An act of Parliament is a law or statute proceeding from the parliament of the United Kingdom passed in both houses, and having received the royal assent. Before it is passed it is a bill and not an act. Acts are either public or private, the former affecting the whole community, the latter only special persons and private concerns. The whole body of public acts constitutes the statute law. An act of Parliament can only be altered or repealed by the authority of parliament. Acts are usually cited in this way, '13 and 14 Vict. c. (or chap.) 21,' which means the 21st act in succession passed in year 13th-14th of the queen's reign (for example 1850). Short titles, such as 'the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854', are also used. Up to the time of Edward I acts of parliament were in Latin; then French was introduced, and for some time was exclusively employed. It was not tillHenry VII. that all acts were in English. Research Act of Parliament
The Burnett prizes were prizes established by a Mr. Burnett, a merchant of Aberdeen, on his death in 1784. He left a fund from which were to be given every forty years two theological prizes (not less than 1200 pounds and 400 pounds) for the best two essays in favour of the evidence that there is an all-powerful, wise, and good Being, and this independent of all revelation.
The first competition was in 1815, when Dr. Brown, principal of Aberdeen University, gained the first prize, and Dr. John Bird Sumner, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, the second. In 1855 the first prize was adjudged to the Reverend R. A. Thompson, Lincolnshire, and the second prize to the Reverend Dr. John Tulloch, afterwards principal of St Mary's College, St. Andrews. The destination of the fund was later altered by parliament, and from the late 19th century courses of lectures were delivered, the first, on light, being by Professor Gabriel Stokes in 1883. Research Burnett Prizes
Charterhouse is a celebrated school and charitable foundation in the city of London. It was built in 1371 as a priory for Carthusian monks by Sir Walter Manny. After the dissolution of the monasteries it passed through several hands until it came to Thomas Sutton who converted it into a hospital and school. In 1872 it was moved to Godalming and the premises in London sold to the MerchantTaylors' School. New buildings were erected at the original site in 1875.
The school has long had a high reputation. Among famous men who have received their education at the Charterhouse are Isaac Barrow, Addison, Steele, John Wesley, Blackstone, Grote, Thirlwall, Havelock, John Leech, and Thackeray. Research Charterhouse
A crimping-house was a place used to entrap people into the army and later into the mercantile marine. Some of them in London were destroyed by the populace following the death of a young man killed while trying to escape from one in 1794. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 made crimping illegal and subject to punishment by a heavy fine. Research Crimping-House
The Dick Bequest, was a bequest of over 100,000 pounds sterling left in 1828 by James Dick, a native of Morayshire, and latterly a merchant in London, for the encouragement of education in the parochial schools of the counties of Moray, Banff, and Aberdeen. In order to qualify for getting a share in the revenue of the fund, teachers had to pass a searching examination, and the amount received each year depended on the state of the schools, the subjects taught, etc. The sums distributed yearly thus varied considerably, the average for each teacher being about 30 pounds in 1905. Research Dick Bequest
An ensign is a flag or banner used in the Army and Navy. The British naval ensign is red, white or blue, with a small Union Jack in the upper corner. The red ensign is flown by the Merchant fleet, the blue by the Royal Navy Reserve and the white, which includes a red St George's cross by the Royal Navy. Research Ensign
Faneuil Hall was the gift to Boston of Peter Faneuil, a merchant. The hall was begun in 1740. It was designed to be both a market-house and a place of public meeting. In 1761 it was destroyed by fire. It was restored in 1763, and was used as a theatre during the British occupation of Boston, in 1775. In 1805 it was enlarged by the addition of a third story and an increase in width. During the American War of Independence it was the usual meeting place of patriots, and was the scene of many stirring debates and important resolutions. It has been called the Cradle of American Liberty. Research Faneuil Hall
The fathom is an ancient unit of measurement described as the length between the tips of the middle fingers of a man's two outstretched arms, reckoned at six feet. By the 20th century the fathom was only really used for sounding measurements. During the 18th century three different lengths all known as fathoms were employed in the British navy. The fathom of the man-of-war was reckoned at six feet, the middling fathom used upon merchant ships at five and a half feet and the small fathom used on fishing boats was five feet. Research Fathom
In its most popular usage, a flag is a piece of bunting, usually but not always, square or rectangular in shape, attached to a pole and used as a standard, ensign or signal for display or decoration, and to distinguish one company, party, or nationality from another. Formerly in Britain, a black flag was raised outside prisons to announce the execution of a prisoner. Traditionally in Britain, when in mourning flags are lowered to halfway down the pole and 'flown at half mast'.
In the army a flag is a banner by which one regiment is distinguished from another. Flags borne on the masts of vessels not only designate the country to which they belong, but also are made to denote the quality of the officer by whom a ship is commanded. Thus in the British navy an admiral's flag was displayed at the maintop-gallant-mast-head, a vice-admiral's at the foretop-gallant-mast-head, and a rear-admiral's at the mizzen-top-gallant-mast-head.
In the navy the supreme flag of Great Britain is the royal standard, which is only to be hoisted when the sovereign or one of the royal family is on board the vessel. All British ships of war in commission carry the white ensign, that is a white flag divided into four quarters by the red cross of St George and having the union flag (or union 'jack' as it is popularly called) in the upper corner next the staff.
British merchant ships are entitled to carry a red flag with the union in the corner. The union is the flag commonly used on shore as the national ensign. To lower or strike the flag is to pull it down, or take it in, out of respect or submission to superiors. To lower or strike the flag in an engagement is a sign of yielding. A sign of mourning is to hoist the flags at a half or two-thirds of the height of the masts, if on land at half the height of the staff. Besides the use of flags as distinguishing emblems, a very important use of them at sea, both by national and mercantile navies, is as signals according to an arranged code. Research Flag
The Navigation Act of 1485 was passed by Henry VII so as to build up a Merchant Navy. The Act ordained that the Bordeaux wines brought to Britain were to be carried only in English ships manned by English, Irish or Welsh sailors.
A later Navigation Act, was promulgated by the British Government in 1651 (or even, in a sense, in 1645) for the protection of British commerce and the carrying trade. Its renewal with a few changes was made in 1660, soon after the accession of Charles II. The act related to five subjects: Coasting trade; fisheries; commerce with the colonies; commerce with European countries; commerce with Asia, Africa and America, and was chiefly a move in England's struggle with the Dutch for the possession of the carrying trade of the world. Parts of the Act provided that all colonial trade should be carried on in ships built and owned in England and the colonies, (a provision which powerfully stimulated colonial ship-building) and that, in the case of many specified goods, trade should be with England only. The act was largely rendered inoperative by colonial smuggling. The efforts at last made to enforce it were among the chief causes of the American War Of Independence. Research Navigation Act
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Act of Parliament
