RIOT (0. F. riot, ryote), a disturbance of the public peace, attended with circumstances of tumult and commotion, as where an assem bly destroys, or in any manner damages, seizes or invades private or public property, or does any injury whatever by actual or threatened violence to the persons of individuals. By the common law a riot is an unlawful assembly of three or more persons which has actually be gun to execute the common purpose for which it assembled by a breach of the peace, and to the terror of the public. A lawful assembly may become a riot if the persons assembled form and proceed to execute an unlawful pur pose to the terror of the people, though they had not that purpose when they assembled. In England every person convicted of riot is liable to be sentenced to hard labor. In Scotch law rioting is termed mobbing. A person may be guilty of mobbing who directs or excites a mob, though he is not actually present in it. Mere presence without participation may con stitute mobbing. A majority of the States of the American Union have riot acts somewhat similar to those of England, and the common law governs where no statutes have been en acted. A riot against the government with the
purpose of overthrowing it is treason. How ever, an uprising of this kind is not generally called a riot.
Wow lin'ga, or RIOU, or RIO LINGA, an archipelago southeast of the Malay Peninsula, belonging partially to the Netherlands. It is formed of two groups of islands; the northern group is that of Riouw, and the southern, Lingga. There are about 30 islands in the Riouw group; the largest, Bin tang, has an area of 400 square miles. Lingga, of the Lingga group, has an area of 320 square miles; Singkep, 204 square miles. The soil of the greater part of the archipelago is fertile and the whole is well wooded. The principal export is gambir; other exports are pepper, sago and rice. Tin has been mined and ex ported for many years. The original inhabit ants have nearly all disappeared. The capital of the Dutch residency is Rio (Riouw). population now is made up of Chinese, Japa nese, Javanese and Kings. Pop. about 80,000.