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BIENNIAL-BIGAMY.

1419 feet above the level of the sea, 8 feet lower than Lake Neuchâtel, whose surplus waters it receives at its south extremity by the Thiel, by which river it again discharges its own. Its greatest depth is 400 feet. Towards its southern extremity is situated the island of St. Pierre, crowned with a grove of fine old oaks, to which Rousseau retired for two months after his proscription at Paris in

1765.

BIE'NNIALS, or BIENNIAL PLANTS, are plants which do not flower in the first season of their growth, but flower and bear fruit in the second season, and then die. Many of our cultivated plants are B., as the carrot, turnip, parsnip, parsley, celery, &c., and many of the most esteemed flowers of our gardens, as stock, wallflower, &c. But plants which in ordinary circumstances are B., often become annuals (q. v.), when early sowing, warm weather, or other causes promote the earlier development of a flowering stem, as is continually exemplified in all the kinds already named. If, on the other hand, the flowering of the plant is prevented-or, in many cases, if it is merely prevented from ripening its seed—it will continue to live for a much longer period: the same bed of parsley, if regularly cut over, will remain productive for a number of years. BIERVLIET, a village of the Netherlands, province of Zeeland, 13 miles east-north-east of Sluis. It is deserving of mention as the birthplace of William Beukels (q. v.), who in 1386 invented the method of curing herrings. In 1877, B. was detached from the mainland by an inundation, and still

remains insular.

BIES-BO'SCH, a marshy sheet of water of the Netherlands, between the provinces North Brabant and South Holland, formed in November 1421 by an inundation which destroyed 72 villages and 100,000 people, and forming that part of the estuary of the Maas called Holland's Diep. It is interspersed with

several islands.

BI'FFIN. See APPLE.

BIG HORN, a navigable river of the United States, rises near Freemont's Peak in the Rocky Mountains, about 42° 20' N., and 110° W. It has a north-east course of about 400 miles, being the largest affluent of the Yellowstone, which, again, is the largest affluent of the Missouri.

BIG SANDY RIVER, a fine navigable affluent of the Ohio, flows through extensive beds of coal. It is formed by the junction of two branches-the east and west forks-which both rise in Virginia. The latter traverses several counties of Kentucky and the former is, during the latter part of its course, the boundary between the two states. Their united waters lose themselves in the Ohio, nearly opposite to Burlington, in the state of Ohio.

BI'GA, a Roman term applied in ancient times to vehicles drawn by two horses abreast; and commonly to the Roman chariot used in processions or in the circus. In shape it resembled the Greek war chariot a short body on two wheels, low, and open behind, where the charioteer entered, but higher and

closed in front.

BI'GAMY. This is an offence which, although perfectly intelligible in itself to the popular and unprofessional understanding, is yet, with a due regard to the strict meaning of the word, extremely difficult, legally, to define. Blackstone objects to the use of it as a term descriptive of the offence in view; for he says it is corruptly so called, because B. properly signifies being twice married, which a man or a woman may legally be; and he therefore prefers the term polygamy. B., however, even according to the literal meaning, was an offence, or

rather disqualification, according to the canonists, who explained it to consist in marrying two virgins successively, one after the death of the other, or in once marrying a widow; and persons so offending or disqualified were held to be incapable of holy orders, and therefore B. was anciently considered a good counterplea to the claim of benefit of clergy (q. v.), although the law in that respect was afterwards altered by a statute passed in the reign. of Edward VI., when, bigamists or no bigamists, the clergy resumed their strange privilege. Different views prevailed in more modern times, and at a period, too, when the restraints of ecclesiastical dogmas had been thrown off. It is known that certain of the leaders of the German reformation, including Luther, Melancthon, Bucer, and Melander did not withhold their consent from Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, champion of the Reformation, who, having lost conceit of his wife, had applied to the Protestant doctors for licence to have another, and which license was not withheld, for the marriage took place, and was performed by Melander in presence of Melancthon, Bucer, and others; and privately, as the marriage-contract bears, 'to avoid scandal, seeing that, in modern times, it has not been usual to have two wives at once, although in this case it other Protestant doctors actually held views favourbe Christian and lawful.' Whether Luther and the able to polygamy has been the subject of warm controversy (see Sir William Hamilton's Discussions on Philosophy and Literature, 1852, 2d ed., 1853; and Archdeacon Hare's Vindication of Luther, 1855). Sir William Hamilton asserts that Luther believed in the religious legality' of polygamy, and wished it to be sanctioned by the civil authoritiesan assertion, however, of which the promised proof never appeared. Archdeacon Hare, on the other hand, maintains that Luther and Melancthon only held that in certain extraordinary emergencies dispensations from the usual law of marriage might be granted. Be that as it may, the conduct of the Reformation leaders in this matter has been universally condemned, even by Protestants. The ideas referred to never gained ground in Germany; while in Great Britain 'monogamy' not only continued an institution, but its violation was regarded as a serious offence, which continues to be treated in statutes, law-books, and in the practice of the criminal courts in the three kingdoms, under the name of bigamy. Nor, indeed, have the ideas referred to been followed by the Germans as a nation.

offence as a felony was the 1 James I. c. 11, which The first statute which distinctly treated this enacted that a person so convicted should suffer death. What now constitutes the English law regarding the crime of bigamy, is the 22d section of 9 Geo. IV. c. 31, passed in 1828. B. is there declared to be committed by any person who, being married, shall marry any other person during the life of the former husband or wife, whether the second marriage shall have taken place in England or elsewhere' -a definition that appears to be adopted by the recent Divorce Act, the 20 and 21 Vict. c. 85, where, for the purpose of that act, B. is to be taken to mean ‘marriage of any person being married to any other person during the life of the former husband or wife, whether the second marriage shall have taken place within the dominions of her Majesty, or elsewhere.' More correctly, however, the offence of B. may be said to consist in going through the form or appearance of a second marriage, while a first subsists, with a man or woman, against whom the most odious deceit and fraud is thus practised, and upon whom, especially in case of a woman, the deepest injury is inflicted; for the second marriage is merely a marriage in form

BIGG-BIGNONIACEÆ.

-no real marriage at all, because a man cannot have two wives, or a woman two husbands, at one and the same time. In prosecutions under this act, the first wife is not admissible as a witness against her husband, because she is the true wife; but the second may, because she is not only no wife at all, but because she stands in the position of being the party peculiarly injured by the bigamy. The same is the procedure in the case of a second husband. The act following the 1 James I. makes B. a felony, and prescribes as the punishment, upon conviction, transportation for seven years; now changed (by the 16 and 17 Vict. c. 99, amended by the 20 and 21 Vict. c. 3) to penal servitude for the same period, or not less than three years; or to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, in the common jail or house of correction for any term not exceeding two years.

jurisdiction, but simply divorced from the bonds of the first marriage.

It remains to be added, that under the 9 Geo. IV., not only the actual bigamist, but every person counselling, aiding, or abetting the offender, is held equally guilty, and may be sentenced to the same punishment; and by section 31, accessories before and after the fact are also severely punishable. The 9 Geo. IV. does not extend to Scotland, but the law there on the subject of this particular offence is very much the same in principle, although the punishment there is not so severe as in England. There is an old Scotch statute, passed in 1551, which declares the punishment of B. to be the same as that of perjury; but the offence is also indictable at common law in Scotland, and in modern practice, it is usual so to deal with it, and to limit the punishment to imprisonment. See MARRIAGE, Divorce, POLYGAMY.

BIGG. See BARLEY.

part of a rope. Thus, one anchor may hook the B.' of the cable of another, and thereby cause entanglement. In Geography, B. has much the same sense as 'bay.'

The

BIGNONIA'CEE, a natural order of exogenous plants, containing trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, generally with compound leaves. flowers are generally showy, and are among the most striking ornaments of tropical forests. The corolla is of one petal, generally more or less trumpet-shaped and irregular; the stamens are five in number, or four, with the rudiment of a fifth, and unequal. The ovary is free, seated on a disk, 1-2-celled; the fruit sometimes capsular, sometimes drupaceous; with few or many seeds. There are about 500 known species; which, however, are often regarded as forming three distinct ordersBignoniaceae, Crescentiacea, and Pedaliaceae. Of these the Bignoniaceae are by far the most numerous,

The act, however, excepts from its provisions the following four cases: 1. That of a second marriage contracted out of England, by any other than a BIGHT (from the same root as the verb 'to subject of the realm. 2. That of any person marry-bow') is a sailor's name for the bent or doubled ing a second time, whose husband or wife shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years then last past; and shall not have been known by such person to be living within that time. 3. That of a person who, at the time of such second marriage, shall have been delivered from the bonds of the first marriage. 4. That of a person whose former marriage shall have been declared void by the sentence of any court of competent jurisdiction. The third of these exceptions deserves notice, in consequence of its bearing on a curious question that arose before the passing of the act, and which shewed a serious conflict which then existed, if it does not still exist, between the laws of England and Scotland. The case referred to is known among lawyers as Lolley's case; it occurred in 1812, and may be shortly stated as follows: Lolley and his wife, two English persons, being tired of each other's conjugal society, and unable to bear the expense of the then English ordeal, went to Scotland, where, after acquiring a domicile, they applied to the Scotch Consistorial Court for a divorce, which was speedily (although it is said collusively) obtained, on the ground of the husband's adultery. Relying on such sentence of the Scotch court, Lolley returned to England, where he married again. He was immediately indicted for B., tried, convicted, and sentenced to seven years' transportation, and that in the face of the Scotch decree of divorce, which he reasonably pleaded by way of defence. The point, however, was reserved for further consideration before the full court (Court of Exchequer), who, however, shortly after gave a unanimous judgment, holding that Lolley had been rightly convicted; or, in other words, that the Scotch court had no authority to dissolve an English marriage, and that the decree of divorce which Lolley had obtained, although good in Scotland, was of no force whatever in England. Many distinguished English lawyers were of opinion that the judgment of the English court was wrong, and that the Scotch divorce afforded him a complete defence. But it is to be observed that the prosecution was founded on the 1 James I. c. 11 to which we have referred, the 3d section of which only excepts from its provision persons divorced by any sentence had in the Ecclesiastical Court;' meaning, of course, the English Ecclesiastical Court; and thus some colour at least is given to the view taken of Lolley's case by the Court of Exchequer. But it may well be doubted whether such a conviction could take place in the face of the above third exception in the 9 Geo. IV., which excepts persons who shall have been divorced, not by any particular court or

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Bignonia picta.

and are almost all tropical or subtropical, although a few are found in the United States of North America. See TRUMPET-Flower. They are in many cases noble trees, and some of them afford

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BIIIACH-BILE.

valuable timber, among which are Bignonia leucoxylon, a tree of Jamaica, the green or yellow wood of which is sometimes brought into the market under the name of Ebony; and the Ipe-tobacco and Ipe-una of Brazil, species of the same genus, the former of which is used for ship-building, and the latter is accounted the hardest timber in Brazil. Not a few of them are climbing shrubs, and the tough shoots of Bignonia Cherere are used for wicker-work in Guiana. Bignonia alliacea, a native of the West Indies, is remarkable for its strong alliaceous smell; the leaves of Bignonia Chica afford the red colouring matter called Chica (q. v.).-The Crescentiacea chiefly abound in Mauritius and Madagascar. The Calabash Tree (q. v.) is the best known example.-The Pedaliaceae are tropical or subtropical; many of them herbaceous plants. The most important is SESAMUM (q. v.). The fleshy sweet root of Craniolaria annua is preserved in sugar as a delicacy by the Creoles.

BIHA'CH, or BICHA'CZ, one of the strongest fortress-towns of Croatia, European Turkey, is situated on an island in the Una, in lat. 44° 43′ N., and long. 15° 53′ E., near the frontier of Dalmatia. It has been the scene of frequent contests during the Turkish wars. Formerly, it was possessed of a Christian church, but that has been completely destroyed by fanatic Mussulmans. Pop. 3000.

and woollen manufactures, colonial produce, fish,
&c., was 85,586,888 reals (£855,868); and the value
of the exports, consisting of wool, iron, fruits, oil,
&c., 24,604,572 reals (£246,045). As compared with
1855, both the shipping and exports exhibited a
decrease. There are more than 200 commercial
houses in B., among which are several German,
Bohemian, and Irish. The women here do almost
all of the heavy porterage. B. was founded in the
year 1300 by Diego Lopez de Haro, under the name
of Belvao, i. e., 'the fine fort,' and being well situ-
ated, and little disturbed by the civil wars of Spain,
it soon attained great prosperity. In the 15th
was the seat of the most authoritative commercial
tribunal in Spain. It suffered severely in the wars
with France, first in 1795, and again in 1808, when
1200 of its inhabitants were slaughtered in cold blood.
During the Carlist civil war, B. was exposed to two
severe sieges.

BI'LBERRY. See WHORTLEBERRY.

C.,

it

two miles east from the modern town of Calatayud,
BI'LBILIS, an old Iberian city of Spain, about
in the province of Saragossa, chiefly celebrated as
the birthplace of the poet Martial, but also famed
for its highly tempered steel blades.
Metellus won a victory over Sertorius here; and
Quintus
B., under the Romans, was a municipal town with
the surname of Augusta. Several of its coins, struck
off during the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and
Caligula, are still in existence-some in the British
Museum.

BI'LBOES are long bars or bolts of iron, with shackles sliding on them, and a lock at one end. When an offender on shipboard is 'put in irons,' it implies that B. are fastened to him, more or less The B. clasp the ankles in some such way as handponderous according to the degree of his offence.

BIJANAGHU'R, meaning, it is said, the City of Triumph, is a ruined city within the presidency of Madras, being in lat. 15° 19′ N., and long. 76° 32′ E. It stands about 40 miles to the north-west of Bellary, in a plain encumbered with granite rocks, many of which have been rudely sculptured into a variety of forms. After having been for two centuries the metropolis of a powerful Hindu kingdom, B. was sacked and ruined by the Mohammedans of the Deccan in 1564. Even now it pre-cuffs clasp the wrist. sents traces of its grandeur, being 8 miles in circuit, BI'LCOCK. See RAIL. and containing many edifices, both temples and palaces, of granite.

BIJBAHA'R, the largest town of Cashmere, next to the capital Cashmere itself. It is situated on the banks of the Jailum, about 25 miles to the south-east of the metropolis, being in lat. 33° 47' N., and long. 75° 13′ E. The only particular worthy of notice is a wooden bridge across the Jailum, which, notwithstanding its simplicity and fragility, has endured for centuries, in consequence of the tranquil and equable weather of the valley.

BIKH. See ACONITE.

BILDERDIJK, WILLEM, a Dutch poet and philologist, of much repute in his day, was born at Amsterdam, 7th September 1756. While studying law at Leyden, and afterwards, when practising at the Hague, he devoted himself assiduously to literathe French, he repaired to Brunswick, and afterture and poetry. On the invasion of Holland by wards visited London, where he supported himself by lecturing and teaching. In the year 1806, he

returned to Holland, where he was received as one who had done his country honour; and the newly elected king of Holland (Louis Bonaparte) appointed

then organised after the fashion of the one at Paris, and also made him his own instructor in the Dutcli language. B, afterwards resided at Leyden, and then at Haarlem, where he died 18th December 1831. His contributions to poetic literature were very numerous; but though they contained many beauties, yet, with one or two exceptions, none of his poems display any remarkable originality, or any great wealth of imagination, With his poetical pursuits he combined the theoretical study of his native language; and his writings on this subject are valuable contributions to the exposition of the older monuments of Dutch literature.

BI'LANDER, or BI'LANDRE, is a small two-him president of the Institute at Amsterdam, just masted merchant-vessel, distinguished from others chiefly by a peculiar shape and arrangement of the main-sale. Of these vessels, which were probably French in origin, there are not many now remaining. BILBA'O, a seaport town of Spain, capital of the province of Vizcaya (Biscay), is situated in a mountain gorge on the Nervion, about 6 miles from its mouth at Portugalete, in lat. 43° 14′ N., long. 2° 56' W. B. is well built; the principal streets are straight, and the houses substantial and imposing. Two suspension bridges, and a stone bridge of the 14th c., cross the river, which divides the old town from the new. There are several fine public walks, numerous fountains, but no public buildings of any note. The city is purely commercial. It has many extensive rope-walks and manufactures of hardware, leather, hats, tobacco, and earthenware. Pop. 15,000. Small vessels can navigate the river quite up to the town, but large vessels have to anchor at Portugalete. The number of ships entering B. in 1856 was 379, with a capacity of 27,657 tons; clearing outwards, 535 vessels, tonnage, 34,117. In the same year, the value of the imports, which consist chiefly of cotton

BILE is a fluid secreted from the blood by the liver. One part of it is destined to serve in the process of digestion; the other to be eliminated from the system. It is coloured yellow in man; that of graminivorous animals seems coloured by the leaves they feed upon. The primary cells of the liver (the hepatic cells) separate the B. from the blood of the portal vein, and discharge it into small ducts, which unite to form larger ones, and eventually the right and left hepatic ducts.

BILEDULGERID-BILL.

The latter unite to form the common hepatic duct, | annually. It has a manufactory of cotton yarn, which is soon joined by that of the gall-bladder and two castles, an old and a new one. In its (the cystic duct). This junction forms the common B. duct, which pierces the second part of the duodenum, and running obliquely in its wall for a short distance, opens on its mucous surface.

situated under the liver.

The secretion of B. is constantly going on, and if there is food in the intestine, the bile mingles with it, and dissolves the fatty portions, preparatory to their absorption, the excrementitious portion of the B. passing out of the body with the other indigestible materials. When the bowel is empty, When the bowel is empty, the B. ascends the cystic duct, and is stored for future use in a small flask-like bag (the gall-bladder) Should, from any cause, the elements of the B. be in excess in the blood, or should the liver suspend the function of secreting it, not only is digestion imperfectly performed, but the general health suffers from the impure condition of the blood, and the patient is said to be bilious. On the other hand, the B. may be secreted, but its escape interfered with, and then its reabsorption will produce jaundice (q. v.). Its solid portions, again, especially the cholesterine, may be in excess, solidify, and produce biliary calculi or gall-stones (q. v.).

In chemical composition, B. is essentially a soap analogous to resin-soap, and as obtained from the ox, contains in 100 parts, Water,

90.44

Biliary and fatty bodies, including resinoid acids, .

8.00

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The soap is formed from the union of the resinoid acids (Glycocholic and Taurocholic Acids) with the soda. Human B. has the specific gravity of about 1026 (water 1000), is of a ropy consistence, with a yellowish-green colour; does not readily mix with water, but sinks therein, and only after repeated agitation becomes diffused through the water, which then assumes a frothy appearance resembling soap-suds. B. has a bitter taste, and a very sickening musky odour. It is interesting to observe that the B. of salt-water fishes contains potash in place of soda; although, from their being surrounded by much common salt (chloride of sodium) in the sea-water, we should naturally expect to find soda in abundance; and the B. of land and fresh-water animals contains soda, while, considering diet and habitat, potash might more naturally be looked for in largest quantity. B. performs important functions in the animal economy, which will be considered under NUTRITION; see also

LIVER.

BILEDULGERI'D. See BELED-EL-JERID. BILGE, sometimes spelled BULGE, is the part of the bottom of a ship nearest to the keel, and always more nearly horizontal than vertical. A ship usually rests on the keel and one B. when aground. The name of bilge-water is given to any rain or sea water which trickles down to the B. or lowest part of a ship, and which, being difficult of access, becomes dirty and offensive.

BI'LGEWAYS are timbers which assist in the launching of a ship; for which, see LAUNCHING. BI'LIARY CA'LCULI. See GALL STONES. BILI MBI. See CARAMBola

BILI'N, a town of Bohemia, beautifully situated in the valley of the Bila, 17 miles west of Leitmeritz, and famous for its mineral springs, the waters of which it exports to the extent of 500,000 jars

vicinity there is a remarkable isolated clinkstone rock, called Borzenberg, or Biliner Stein; and the Tripoli earth found at B. has been shewn by Professor Ehrenberg to be the remains of infusoria. Pop. about 3000.

BILIOUS FEVER. See LIVER.

of birds (q. v.). It consists of two mandibles, an BILL, in Natural History, the hard, horny mouth upper and a lower, into which the upper and lower jaws are respectively produced, all appearance of teeth, although rudiments of them have been lips being lost. It is not furnished with proper observed in some of the parrot tribe in the fœtal state, and the marginal laminae with which the bills of many water-fowl are furnished, partake of the same character, being secreted by distinct pulps. The resemblance of these marginal lamina to teeth The bills of birds differ much, according to their is particularly marked in the Goosander (q. v.). different habits, and particularly according to the kind of food on which they are destined to live, and the manner in which they are to seek it. In birds of prey, the B. is strong; the upper mandible arched notched, and the whole B., or beak, adapted for or hooked, and very sharp; the edges sharp, often seizing animals, and tearing and cutting to pieces their flesh. A powerful, short, hooked beak, sharp edged and notched, indicates the greatest courage and adaptation to prey on living animals. The beak of the vulture is longer and weaker than that of the eagle or falcon. In birds which feed on insects and vegetable substances, the hooked form of the B. is not found, or it is in a very inferior degree; those birds which catch insects on the wing, such as the Goat-suckers, are remarkable for the deep division

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of the B., and their consequently wide gape, and an analogous provision to facilitate the taking of prey is to be observed in herons, kingfishers, and other fishing-birds; but the object is attained in their case by the elongation of the B., whereas birds which catch insects on the wing have the B. very short. Birds which feed chiefly on seeds have the B. short and strong, for bruising them; whilst the B. of insectivorous birds is comparatively tively slender. Many aquatic birds have broad and comparatively soft and sensitive bills, with laminæ on the inner margin for straining the mud from which much of their food is to be extracted; other birds, as snipes, avocets, &c., seeking their food also in mud, have slender bills of remarkable sensibility. The modifications of form are

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Bill of Bunting (Seed-eating bird).

BILL-BILL OF COMPLAINT IN CHANCERY.

very numerous, and the peculiarities of the bills of toucans, hornbills, spoonbills, crossbills, parrots, humming-birds, &c., are very interesting, and intimately connected with the habits of the different creatures. (See these articles.) At the base of the upper mandible, a portion of the B. is covered with a membrane, called the cere (Lat. ceru, wax, from the waxy appearance which it presents in some falcons, &c.), which in many birds is naked, in others is feathered, and in many is covered with hairs or bristles. The nostrils are situated in the upper mandible, usually in the cere, but in some birds they are comparatively far forward, and in some, as puffins, they are very small, and placed so near the edge of the mandible, as not to be easily detected. They are more or less open, or covered with membrane, or protected by hairs or feathers. Besides their principal use for seizing and dividing or triturating food, the bills of birds are employed in a variety of functions, as dressing or preening the feathers, constructing nests, &c. They are also the principal instruments used by birds in their combats.

The mouths of some fishes and reptiles assume a character somewhat analogous to that of the B. of

birds.

BILL, in its general acceptation, means a formal written paper or statement of any kind; originally, it was applied to any sealed document being derived from Lat. bulla, a seal. It has a number of technical applications, for which see the articles that immediately follow.

BILL OF ADVENTURE is a writing by a merchant, stating that goods shipped by him, and in his name, are the property of another, whose adventure or chance the transaction is the shipping merchant, on the other hand, undertaking to account to the adventurer for the produce. Generally, in commercial law, an adventure may be said to be a speculation in goods shipped under the care of a supercargo, to be disposed of by him to the best advantage, for the benefit of his employers.

their being heard in their defence. Under the Stuarts, this extraordinary mode of proceeding in parliament was seldom had recourse to in England, and it has been still seldomer used since the accession of the House of Hanover. The Jacobite movement in Scotland, after the union with that country, was productive of several instances of parliamentary attainder, which, however, resulted merely in the forfeiture of the estates of the attainted parties, and these attainders were likewise unattended with the harsh, and in too many instances, capital consequences, which were formerly the inevitable results of treason so discovered. In regard to bills of pains and penalties, perhaps the two most remarkable instances are those of Bishop Atterbury, in 1722 (see ATTERBURY), and of Queen Caroline, wife of George IV., in 1820.

The proceedings of parliament in passing bills of attainder, and of pains and penalties, do not vary from those adopted in regard to other bills. But the parties who are subjected to these proceedings are admitted to defend themselves by council and witnesses before both Houses. In the best of times, this summary power of parliament to punish criminals by statute should be regarded with jealousy; but whenever a fitting occasion arises for its exercise, it is undoubtedly the highest form of parliamentary judicature. In impeachments, the Commons are but accusers and advocates; while the Lords alone are judges of the crime. On the other hand, in passing bills of attainder, the Commons commit themselves by no accusation, nor are their powers directed against the offender; but they are judges of equal jurisdiction, and with the same responsibilities as the Lords; and the accused can only be condemned by the unanimous judgment of the Crown, the Lords, and the Commons.-May's Proceedings of Parliament, 3d edition, p. 509. In passing bills of attainder, the bishops, contrary to the practice in capital impeachments, take part in the proceedings, and vote.

and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer the pains of death, and incur all forfeitures as a person attainted of high treason.' In the case of pains and penalties, again, the preamble generally assumes the facts as proved, and proceeds to enact the pains and penalties; that is, the deprivations, indignities, and other punishment awarded. See ATTAINder, Pains AND PENALTIES, BILL IN PARLIAMENT.

In such parliamentary attainders, the bill sets out, by way of preamble, the facts and evidence on BILL OF ATTAINDER, and BILL OF PAINS which it is founded, and concludes, by way of AND PENALTIES, are bills in parliament, intro-enactment, that the accused is hereby convicted duced for penally enacting the attaint and punishment of persons who have criminally offended against the state and public peace. Such a legislative proceeding was had recourse to generally in times of turbulence, when, either from the peculiar nature of the offence, or in consequence of difficulties in the application of the ordinary laws, it became necessary to resort to parliament. During the reign of Henry VIII., persons of the highest rank were frequently brought to the scaffold by such means; among whom may be mentioned the Earl of Surrey, the Earl of Essex, and others, who suffered for denying the king's supremacy; and during other reigns, both before and after that of Henry VIII., these bills were more or less had recourse to. There were greater facilities for conviction by this penal legislation than by the ordinary judicial procedure at law; because, while in the latter the strict rules of legal evidence must have been observed, the inquiry under a bill of attainder, or of pains and penalties, was entirely in the hands of parliament, who might dispense at their pleasure with such rules and forms of law as appeared inconvenient or unsuitable to the purpose in hand. Accordingly, in most of the cases to which we have referred, the bills were passed upon evidence which could never have been received as sufficient, or even admissible in a court of law; and there are even instances where parties were attainted, and punished, without there being any evidence against them at all, and even without

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BILL, or BILL OF COMPLAINT, IN CHANCERY, is the formal statement in writing or pleading, by which a plaintiff in the Court of Chancery seeks its equitable redress or relief. It is in the style of a petition addressed to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners for the Custody of the Great Seal, unless the seals are at the time in the Queen's hands, or the chancellor himself be the suitor, in which case, the bill is addressed to the Queen herself; for, according to the theory of the Court of Chancery, it is the conscience of the sovereign that is there addressed. The crown itself, however, may be the suitor, either on behalf of its own prerogatives, or of those rights which are under its particular protection, such as the objects of a public charity, and then the matter of complaint is submitted to the court, not by way cf bill or petition, but of information, which the proceeding is accordingly technically called.

In stating the plaintiff's case, the bill was formerly exceedingly prolix and tedious, but it has been very much simplified, and now contains merely a full and distinct account of the case, the material

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