to the British crown. One of the first steps of President Roca, after his accession to office, was to arrange a meeting with the president of Chile at the Straits of Magellan. At their conference all difficulties were discussed and settled, and an undertaking was given on both sides to put a stop to warlike preparations. The decision of the representative of the United States was given in April 1899. Although the Chileans professed dissatisfaction, no active opposition was raised, and the terms were duly ratified. In his message to congress, on the 1st of May 1899, General Roca spoke strongly of the immediate necessity of a reform in the methods of administering justice, the expediency of a revision of the electoral law, and the imperative need of a reconstruction of the department of public instruction. The administration of justice, he declared, had fallen to so low an ebb as to be practically non-existent. By the powerful influence of the president, government measures were sanctioned by the legislature dealing with the abuses which had been condemned. On the 31st of August of the same year a series of proposals upon the currency question was submitted to congress by the president, whose real object was to counteract the too rapid appreciation of the inconvertible paper money. The official value of the dollar was fixed at 44 cents gold for all government purposes. The violent fluctuations in the value of the paper dollar, which caused so much damage to trade and industry, were thus checked. In October 1900 Dr Manuel Campos Salles, president of Brazil, paid a visit to Buenos Aires, and was received with great demonstrations of friendliness. The aggressive attitude of Chile towards Bolivia was causing considerable anxiety, and Argentina and Brazil wished to show that they were united in opposing a policy which aimed at acquiring an extension of territory by force of arms. The feeling of enmity between Chile and Argentina was indeed anything but extinct. The delay of the arbitration tribunal in London in giving its decision in the matter of the disputed boundary in Patagonia led to a crop of wild rumours being disseminated, and to a revival of animosity between the two peoples. In December 1901 warlike preparations were being carried on in both states, and the outbreak of active hostilities appeared to be imminent. At the critical moment the British government, urged to move in the matter by the British residents in both countries, who feared that war would mean the financial ruin of both Chile and Argentina, used its utmost influence both at Santiago and Buenos Aires to allay the misunderstandings; and negotiations were set on foot which ended in a treaty for the cessation of further armaments being signed, June 1902. The award of King Edward VII. upon the delimitation of the boundary was given a few months later, and was received without controversy and ratified by both governments.
To the calm resourcefulness and level-headedness of President Roca at a very difficult and critical juncture must be largely ascribed the preservation of peace, and the permanent removal of a dispute that had aroused so much irritation. His termQuintana and Alcorta Presidents.of office came to an end in 1904, when Dr Manuel Quintana was elected president and Dr José Figueroa Alcorta vice-president, both having Roca’s support. Dr Quintana at the time of his election was sixty-four years of age. He proved a hard-working progressive president, who did much for the development of communications and the opening up of the interior of the country. He died amidst general regret in March 1906, and was succeeded by Dr Alcorta for the remaining years of his term.
(G. E.)
Authorities.—C.E. Akers,Argentine, Patagonian and Chilian Sketches(London, 1893), andA History of South America 1854-1904(New York, 1905); Theodore Child,The Spanish-American Republics(London, 1891); Sir T.H. Holdich,The Countries of the King’s Award(London, 1904); W.H. Hudson,The Naturalist in La Plata(London, 1892), andIdle Days in Patagonia(London, 1893); A.H. Keane and C.R. Markham,Central and South America, in Stanford’s “Compendium of Geography and Travel” (London, 1901); G. E. Church, “Argentine Geography and the Ancient Pampean Sea” (Geogr. Journal, xii. p. 386); “South America: an Outline of its Physical Geography” (Geogr. Journal, xvii. p. 333); Dr Karl Kärger,Landwirtschaft und Kolonisation im spanischen Amerika(2 vols., Leipzig, 1901); F.P. Moreno, “Explorations in Patagonia” (Geogr. Journal, xiv. pp. 241, 354); Carlos Lix Klett,Estudios sobre producción, comercio, finanzas e interesses generales de la Republica Argentina(2 vols., Buenos Aires, 1900); G. Carrasco,El crecimiento de la población de la Republica Argentina comparado con el de las principales naciones 1890-1903(Buenos Aires, 1904); C.M. Urienand C. Colombo,Geografia Argentina(Buenos Aires, 1905); E. von Rosen,Archaeological Researches on the Frontier of Argentina and Bolivia 1901-1902(Stockholm, 1904); Arturo B. Carranza,Constitución Nacional y Constituciones Provinciales Vigentes(Buenos Aires, 1898); Angelo de Gubernatis,L’Argentina(Firenze, 1898); Meliton Gonzales,El Gran Chaco Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1890); John Grant & Sons,The Argentine Year Book(Buenos Aires, 1902 et seq.); Francis Latzina,Diccionario Geografico Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1891);Géographie de la République Argentine(Buenos Aires, 1890);L’Agriculture et l’Elevage dans la République Argentine(Paris, 1889); Bartolomé Mitre,Historia de San Martin y de la Emancipatión Sud-Americana, según nuevos documentos(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1887);Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1883); Felipe Soldan,Diccionario Geografico Estadistico Nacional Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1885); Thomas A. Turner,Argentina and the Argentines(New York and London, 1892); Estanislao S. Zeballos,Descripción Amena de la Republica Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1881);Anuario de la Direción General de Estadistica 1898(Buenos Aires, 1899); Charles Wiener,La République Argentine(Paris, 1899);Segundo Censo República Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1898);Handbook of the Argentine Republic(Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 1892-1903).
Authorities.—C.E. Akers,Argentine, Patagonian and Chilian Sketches(London, 1893), andA History of South America 1854-1904(New York, 1905); Theodore Child,The Spanish-American Republics(London, 1891); Sir T.H. Holdich,The Countries of the King’s Award(London, 1904); W.H. Hudson,The Naturalist in La Plata(London, 1892), andIdle Days in Patagonia(London, 1893); A.H. Keane and C.R. Markham,Central and South America, in Stanford’s “Compendium of Geography and Travel” (London, 1901); G. E. Church, “Argentine Geography and the Ancient Pampean Sea” (Geogr. Journal, xii. p. 386); “South America: an Outline of its Physical Geography” (Geogr. Journal, xvii. p. 333); Dr Karl Kärger,Landwirtschaft und Kolonisation im spanischen Amerika(2 vols., Leipzig, 1901); F.P. Moreno, “Explorations in Patagonia” (Geogr. Journal, xiv. pp. 241, 354); Carlos Lix Klett,Estudios sobre producción, comercio, finanzas e interesses generales de la Republica Argentina(2 vols., Buenos Aires, 1900); G. Carrasco,El crecimiento de la población de la Republica Argentina comparado con el de las principales naciones 1890-1903(Buenos Aires, 1904); C.M. Urienand C. Colombo,Geografia Argentina(Buenos Aires, 1905); E. von Rosen,Archaeological Researches on the Frontier of Argentina and Bolivia 1901-1902(Stockholm, 1904); Arturo B. Carranza,Constitución Nacional y Constituciones Provinciales Vigentes(Buenos Aires, 1898); Angelo de Gubernatis,L’Argentina(Firenze, 1898); Meliton Gonzales,El Gran Chaco Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1890); John Grant & Sons,The Argentine Year Book(Buenos Aires, 1902 et seq.); Francis Latzina,Diccionario Geografico Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1891);Géographie de la République Argentine(Buenos Aires, 1890);L’Agriculture et l’Elevage dans la République Argentine(Paris, 1889); Bartolomé Mitre,Historia de San Martin y de la Emancipatión Sud-Americana, según nuevos documentos(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1887);Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1883); Felipe Soldan,Diccionario Geografico Estadistico Nacional Argentino(Buenos Aires, 1885); Thomas A. Turner,Argentina and the Argentines(New York and London, 1892); Estanislao S. Zeballos,Descripción Amena de la Republica Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1881);Anuario de la Direción General de Estadistica 1898(Buenos Aires, 1899); Charles Wiener,La République Argentine(Paris, 1899);Segundo Censo República Argentina(3 vols., Buenos Aires, 1898);Handbook of the Argentine Republic(Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 1892-1903).
(A. J. L.)
1For the geology of Argentina, see Stelzner,Beiträge zur geologie der argentinischen Republik(Cassel and Berlin, 1885); Brackebusch,Mapa geológico del Interiore de la República Argentina(Gotha, 1892); Valentin,Bosquejo geólogico de la Argentina(Buenos Aires, 1897); Hauthal, “Beiträge zur Geologie der argentinischen Provinz Buenos Aires,”Peterm. Mitt.vol. 1., 1904, pp. 83-92, 112-117, pi. vi.2Interesting details of the Argentine fauna may be found in Darwin’sVoyage of the Beagle; W.H. Hudson’sIdle Days in Patagonia, andNaturalist in the La Plata; G. Pelleschi’sEight Months on the Gran Chaco; R. Napp’sArgentine Republic; and de Moussy’sConfédération argentine.3There are two distinct statistical offices compiling immigration returns and their totals do not agree, owing in part to the traffic between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Another report gives the arrivals in 1904 as 125,567 and the departures 38,923. Of the arrivals 67,598 were Italians and 39,851 Spaniards. The total for the years 1859-1904 was 3,166,073 and the departures 1,239,064, showing a net gain of 1,927,009.
1For the geology of Argentina, see Stelzner,Beiträge zur geologie der argentinischen Republik(Cassel and Berlin, 1885); Brackebusch,Mapa geológico del Interiore de la República Argentina(Gotha, 1892); Valentin,Bosquejo geólogico de la Argentina(Buenos Aires, 1897); Hauthal, “Beiträge zur Geologie der argentinischen Provinz Buenos Aires,”Peterm. Mitt.vol. 1., 1904, pp. 83-92, 112-117, pi. vi.
2Interesting details of the Argentine fauna may be found in Darwin’sVoyage of the Beagle; W.H. Hudson’sIdle Days in Patagonia, andNaturalist in the La Plata; G. Pelleschi’sEight Months on the Gran Chaco; R. Napp’sArgentine Republic; and de Moussy’sConfédération argentine.
3There are two distinct statistical offices compiling immigration returns and their totals do not agree, owing in part to the traffic between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Another report gives the arrivals in 1904 as 125,567 and the departures 38,923. Of the arrivals 67,598 were Italians and 39,851 Spaniards. The total for the years 1859-1904 was 3,166,073 and the departures 1,239,064, showing a net gain of 1,927,009.
ARGENTINE,a former city of Wyandotte county, Kansas, U.S.A., since 1910 a part of Kansas City, on the S. bank of the Kansas river, just above its mouth. Pop. (1890) 4732; (1900) 5878, of whom 623 were foreign-born and 603 of negro descent; (1905, state census) 6053. It is served by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé railway, which maintains here yards and machine shops. The streets of the city run irregularly up the steep face of the river bluffs. Its chief industrial establishment is that of the United Zinc and Chemical Company, which has here one of the largest plants of its kind in the country. There are large grain interests. The site was platted in 1880, and the city was first incorporated in 1882 and again, as a city of the second class, in 1889.
ARGENTITE,a mineral which belongs to the galena group, and is cubic silver sulphide (Ag2S). It is occasionally found as uneven cubes and octahedra, but more often as dendritic or earthy masses, with a blackish lead-grey colour and metallic lustre. The cubic cleavage, which is so prominent a feature in galena, is here present only in traces. The mineral is perfectly sectile and has a shining streak; hardness 2.5, specific gravity 7.3. It occurs in mineral veins, and when found in large masses, as in Mexico and in the Comstock lode in Nevada, it forms an important ore of silver. The mineral was mentioned so long ago as 1529 by G. Agricola, but the name argentite (from the Lat.argentum, “silver”) was not used till 1845 and is due to W. von Haidinger. Old names for the species are Glaserz, silver-glance and vitreous silver. A cupriferous variety, from Jalpa in Tabasco, Mexico, is known as jalpaite. Acanthite is a supposed dimorphous form, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system, but it is probable that the crystals are really distorted crystals of argentite.
(L. J. S.)
ARGENTON,a town of western France, in the department of Indre, on the Creuse, 19 m. S.S.W. of Châteauroux on the Orléans railway. Pop. (1906) 5638. The river is crossed by two bridges, and its banks are bordered by picturesque old houses. There are numerous tanneries, and the manufacture of boots and shoes and linen goods is carried on. The site of the ancientArgentomaguslies a little to the north.
ARGHANDAB,a river of Afghanistan, about 250 m. in length. It rises in the Hazara country north-west of Ghazni, and flowing south-west falls into the Helmund 20 m. below Girishk. Very little is known about its upper course. It is said to be shallow, and to run nearly dry in height of summer; but when its depth exceeds 3 ft. its great rapidity makes it a serious obstacle to travellers. In its lower course it is much used for irrigation, and the valley is cultivated and populous; yet the water is said to be somewhat brackish. It is doubtful whether the ancient Arachotus is to be identified with the Arghandab or with its chief confluent the Tarnak, which joins it on the left about 30 m. S.W. of Kandahar. The two rivers run nearly parallel, inclosing the backbone of the Ghilzai plateau. The Tarnak is much the shorter (length about 200 m.) and less copious. The ruins at Ulân Robât, supposed to represent the city Arachosia, are in its basin; and the lake known as Ab-i-Istâda, the most probable representative of Lake Arachotus, is near the head of the Tarnak, though not communicating with it. The Tarnak is dammed for irrigation at intervals, and in the hot season almost exhausted. There is a good deal of cultivation along the river, but few villages. The high road from Kabul to Kandahar passes this way (another reason for supposing the Tarnak to be Arachotus), and the people live off the road to avoid the onerous duties of hospitality.
ARGHOUL,Arghool, orArghul(in the Egyptian hieroglyphs,AsorAs-it),1an ancient and modern Egyptian and Arab wood-wind instrument, with cylindrical bore and single reed mouthpiece of the clarinet type. The arghoul consists of two reed pipes of unequal lengths bound together by means of waxed thread, so that the two mouthpieces lie side by side, and can be taken by the performer into his mouth at the same time. The mouthpiece consists of a reed having a small tongue detached by means of a longitudinal slit which forms the beating reed, as in the clarinet mouthpiece. The shorter pipe has six holes on which the melody is played; the three upper holes being covered by the fingers of the right hand, and the lower by those of the left hand. The longer pipe has no lateral holes; it is a drone pipe with one note only, which, however, can be varied by the addition of extra lengths of reed. In the illustration all three lengths are shown in use. An arghoul belonging to the collection of the Conservatoire Royal at Brussels, described by Victor Mahillon in his catalogue2(No. 113), gives the following scale:—
The total length of the shorter pipe, including the mouthpiece, is 0.435 m.; of the longer pipe, without additional joints, 0.555 m. An Egyptian arghoul,3presented by the khedive to the Victoria and Albert Museum, measures 4 ft. 8½ in.
For further information see Victor Loret,L’Egypte au temps des Pharaons(Paris, 1889), 8vo, pp. 139, 143, 144; G.A. Villoteau,Description historique technique et littéraire des instruments de musique des orientaux(Description de l’Egypte, Paris, 1823, tome xiii, pp. 456-473).
For further information see Victor Loret,L’Egypte au temps des Pharaons(Paris, 1889), 8vo, pp. 139, 143, 144; G.A. Villoteau,Description historique technique et littéraire des instruments de musique des orientaux(Description de l’Egypte, Paris, 1823, tome xiii, pp. 456-473).
(K. S.)
1See Victor Loret. “Les Flûtes égyptiennes antiques,”Journal Asiatique, 8ème série, tome xiv., Paris, 1889, pp. 129, 130 and 132.2Catalogue descriptif et analytique du musée du Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles(Ghent, 1880), p. 141.3A Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum, by Carl Engel (London, 1874), p. 143.
1See Victor Loret. “Les Flûtes égyptiennes antiques,”Journal Asiatique, 8ème série, tome xiv., Paris, 1889, pp. 129, 130 and 132.
2Catalogue descriptif et analytique du musée du Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles(Ghent, 1880), p. 141.
3A Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum, by Carl Engel (London, 1874), p. 143.
ARGOL,the commercial name of crude tartar (q.v.). It is a semi-crystalline deposit which forms on wine vats, and is generally grey or red in colour.
ARGON(from the Gr.ἀ-, privative, andἒργον, work; hence meaning “inert”), a gaseous constituent of atmospheric air. For more than a hundred years before 1894 it had been supposed that the composition of the atmosphere was thoroughly known. Beyond variable quantities of moisture and traces of carbonic acid, hydrogen, ammonia, &c., the only constituents recognized were nitrogen and oxygen. The analysis of air was conducted by determining the amount of oxygen present and assuming the remainder to be nitrogen. Since the time of Henry Cavendish no one seemed even to have asked the question whether the residue was, in truth, all capable of conversion into nitric acid.
The manner in which this condition of complacent ignorance came to be disturbed is instructive. Observations undertaken mainly in the interest of Prout’s law, and extending over many years, had been conducted to determine afresh the densities of the principal gases—hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. In the latter case, the first preparations were according to theconvenient method devised by Vernon Harcourt, in which air charged with ammonia is passed over red-hot copper. Under the influence of the heat the atmospheric oxygen, unites with the hydrogen of the ammonia, and when the excess of the latter is removed with sulphuric acid, the gas properly desiccated should be pure nitrogen, derived in part from the ammonia, but principally from the air. A few concordant determinations of density having been effected, the question was at first regarded as disposed of, until the thought occurred that it might be desirable to try also the more usual method of preparation in which the oxygen is removed by actual oxidation of copper without the aid of ammonia. Determinations made thus were equally concordant among themselves, but the resulting density was about1⁄1000part greater than that found by Harcourt’s method (Rayleigh,Nature, vol. xlvi. p. 512, 1892). Subsequently whenoxygenwas substituted for air in the first method, so that all (instead of about one-seventh part) of the nitrogen was derived from ammonia, the difference rose to ½%. Further experiment only brought out more clearly the diversity of the gases hitherto assumed to be identical. Whatever were the means employed to rid air of accompanying oxygen, a uniform value of the density was arrived at, and this value was ½% greater than that appertaining to nitrogen extracted from compounds such as nitrous oxide, ammonia and ammonium nitrite. No impurity, consisting of any known substance, could be discovered capable of explaining an excessive weight in the one case, or a deficiency in the other. Storage for eight months did not disturb the density of the chemically extracted gas, nor had the silent electric discharge any influence upon either quality. (“On an Anomaly encountered in determining the Density of Nitrogen Gas,”Proc. Roy. Soc., April 1894.)
At this stage it became clear that the complication depended upon some hitherto unknown body, and probability inclined to the existence of a gas in the atmosphere heavier than nitrogen, and remaining unacted upon during the removal of the oxygen—a conclusion afterwards fully established by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay. The question which now pressed was as to the character of the evidence for the universally accepted view that the so-called nitrogen of the atmosphere was all of one kind, that the nitrogen of the air was the same as the nitrogen of nitre. Reference to Cavendish showed that he had already raised this question in the most distinct manner, and indeed, to a certain extent, resolved it. In his memoir of 1785 he writes:—
“As far as the experiments hitherto published extend, we scarcely know more of the phlogisticated part of our atmosphere than that it is not diminished by lime-water, caustic alkalies, or nitrous air; that it is unfit to support fire or maintain life in animals; and that its specific gravity is not much less than that of common air; so that, though the nitrous acid, by being united to phlogiston, is converted into air possessed of these properties, and consequently, though it was reasonable to suppose, that part at least of the phlogisticated air of the atmosphere consists of this acid united to phlogiston, yet it may fairly be doubted whether the whole is of this kind, or whether there are not in reality many different substances confounded together by us under the name of phlogisticated air. I therefore made an experiment to determine whether the whole of a given portion of the phlogisticated air of the atmosphere could be reduced to nitrous acid, or whether there was not a part of a different nature to the rest which would refuse to undergo that change. The foregoing experiments indeed, in some measure, decided this point, as much the greatest part of air let up into the tube lost its elasticity; yet, as some remained unabsorbed, it did not appear for certain whether that was of the same nature as the rest or not. For this purpose I diminished a similar mixture of dephlogisticated [oxygen] and common air, in the same manner as before [by sparks over alkali], till it was reduced to a small part of its original bulk. I then, in order to decompound as much as I could of the phlogisticated air [nitrogen] which remained in the tube, added some dephlogisticated air to it and continued the spark until no further diminution took place. Having by these means condensed as much as I could of the phlogisticated air, I let up some solution of liver of sulphur to absorb the dephlogisticated air; after which only a small bubble of air remained unabsorbed, which certainly was not more than1⁄120of the bulk of the dephlogisticated air let up into the tube; so that, if there be any part of the dephlogisticated air of our atmosphere which differs from the rest, and cannot be reduced to nitrous acid, we may safely conclude that it is not more than1⁄120part of the whole.”
“As far as the experiments hitherto published extend, we scarcely know more of the phlogisticated part of our atmosphere than that it is not diminished by lime-water, caustic alkalies, or nitrous air; that it is unfit to support fire or maintain life in animals; and that its specific gravity is not much less than that of common air; so that, though the nitrous acid, by being united to phlogiston, is converted into air possessed of these properties, and consequently, though it was reasonable to suppose, that part at least of the phlogisticated air of the atmosphere consists of this acid united to phlogiston, yet it may fairly be doubted whether the whole is of this kind, or whether there are not in reality many different substances confounded together by us under the name of phlogisticated air. I therefore made an experiment to determine whether the whole of a given portion of the phlogisticated air of the atmosphere could be reduced to nitrous acid, or whether there was not a part of a different nature to the rest which would refuse to undergo that change. The foregoing experiments indeed, in some measure, decided this point, as much the greatest part of air let up into the tube lost its elasticity; yet, as some remained unabsorbed, it did not appear for certain whether that was of the same nature as the rest or not. For this purpose I diminished a similar mixture of dephlogisticated [oxygen] and common air, in the same manner as before [by sparks over alkali], till it was reduced to a small part of its original bulk. I then, in order to decompound as much as I could of the phlogisticated air [nitrogen] which remained in the tube, added some dephlogisticated air to it and continued the spark until no further diminution took place. Having by these means condensed as much as I could of the phlogisticated air, I let up some solution of liver of sulphur to absorb the dephlogisticated air; after which only a small bubble of air remained unabsorbed, which certainly was not more than1⁄120of the bulk of the dephlogisticated air let up into the tube; so that, if there be any part of the dephlogisticated air of our atmosphere which differs from the rest, and cannot be reduced to nitrous acid, we may safely conclude that it is not more than1⁄120part of the whole.”
Although, as was natural, Cavendish was satisfied with his result, and does not decide whether the small residue was genuine, it is probable that his residue was really of a different kind from the main bulk of the “phlogisticated air,” and contained the gas afterwards named argon.
The announcement to the British Association in 1894 by Rayleigh and Ramsay of a new gas in the atmosphere was received with a good deal of scepticism. Some doubted the discovery of a new gas altogether, while others denied that it was present in the atmosphere. Yet there was nothing inconsistent with any previously ascertained fact in the asserted presence of 1% of a non-oxidizable gas about half as heavy again as nitrogen. The nearest approach to a difficulty lay in the behaviour of liquid air, from which it was supposed, as the event proved erroneously, that such a constituent would separate itself in the solid form. The evidence of the existence of a new gas (named Argon on account of its chemical inertness), and a statement of many of its properties, were communicated to the Royal Society (seePhil. Trans.clxxxvi. p. 187) by the discoverers in January 1895. The isolation of the new substance by removal of nitrogen from air was effected by two distinct methods. Of these the first is merely a development of that of Cavendish. The gases were contained in a test-tube A (fig. 1) standing over a large quantity of weak alkali B, and the current was conveyed in wires insulated by U-shaped glass tubes CC passing through the liquid and round the mouth of the test-tube. The inner platinum ends DD of the wire may be sealed into the glass insulating tubes, but reliance should not be placed upon these sealings. In order to secure tightness in spite of cracks, mercury was placed in the bends. With a battery of five Grove cells and a Ruhmkorff coil of medium size, a somewhat short spark, or arc, of about 5 mm. was found to be more favourable than a longer one. When the mixed gases were in the right proportion, the rate of absorption was about 30 c.c. per hour, about thirty times as fast as Cavendish could work with the electrical machine of his day. Where it is available, an alternating electric current is much superior to a battery and break. This combination, introduced by W. Spottiswoode, allows the absorption in the apparatus of fig. 1 to be raised to about 80 c.c. per hour, and the method is very convenient for the purification of small quantities of argon and for determinations of the amount present in various samples of gas,e.g.in the gases expelled from solution in water. A convenient adjunct to this apparatus is a small voltameter, with the aid of which oxygen or hydrogen can be introduced at pleasure. The gradual elimination of the nitrogen is tested at a moment’s notice with a miniature spectroscope. For this purpose a small Leyden jar is connected as usual to the secondary terminals, and if necessary the force of the discharge is moderated by the insertion of resistance in the primary circuit. When with a fairly wide slit the yellow line is no longer visible, the residual nitrogen may be considered to have fallen below 2 or 3%. During this stage the oxygen should be in considerable excess. When the yellow line of nitrogen has disappeared, and no further contraction seems to be in progress, the oxygen maybe removed by cautious introduction of hydrogen. The spectrum may now be further examined with a more powerful instrument. The most conspicuous group in the argon spectrum at atmospheric pressure is that first recorded by A. Schuster (fig. 2). Water vapour and excess of oxygen in moderation do not interfere seriously with its visibility. It is of interest to note that the argon spectrum may be fully developed by operating upon a miniature scale, starting with only 5 c.c. of air (Phil. Mag.vol. i. p. 103, 1901).
The development of Cavendish’s method upon a large scaleinvolves arrangements different from what would at first be expected. The transformer working from a public supply should give about 6000 volts on open circuit, although when the electric flame is established the voltage on the platinums is only from 1600 to 2000. No sufficient advantage is attained by raising the pressure of the gases above atmosphere, but a capacious vessel is necessary. This may consist of a glass sphere of 50 litres’ capacity, into the neck of which, presented downwards, the necessary tubes are fitted. The whole of the interior surface is washed with a fountain of alkali, kept in circulation by means of a small centrifugal pump. In this apparatus, and with about one horse-power utilized at the transformer, the absorption of gas is 21 litres per hour (“The Oxidation of Nitrogen Gas,”Trans. Chem. Soc., 1897).
In one experiment, specially undertaken for the sake of measurement, the total air employed was 9250 c.c., and the oxygen consumed, manipulated with the aid of partially de-aërated water, amounted to 10,820 c.c. The oxygen contained in the air would be 1942 c.c.; so that the quantities of atmospheric nitrogen and of total oxygen which enter into combination would be 7308 c.c. and 12,762 c.c. respectively. This corresponds to N + 1.75 O, the oxygen being decidedly in excess of the proportion required to form nitrous acid. The argon ultimately found was 75.0 c.c., or a little more than 1% of the atmospheric nitrogen used. A subsequent determination over mercury by A.M. Kellas (Proc. Roy. Soc.lix. p. 66, 1895) gave 1.186 c.c. as the amount of argon present in 100 c.c. of mixed atmospheric nitrogen and argon. In the earlier stages of the inquiry, when it was important to meet the doubts which had been expressed as to the presence of the new gas in the atmosphere, blank experiments were executed in which air was replaced by nitrogen from ammonium nitrite. The residual argon, derived doubtless from the water used to manipulate the gases, was but a small fraction of what would have been obtained from a corresponding quantity of air.
The other method by which nitrogen may be absorbed on a considerable scale is by the aid of magnesium. The metal in the form of thin turnings is charged into hard glass or iron tubes heated to a full red in a combustion furnace. Into this air, previously deprived of oxygen by red-hot copper and thoroughly dried, is led in a continuous stream. At this temperature the nitrogen combines with the magnesium, and thus the argon is concentrated. A still more potent absorption is afforded by calcium preparedin situby heating a mixture of magnesium dust with thoroughly dehydrated quick-lime. The density of argon, prepared and purified by magnesium, was found by Sir William Ramsay to be 19.941 on the O = 16 scale. The volume actually weighed was 163 c.c. Subsequently large-scale operations with the same apparatus as had been used for the principal gases gave an almost identical result (19.940) for argon prepared with oxygen.
Argon is soluble in water at 12° C. to about 4.0%, that is, it is about 2½ times more soluble than nitrogen. We should thus expect to find it in increased proportion in the dissolved gases of rain-water. Experiment has confirmed this anticipation. The weight of a mixture of argon and nitrogen prepared from the dissolved gases showed an excess of 24 mg. over the weight of true nitrogen, the corresponding excess for the atmospheric mixture being only 11 mg. Argon is contained in the gases liberated by many thermal springs, but not in special quantity. The gas collected from the King’s Spring at Bath gave only ½%,i.e.half the atmospheric proportion.
The most remarkable physical property of argon relates to the constant known as the ratio of specific heats. When a gas is warmed one degree, the heat which must be supplied depends upon whether the operation is conducted at a constant volume or at a constant pressure, being greater in the latter case. The ratio of specific heats of the principal gases is 1.4, which, according to the kinetic theory, is an indication that an important fraction of the energy absorbed is devoted to rotation or vibration. If, as for Boscovitch points, the whole energy is translatory, the ratio of specific heats must be 1.67. This is precisely the number found from the velocity of sound in argon as determined by Kundt’s method, and it leaves no room for any sensible energy of rotatory or vibrational motion. The same value had previously been found for mercury vapour by Kundt and Warburg, and had been regarded as confirmatory of the monatomic character attributed on chemical grounds to the mercury molecule. It may be added that helium has the same character as argon in respect of specific heats (Ramsay,Proc. Roy. Soc.l. p. 86, 1895).
The refractivity of argon is .961 of that of air. This low refractivity is noteworthy as strongly antagonistic to the view at one time favoured by eminent chemists that argon was a condensed form of nitrogen represented by N3. The viscosity of argon is 1.21, referred to air, somewhat higher than for oxygen, which stands at the head of the list of the principal gases (“On some Physical Properties of Argon and Helium,”Proc. Roy. Soc.vol. lix. p. 198, 1896).
The spectrum shows remarkable peculiarities. According to circumstances, the colour of the light obtained from a Plücker vacuum tube changes “from red to a rich steel blue,” to use the words of Crookes, who first described the phenomenon. A third spectrum is distinguished by J.M. Eder and Edward Valenta. The red spectrum is obtained at moderately low pressures (5 mm.) by the use of a Ruhmkorff coil without a jar or air-gap. The red lines at 7056 and 6965 (Crookes) are characteristic. The blue spectrum is best seen at a somewhat lower pressure (1 mm. to 2.5 mm.), and usually requires a Leyden jar to be connected to the secondary terminals. In some conditions very small causes effect a transition from the one spectrum to the other. The course of electrical events attending the operation of a Ruhmkorff coil being extremely complicated, special interest attaches to some experiments conducted by John Trowbridge and T.W. Richards, in which the source of power was a secondary battery of 5000 cells. At a pressure of 1 mm. the red glow of argon was readily obtained with a voltage of 2000, but not with much less. After the discharge was once started, the difference of potentials at the terminals of the tube varied from 630 volts upwards.
The introduction of a capacity between the terminals of the Geissler tube, for example two plates of metal 1600 sq. cm. in area separated by a glass plate 1 cm. thick, made no difference in the red glow so long as the connexions were good and the condenser was quiet. As soon as a spark-gap was introduced, or the condenser began to emit the humming sound peculiar to it, the beautiful blue glow so characteristic of argon immediately appeared. (Phil. Mag.xliii. p. 77, 1897.)
The introduction of a capacity between the terminals of the Geissler tube, for example two plates of metal 1600 sq. cm. in area separated by a glass plate 1 cm. thick, made no difference in the red glow so long as the connexions were good and the condenser was quiet. As soon as a spark-gap was introduced, or the condenser began to emit the humming sound peculiar to it, the beautiful blue glow so characteristic of argon immediately appeared. (Phil. Mag.xliii. p. 77, 1897.)
The behaviour of argon at low temperatures was investigated by K.S. Olszewski (Phil. Trans., 1895, p. 253). The following results are extracted from the table given by him:—
The smallness of the interval between the boiling and freezing points is noteworthy.
From the manner of its preparation it was clear at an early stage that argon would not combine with magnesium or calcium at a red heat, nor under the influence of the electric discharge with oxygen, hydrogen or nitrogen. Numerous other, attempts to induce combination also failed. Nor does it appear that any well-defined compound of argon has yet been prepared. It wasfound, however, by M.P.E. Berthelot that under the influence of the silent electric discharge, a mixture of benzene vapour and argon underwent contraction, with formation of a gummy product from which the argon could be recovered.
The facts detailed in the original memoir led to the conclusion that argon was an element or a mixture of elements, but the question between these alternatives was left open. The behaviour on liquefaction, however, seemed to prove that in the latter case either the proportion of the subordinate constituents was small, or else that the various constituents were but little contrasted. An attempt, somewhat later, by Ramsay and J. Norman Collie to separate argon by diffusion into two parts, which should have different densities or refractivities, led to no distinct effect. More recently Ramsay and M.W. Travers have obtained evidence of the existence in the atmosphere of three new gases, besides helium, to which have been assigned the names of neon, krypton and xenon. These gases agree with argon in respect of the ratio of the specific heats and in being non-oxidizable under the electric spark. As originally defined, argon included small proportions of these gases, but it is now preferable to limit the name to the principal constituent and to regard the newer gases as “companions of argon.” The physical constants associated with the name will scarcely be changed, since the proportion of the “companions” is so small. Sir William Ramsay considers that probably the volume of all of them taken together does not exceed1⁄400th part of that of the argon. The physical properties of these gases are given in the following table (Proc. Roy. Soc.lxvii. p. 331, 1900):—
The glow obtained in vacuum tubes is highly characteristic, whether as seen directly or as analysed by the spectroscope.
Now that liquid air is available in many laboratories, it forms an advantageous starting-point in the preparation of argon. Being less volatile than nitrogen, argon accumulates relatively as liquid air evaporates. That the proportion of oxygen increases at the same time is little or no drawback. The following analyses (Rayleigh,Phil. Mag., June 1903) of thevapourarising from liquid air at various stages of the evaporation will give an idea of the course of events:—