There are also Independent members, who belong to no political party, and give their votes according to circumstances.

PETITIONS. Subjects have the right of presenting petitions to either house of Parliament either in favour of or against any particular measure. Such petitions must be signed by the persons who send it, be drawn up in accordance with certain rules, and be presented through a member of the house to which it is addressed.

DEPUTATIONS. It is also customary for Ministers and private members to receive deputations from bodies of persons who wish to impress their views on those in authority. Such deputations are generally received either in rooms connected with the Houses of Parliament, or at the official residences of the Ministers.

THE THREE ESTATES. This is a name given to the different orders or branches of the British Government. The term "Estates of the Realm" is now generally applied to the King, Lords, and Commons, though it is sometimes held to denote only the Lords and Commons.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The liberty allowed to the newspapers and other periodical publications of publishing the parliamentary debates, disseminating information, discussing public affairs, and criticizing the action of the Government, is justly regarded as one of the strongest safeguards of national freedom. Hence the Press has even been called the "Fourth Estate" of the realm. Many contests were carried on between the supporters of arbitrary rule on the one hand and the champions of liberty on the other before the present right of unlicensed printing was fully established. While, however, the Press is allowed the liberty of commenting on public affairs in the freest manner, the law of libel protects private individuals from being made the objects of false and malicious attacks in newspapers and other publications.

TAXES. As already stated, taxes levied for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Government are under the control of the House of Commons. This arrangement is based on the political maxim that "Taxation and representation are inseparably united." (See Answer to Examination Question No. 21, page 144.) The student of English history will have observed the extreme importance which our forefathers attached to establishing the doctrine that Englishmen are not to be taxed without their own consent, given through their representatives in Parliament. Numberless contests have arisen between the Crown and the people on this point. Our colonists in America, taking the same ground, resisted the attempt of the mother country to tax them without their own consent, and hence arose the American War of Independence, which resulted in the separation of the colonies from the British Empire.

Taxation is of two kinds :

(1) Direct Taxes, as—

(a) The Income Tax, levied on private incomes, at a certain rate per £.

(b) Land Tax, levied on land-owners, according to the value of their estates.

(c) House Duty, depending on the rental value of the houses. (2) Indirect Taxes, as—

(a) Customs, or duties imposed on exports or imports.

(b) Excise, or inland duties laid on goods in the hands of merchants and retail dealers before being delivered to the con

sumers.

(c) Stamps.

(d) Post Office and Telegraph Receipts.

PRIME MINISTERS OF ENGLAND FROM

THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE III.

The following list may be useful for reference. The dates denote the years in which each administration took office.

GEORGE III.

1. Mr. William Pitt (afterwards Earl of Chatham) June, 1757. 2. Earl of Bute

3. Mr. George Grenville

4. Marquis of Rockingham.

Oct., 1761. April, 1763.

11. Mr. William Pitt (son of the Earl of Chatham)

Dec., 1783.

14. Lord Grenville (Ministry of all the Talents)

Dec., 1868.

II. Mr. William Ewart Gladstone

12. Mr. Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield) Feb., 1874. 13. Mr. William Ewart Gladstone

April, 1880.

QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION.

The following questions are selected from previous Examination Papers. Occasional answers are given.

(1) Describe the conquest of England by the Normans, and some of the institutions introduced by them.

(2) Sketch the character of the sovereign whose history has most deeply interested you.

(3) How and when were Wales, Scotland, and Ireland united with England?

(4) How are laws made in the United Kingdom?

(5) What form of government is established in this country? How does it differ from other forms of government which you can name?

(6) Compare the England of Elizabeth with the England of Victoria.

(7) How did the parliaments which met in 1660 and 1689 differ from ordinary parliaments? Give some account of the acts of one of them.

(8) Point out, as to an upper class of children, the benefits

of possessing an acquaintance with the history of our own

country.

(9) Explain, as to an upper class of children, the composition of the British Parliament.

(10) What was the Indian revolt? To what change in the government of India did it lead?

(11) What is trial by jury? Do you consider the institution beneficial, and in what respect?

(12) Give the names and dates of any Princes of Wales who did not succeed to the English throne, and write a short account of one of them.

(13) Write a short history of one of the following :--Horatio Nelson, William Pitt, Robert Clive, Joseph Addison.

(14) Which of the sovereigns of England approaches nearest to your idea of a perfect ruler of the people? Give reasons for your opinion.

(15) Give the full names of three celebrated persons of the time of Elizabeth, and tell briefly what you know about them. (16) Who is the present Prime Minister? What can you tell about the office which he holds ?

(17) Set down a list of the civil wars which have raged in this country, with dates; and briefly describe the cause and event of one of them.

(18) Compare the effects of the subjugation of Britain by the Romans and the conquest of England by the Normans.

(19) Mention some inventions unknown to William the Conqueror which increase the convenience of our daily life.

(20) Describe the causes and consequences of the Battle of Algiers (1810).

(21) "Taxation and representation are inseparably united." Give instances, local and national, in which this maxim is acted

on.

(a) The power of levying taxes, and making grants of public money for purposes of war and the public service generally, is vested in the House of Commons, which is composed of the representatives of the people, who pay the taxes. The Chancellor