The Bill of Rights was a statute embodied in the declaration of Rights presented by both houses of the Convention to the Prince and Princess of Orange in 1689. After declaring the late King James II to have done various acts contrary to the laws of the realm, and to have abdicated the government, the Bill of Rights proceeds to enact in detail the celebrated declaration as to the rights and liberties of the English people. It was laid down that the crown had no power to suspend or dispense with the ordinary laws, or form judicial courts, or levy money without parliamentary sanction. The raising or keeping of a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless with the consent of Parliament was declared to be unlawful. Freedom of election for members of Parliament, freedom of speech in debate, and the right of the subject to petition the crown were alike maintained. A clause also stated that if any king or queen should embrace the Roman Catholic religion, or intermarry with a Roman Catholic, their subjects should be absolved of their allegiance.
In America, the first Bill of Rights was the Declaration of Rights which accompanied the VirginiaConstitution of 1776, and was largely the work of ColonelGeorge Mason who based it upon the English Bill of Rights. The American Constitution of 1787 was strongly criticised for not including and statements of individual rights, and accordingly the first ten amendments of the US Constitution were made to include statements of individual rights in the nature of a Bill of Rights. Research Bill of Rights
The Daily Telegraph is a broadsheet newspaper which was established in 1855 as a 2d paper by Colonel Sleigh. Several months later it was bought by Levy who reduced the price to 1d. It was a Liberal supporting paper until 1878, then from 1886 it was unionist and raised funds for needy causes. Today it is nicknamed the 'Torygraph' from its strong support of the Conservative party. Research Daily Telegraph
A die-hard is someone who refuses to surrender or give-up. The term was given as a nickname to the old 57th Regiment of Foot (later known as the West Middlesex Regiment) following their involvement at the Battle of Albuera in 1811 when their colonel, Inglis, told his men to 'die hard'. At the battle the regimental banner was pierced with thirty bullet holes, twenty-three of the twenty-four officers were killed and 416 of the 584 men killed. Research Die-Hard
Duke's Laws were a code of American laws drawn up in 1664 by Colonel Nicolls, then governing the colonies of the Duke of York's patent. They were first arranged for the government of the Dutch settlers of Long Island. They prohibited the election of magistrates, but provided for trial by jury, equal taxation, tenure of lands from the Duke of York, freedom of religion, liability to military duty, and recognition of negro slavery under certain restrictions. Research Duke's Laws
The Meal Tub Plot was a plot in 1679 against the then duke of York, afterwards James II, contrived by a man called Dangerfield, who hid a bundle of seditious letters in the lodgings of colonel Maunsell, and then gave customs officers information that smuggled goods were hidden there. Dangerfield was arrested on suspicion of forging the letters, and subsequently papers were found hidden in a meal tub at the house of a woman with whom he cohabited, which contained the scheme to be sworn to, accusing the most eminent Protestants at the time, who were opposed to the duke of York's succession, of treason. Particularly accused were the earls of Shaftsbury, Essex and Halifax. Dangerfield had been previously whipped for a similar offence, and so on this occasion on the 1st of June 1685 he had one of his eyes struck out, the punishment conducted by the barrister Robert Francis. This caused Dangerfield's death, and his assailant was hanged. Research Meal Tub Plot
In 1776 two Continental companies had been placed in the Wyoming Valley for the protection of the settlers, chiefly Connecticut emigrants. Two years later Major John Butler, commanding a force 800 strong, of Indians, British and Torries, descended upon the valley. On July the 3rd, 230 Americans, in six companies, led by ColonelZebulon Butler, attempted to oppose the British raids. Their unorganized lines fell upon the British about four o'clock in the afternoon. The Americans were completely wiped out, as were the adult male settlers. Women and children were spared, however. Research Wyoming Massacre
The Dog (Canis vulgaris) is a digitigrade, carnivorousanimal, forming the type of the genus Canis, which includes also the wolf, the jackal, and, as a sub-genus, the fox. The origin of the dog is a much-debated question, some considering the breed derived from the wolf, an opinion which is based on resemblances of structure, the susceptibility which the wolf shows of being domesticated, the fact of the two animals breeding together and producing fertile young, and the equality in the period of gestation. But all those points are subject to exceptions and reservations which make the matter doubtful. It is generally agreed that no trace of the dog is to be found in a primitive state, the dhole of India, and dingo of Australia being believed to be wild descendants from domesticated ancestors.
Several attempts to make a systematic classification of the varieties of dogs have been made but without much success, it being difficult in many cases to determine what are to be regarded as types, and what as merely mongrels and cross-breeds. Colonel Hamilton Smith divided dogs into six groups as follows: (1) Wolf-dogs, including the Newfoundland, Esquimaux, St Bernard, shepherd's dog, etc; (2) Watchdogs and Cattle-dogs, including the German boar-hound, the Danish dog, the matin dog, etc; (3) Greyhounds, the lurcher, Irish hound, etc; (4) Hounds, the bloodhound, staghound, foxhound, setter, pointer, spaniel, cocker, poodle, etc; (5) Cur-dogs, including the terrier and its allies; (6) Mastiffs, including the different kinds of mastiffs, bull-dog, pug-dog, etc.
Dogs have in the upper jaw six incisors, two strong curved canines, and six molars on each side, the first three, which are small and have cutting edges, being called false molars; in the lower jaw are six incisors, two canines, and on each side seven molars. The fore-feet have five toes, the hind-feet four or five; the claws are strong, blunt, and formed for digging, and are not retractile. The tail is generally long, and is curled upwards. The female has six to ten mammae; she goes with young nine weeks as a rule. The young are born blind, their eyes opening in ten to twelve days; their growth ceases at two years of age. The dog commonly lives about ten or twelve years, at the most twenty. Research Dog
The West Highland White Terrier or Poltalloch Terrier originating from Argyllshire, Scotland. The breed came about by chance after a dark-coloured terrier was accidentally shot and killed by its master, Colonel Nalcolm in 1860. He subsequently decided to breed white coloured terriers to avoid a reoccurrence of the accident. The breed was used for hunting vermin and is today an alert, lively, independent guard dog type of dog. Research West Highland White Terrier
John Eager Howard was an American soldier. He was born in 1752 and died in 1827. A colonel, he joined the Revolutionary army at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and was a captain under General Mercer at White Plains in 1776. He commanded as major at Germantown and Monmouth, fought at Camden in 1780 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and won great fame at Cowpens in 1781. He was Governor of Maryland from 1789 to 1792. In 1796 he declined the portfolio of Secretary of War in George Washington's Cabinet. He was a US Senator from 1796 to 1803. Research John Eager Howard
John Eager Howard was an American soldier. He was born in 1752 and died in 1827. A colonel, he joined the Revolutionary army at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and was a captain under General Mercer at White Plains in 1776. He commanded as major at Germantown and Monmouth, fought at Camden in 1780 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and won great fame at Cowpens in 1781. He was Governor of Maryland from 1789 to 1792. In 1796 he declined the portfolio of Secretary of War in George Washington's Cabinet. He was a US Senator from 1796 to 1803. Research John Eager Howard
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Abbreviations
Research Bill of Rights
