DAVITT

davitt, michael (1846-1906), irish nationalist politician, son of a peasant farmer in co. mayo, was born on the 25th of march 1846. his father was evicted for non-payment of rent in 1851, and migrated to lancashire, where at the age of ten the boy began work in a cotton mill at haslingden. in 1857 he lost his right arm by a machinery accident, and he had to get employment as a newsboy and printer's "devil." he drifted into the ranks of the fenian brotherhood in 1865, and in 1870 he was arrested for treason-felony in arranging for sending fire-arms into ireland, and was sentenced to fifteen years' penal servitude. after seven years he was released on ticket of leave. he at once rejoined the "irish republican brotherhood," and went to the united states, where his mother, herself of american birth, had settled with the rest of the family, in order to concert plans with the fenian leaders there. returning to ireland he helped c. s. parnell to start the land league in 1879, and his violent speeches resulted in his re-arrest and consignment to portland by sir william harcourt, then home secretary. he was released in 1882, but was again prosecuted for seditious speeches in 1883, and suffered three months' imprisonment. he had been elected to parliament for meath as a nationalist in 1882, but being a convict was disqualified to sit. he was included as one of the respondents before the parnell commission (1888-1890) and spoke for five days in his own defence, but his prominent association with the revolutionary irish schemes was fully established. (see parnell.) he took the anti-parnellite side in 1890, and in 1892 was elected to parliament for north meath, but was unseated on petition. he was then returned for north-east cork, but had to vacate his seat through bankruptcy, caused by the costs in the north meath petition. in 1895 he was elected for west mayo, but retired before the dissolution in 1900. he died on the 31st of may 1906, in dublin. a sincere but embittered nationalist, anti-english to the backbone, anti-clerical, and sceptical as to the value of the purely parliamentary agitation for home rule, davitt was a notable representative of the survival of the irish "physical force" party, and a strong link with the extremists in america. in later years his socialistic radicalism connected him closely with the labour party. he wrote constantly in american and colonial journals, and published some books, always with the strongest bias against english methods; but his force of character earned him at least the respect of those who could make calm allowance for an open enemy of the established order, and a higher meed of admiration from those who sympathized with his objects or were not in a position to be threatened by them. davos (romonsch _tavau_, a name variously explained as meaning a sheep pasture or simply "behind"), a mountain valley in the swiss canton of the grisons, lying east of coire (whence it is 40 m. distant by rail), and north-west of the lower engadine (accessible at sus in 18 m. by road). it contains two main villages, 2 m. from each other, dorfli and platz (the chief hamlet), which are 5015 ft. above the sea-level, and had a population in 1900 of 8089, a figure exceeded in the grisons only by the capital coire. of the population 5391 were protestants, 2564 romanists, and 81 jews; while 6048 were german-speaking and 486 romonsch-speaking. in 1860 the population was only 1705, rising to 2002 in 1870, to 2865 in 1880, to 3891 in 1888, and to 8089 in 1890. this steady increase is due to the fact that the valley is now much frequented in winter by consumptive patients, as its position, sheltered from cold winds and exposed to brilliant sunshine in the daytime, has a most beneficial effect on invalids in the first stages of that terrible disease. a local doctor, by name spengler, first noticed this fact about 1865, and the valley soon became famous. it is now provided with excellent hotels, sanatoria, &c., but as lately as 1860 there was only one inn there, housed in the 16th-century _rathhaus_ (town hall), which is still adorned by the heads of wolves shot in the neighbourhood. at the north end of the valley is the fine lake of davos, used for skating in the winter, while from platz the splendidly engineered _landwasserstrasse_ leads (20 m.) down to the alvaneubad station on the albula railway from coire to the engadine. we first hear of tavaus or tavauns in 1160 and 1213, as a mountain pasture or "alp." it was then in the hands of a romonsch-speaking population, as is shown by many surviving field names. but, some time between 1260 and 1282, a colony of german-speaking persons from the upper valais (first mentioned in 1289) was planted there by its lord, walter von vaz, so that it has long been a teutonic island in the midst of a romonsch-speaking population. historically it is associated with the prattigau or landquart valley to the north, as it was the most important village of the region, and in 1436 became the capital of the league of the ten jurisdictions. (see grisons.) it formerly contained many iron mines, and belonged from 1477 to 1649 to the austrian habsburgs. in 1779 davos was visited and described by archdeacon w. coxe. (w. a. b. c.)