of land, and depends on the earl of Caledon), or is entirely in the hands of a single family. In several large towns, the right of suffrage belongs only to the freeholders, or to certain burgage tenures, so that the number of electors is very small. Plymouth, with 61,212 inhabitants, has but 230 voters; Harwich (4010 inh.), 32; Portsmouth (42,054 inh.), 100; Bath (36,811 inh.), 18; Newport (4000 inh.), 24, &c. These voters are mostly under the influence of some great family; and, in this way, about 12 families alone command more than 100 seats in parliament. Thus the earls of Mount Edgecombe and Fitzwilliam, and the dukes of Bedford and Devonshire, return each 6 members; the Pelhams (dukes of Newcastle, earls of Chichester and lords Yarborough), 15; the duke of Norfolk, 10; the earl of Lonsdale, 10, &c. For the few places that are in the hands of independent voters, a shameless system of bribery exists, in spite of the prohibitory laws, and the prices of votes are generally well known: a seat for a small place costs about £5000. On the other hand, the principal cities, Manchester (pop., 133,000), Birmingham (pop., 118,000), Leeds (pop., 100,000), and a great number of places with from 10,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, have no representation; and the cure of this evil is the great object of the friends of parliamentary reform. In its actual composition, therefore, the house of commons is but too easily influenced by the administration, which has thus been sometimes enabled to sustain, for a long time, a policy opposed to the national opinion and the general welfare. But it is not difficult to conceive of the obstacles which interest and ambition throw in the way of reform. It is no longer the influence of the crown, but of the aristocracy, whose authority would be diminished by a real national representation, that prevents the adoption of measures of reform. The parliament is not permanent (the only protection against its complete corruption), but it is the royal prerogative to summon and dissolve it. It is regularly summoned by the king's writ or letter, issued out of chancery, addressed to each peer individually, and to the sheriff of each county, for choosing the members of the county and of the cities and boroughs in the same. The sessions are held in the old royal palace in Westminster, where each house has its chamber. The first session is attended by the king, who sits in person in the upper house, and, by himself or the lord chancellor, shows the reason of their meeting; the speech from the throne is answered by an address from each house. After taking the oath of supremacy and the oath of allegiance, the commons choose a speaker and a committee of five persons (on the privileges of the house, petitions, contested elections, commerce, and the church); they then proceed to any other business that may come before them. In the upper house, the lord chancellor presides; the lords have the right of voting by proxy. Each house manages its own concerns, and any matter may be proposed in either house, except that all grants of subsidies or parliamentary aids begin in the house of commons, and the lords have not even the right of making an amendment to a money bill; they can only reject or accept it. (For the mode of making laws in parliament, see Statute.) As the parliament is summoned, so it is prorogued, by the royal authority, expressed either by the lord chancellor in his majesty's presence, or by commission from the crown, or by proclamation. Both houses are prorogued at the same time. A dissolution of the parliament is effected either by the authority of the crown, or by the demise of the crown, or by length of time. The house of commons being chosen but for seven years, at the expiration of that time, parliament is dissolved ipso facto. So it determines within six months of the death of the king, if not previously dissolved by his successor. has already been mentioned, that parliament takes an important part in the executive and judicial administration; the lower house, having the entire disposal of all grants of money, has the direction of all financial concerns; and there is no subject which may not be brought before it by petition, complaint, or motion of a member. The upper house is the supreme court of judicature in the nation. To this authority it succeeded on the dissolution of the aula regia. The barons of parliament were members of that court, and, the rest of its jurisdiction being dealt out to other tribunals, the right of receiving appeals, and superintending all other jurisdictions, still remained in the residue of that assembly, from which every other court was derived. In civil cases, it is the supreme court of appeal from the superior tribunals of England, Ireland and Scotland. Appeals and writs of error from the superior courts of the foreign dominions (the isles of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and the colonies), are carried up to the king in his privy council. In indictments for treason or felony, or misprision thereof, where the It accused is a peer of the realm, the house of lords are the judges of the law and the fact; or if the trial is in the court of the lord high steward, the peers-triers are only judges of the fact. The dignity of lord high steward was formerly hereditary, but he is now appointed merely for the particular case. In cases of impeachment by the house of commons, the house of lords are also the judges. All the forms of a criminal trial are then observed, and the verdict must be by a majority of at least 12 votes. Mr. Warren Hastings, governor-general of India, was tried by this tribunal, on an impeachment of extortion and cruelty; Dundas (viscount Melville), secretary of war, as guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, in the office of treas urer of the navy; and the duke of York, as generalissimo, for the imputed sale of commissions. Still different from this judicial capacity of the house of lords, is the right of passing a bill of attainder, the consequences of which are forfeiture of property and corruption of blood, or a bill of pains and penalties, which is of a less severe character. This right can be exercised in either house (in the case of the late queen of England, the bill was passed in the upper house). Before it can take effect, however, the bill must pass through both houses, and receive the king's assent. (For an account of the judiciary system of England, see Courts, Equity, Assize, Jury, Common Law, Criminal Law, &c. See, also, Blackstone's Commentaries.) C. The Rights of the People of England. The absolute rights of every Englishman are, by English writers, reduced to three principal heads-the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and the right of private property. No man shall be interrupted in the legal enjoyment of his life, his body, his health, his reputation, nor limited in Lis personal freedom, without due course of law; nor be deprived of the free use and disposal of his acquisitions, save by the laws of the land. These rights have been asserted and confirmed, from time to time, by a series of acts beginning with the Magna Charta and ending with the Bill of Rights (see above), which are not to be considered as the origin of these rights, but merely as the acknowledgment of their existence. Among the principal securities of the English freedom are, 1. the established principle that no man's liberty can be restrained by the government further than the law allows; 2. the many offices of consequence in the civil administration, which are exercised by the people them selves, such as those of the justices of the peace, the jury, the grand jury, the offices in the municipal administration, and, above all, the right of assembling, at pleasure, for the purpose of discussion. The personal responsibility of public officers, and the celebrated habeas corpus act, are great securities against arbitrary encroachment. But the chief protection is the liberty of the press. III. The Administration of the Government also bears many traces of its Saxon origin. It differs from that of other monarchical governments of Europe in two important points; first, that a great part of the powers which, in other countries, centre in the crown, in England remain in the hands of the nation; and, secondly, that the disposition of the executive officers to encroach on the rights of the people, is checked by the constitutional responsibility of each officer. The king is the supreme head of the state in peace and war, the lord paramount of the soil, the fountain of justice and honor, and the supreme head of the church. As a constituent part of the supreme legislative power, he has the prerogative of rejecting such bills in parliament as he judges improper to be passed. This prerogative, however, has never been exercised since the year 1692. As the generalissimo, or the first in military command within the kingdom, he has the sole power of raising and regulating fleets and armies, which, however, is virtually controlled by the necessity he is under of obtaining supplies from parliament. As the fountain of justice and general conservator of the peace of the kingdom, he alone has the right of erecting courts of judicature, and all jurisdictions of courts are derived from the crown. As the fountain of honor, of office and of privilege, he has the power of conferring dignities, disposing of offices, and conferring privileges on private persons. In the foreign relations of the nation, he is considered the nation's representative, and therefore has the sole power of sending and receiving ambassa dors, making treaties and alliances, declaring war and making peace. council of the king is distinguished into the privy council and the cabinet council. The latter consists of those ministers of state more immediately in the confidence of the king, who are summoned to consult upon executive matters; their number and selection depend only upon the king's pleasure. It is generally composed of the lord chancellor, the first lord of the treasury, the four principal secretaries of The state, the chancellor of the exchequer, the first lord of the admiralty, &c. (14 or 15 members); the remaining members of the ministry not belonging to the cabinet. The privy council, the number of which is indefinite (at present about 150), is constituted by the king's nomination, and generally consists of the princes of the blood, the ministers, &c. The dissolution of the privy council depends on the king's pleasure, and formerly took place, ipso facto, by the king's death. But, to prevent the inconvenience of having no council on the accession of a new prince, it was enacted, in 1708, that it shall continue for six months after the demise of the crown, unless otherwise determined by the successor. The privy council exercises original jurisdiction in some cases, as in questions between two colonies as to the extent of their charters, &c., and has an appellate jurisdiction over all the dominions of the empire, except Great Britain and Ireland. (See Orders in Council.) The subordinate administration is based on the old Saxon usages. The counties (see Counties, and England) are divided into hundreds, and tithings or towns. (See Sheriff, Coroner, Justice of the Peace, Constable, Jury, Chancellor.) GREAT CIRCLE SAILING; the manner of conducting a ship in, or rather pretty near, the arch of a great circle, that passes through the zenith of the two places, viz. from whence she came, and to which she is bound. GREAT KENA WHA RIVER. (See Kenawha.) GREBE (Podiceps, Temm.). These birds are distinguished by the following generic characters; bill strong, slender and sharp-pointed; tongue slightly emarginated at tip; head small, oblong; body boat-shaped; back elevated; wings short and narrow; tail wanting, its place being supplied by a small tuft of short downy feathers; toes furnished on each side with a broad, plain membrane. These birds are exclusively aquatic. They live, sleep and breed on the water, frequenting both fresh water lakes and the sea. They are exceedingly active, swimming, diving and cutting the water with great agility. They can descend to great depths in search of fish, and hence are often caught in fishermen's nets. As the legs are placed far back, they can only stand in an erect posture, in which they can neither run nor take flight. When, therefore, an unfortunate bird happens to be driven on shore by a storm, it remains struggling with its legs and wings for a length of time. They breed in submerged marshes, fixing their nests to reeds and marsh plants. These are sometimes detached by a storm, and will float on the surface of the lake. In this situation, it is said that the old birds will steer them into some safe situation. The nest itself is composed of dry grass, lined with down. The female lays from three to six eggs, which she also covers with down. The young are beautifully spotted, and, whilst unable to provide for themselves, are carried on the back of the mother, who, in diving, keeps them under her wing. They occur in all parts of the world, though more frequently met with in the arctic regions. Most of the species inhabit North America. GRECIAN STYLE. (See Architecture.) ture.) GRÉCOURT, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Willart de; a French ecclesiastic, eminent as a wit and an erotic poet; born in 1684, at Tours, in which city he afterwards obtained the benefice of St. Martin. As the liveliness of his parts was at least equalled by the laxity of his morals, the restraints to which a residence on his preferment necessarily subjected him, soon became intolerable, and he returned to Paris, where he had received his education. In this capital he associated with most of the leading characters of his day, and was a general favorite in the fashionable circles, especially with the marshal d'Estrées. He excelled in epigrams, tales, sonnets, &c.; and of these a collection was made and published (Paris, 1747), in four volumes. Grécourt died April 2, 1743. He is also the author of a poem against the Jesuits, called Philotanus. Grécourt's poems are lively and witty, but frivolous. |