Research Results For 'Sheriff'

GALWAY JURY

The term Galway jury refers to an enlightened and independent jury. The phrase originates from a series of trials held in 1635 upon the right of the king of England to the counties of Ireland. While Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo and Mayo gave judgements in favour of the Crown, Galway opposed it. As a consequence, the sheriff of Galway was fined 1000 pounds and each of the jurors 4000 pounds.
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GUNPOWDER PLOT

The Gunpowder Plot was a terrorist conspiracy formed in England in 1604, the second year of the reign of James I, by some Roman Catholics, to blow up the King and parliament in revenge for the severities against their religion that they had suffered by the government. The time ultimately fixed for the execution of the plot was the 5th of November, 1605, when parliament was to be opened by the king in person. The plot originated with Robert Catesby, Thomas Winter, and John Wright, and was at once made known to Guy Fawkes, a zealous Catholic, who had served in the Spanish army in Flanders, and to Thomas Percy, a relation of the Earl of Northumberland. These five were the original conspirators, but the plot was subsequently communicated to Sir Everard Digby, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham, Thomas Keyes, Christopher Wright (a brother of John), and to some Jesuit fathers and others.

The conspirators took a house next to the Parliament House, and their original plan was by digging under this house to undermine the House of Parliament. They latterly discovered, however, that there was a cellar right under the chamber of parliament, which was occupied by a coal-dealer. They at once hired this cellar, and filled it with gunpowder, faggots, and billets. The plot was discovered by means of a letter sent to Lord Mounteagle, a Catholic peer in favour with the court, who laid it before the secretary of state, Cecil. The letter was a warning couched in mysterious terms, not to be present at the approaching meeting of parliament. Cecil showed it to some of the council, and did nothing until the return of the king from a hunting party. On hearing the letter James at once worked out its meaning, and declared that it referred to gunpowder. This led to investigation and to the arrest of Fawkes in the cellar, where a hogshead and thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were discovered.

It generally thought that Tresham, the reputed author of the letter to Lord Mounteagle, had previously informed bis lordship of the plot, and that the sending and publication of the letter were merely intended as blinds. It seems also that Cecil, knowing the king's vanity, wanted to make him the discoverer of the plot.

Guy Fawkes was arrested at the scene, tortured and revealed the names of his co-conspirators, Catesby, Percy, and the two Wrights were killed while defending Holbeach House, in which they had taken refuge, against the sheriff. Sir Everard Digby was tried and executed at Northampton, Tresham died in prison., Rookwood, Winter, and others were arrested, confessions extracted under torture, and subsequently condemned at Westminster on the 27th of January 1606, and executed on the 30th and 31st.

There is serious doubt about the plot - it was for example too conveniently discovered in the nick of time, and the accused were not tried, but all confessed under torture, and it has been suggested that the entire plot was fabricated by the English authorities to discredit the catholic church and the Pope. Certainly following the alleged plot, persecution of the Catholics within Britain not only continued, but also increased in intensity.
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HOMESTEAD RIOTS

The Homestead Riots was a bloody industrial dispute in American in 1892. On the final refusal of the workingmen's association to accept certain changes in the wage scale, the proprietors of the Carnegie Steel Mills, at Homestead, Pennsylvania, closed the works on July the 1st, 1892. The employees declared a strike about the same time. A mob prevented the sheriff from placing pickets in the mills. On July the 6th a body of 300 Pinkerton detectives arrived. A bloody fight between these men and the strikers immediately took place, resulting in considerable loss on both sides. The Pinkertons surrendered. The Pennsylvania militia was then ordered out and remained at Homestead until September to protect the mills. Many of the strikers were arrested and indictments were found against them.
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RUGBY SCHOOL

Rugby School is a famous British public school in Warwickshire. It was founded in 1567 by Lawrence Sheriff, a London tradesman. The school prospered under the headmastership of Dr Thomas Arnold who entered it in 1828.
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WRIT

A writ is an order issued by a court. A writ of summons is an order by which an action in the High Court is started. It commands the defendant to appear before the court to answer the claim made in the writ by the plaintiff. It is used in actions in tort, claims alleging fraud, and claims for damages in respect of personal injuries, death, or infringement of patent. A writ of execution is used to enforce a judgement; it is addressed to a court officer instructing him to carry out an act, such as collecting money or seizing property. A writ of delivery is a writ of execution directing a sheriff to seize goods and deliver them to the plaintiff or to obtain their value in money, according to an agreed assessment. If the defendant has no option to pay the assessed value, the writ is a writ of specific delivery.
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ANGLO-SAXONS

Anglo-Saxons is the name commonly given to the nation or people formed by the amalgamation of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who settled in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons being simply the English people of the earlier period of English history. The tribes who were thus the ancestors of the bulk of the English-speaking nationalities came from north Germany, where they inhabited the parts about the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, and the first body of them who gained a footing in Britain are said to have landed in 449, and to have been led by Hengist and Horsa. From the preponderance of the Angles the whole country came to be called Engla-land, that is, the land of the Angles or English.

The whole Anglo-Saxon community was frequently spoken of as consisting of the eorls and the ceorls, or the nobles and common freemen. The former were the men of property and position, the latter were the small landholders, handicraftsmen, etc, who generally placed themselves under the protection of some nobleman, who was hence termed their hlaford or lord. Besides these there was the class of the serfs or slaves (theowas), who might be either born slaves or freemen who had forfeited their liberty by their crimes, or whom poverty or the fortune of war had brought into this position. They served as agricultural labourers on their masters' estates, and were mere chattels, as absolutely the property of their master as his cattle.

The king (cyning, cyng) was at the head of the state; he was the highest of the nobles and the chief magistrate. He was not looked upon as ruling by any divine right, but by the will of the people, as represented by the witan (wise men) or great council of the nation. The new king was not always the direct and nearest heir of the late king, but one of the royal family whose abilities and character recommended him for the office. He had the right of maintaining a standing army of household troops, the duty of calling together the witan, and of laying before them public measures, with certain distinctions of dress, dwelling, etc, all his privileges being possessed and exercised by the advice and consent of the witenagemot or parliament (literally meaning meeting of the wise). Next in rank and dignity to the king were the ealdormen, who were the chief witan or counsellors, and without whose assent laws could not be made, altered, or abrogated. They were at the head of the administration of justice in the shires, possessing both judicial and executive authority, and had as their officers the scir-gerefan or sheriffs. The ealdormen led the fyrd or armed force of the county, and the ealdorman, as such, held possession of certain lands attached to the office, and was entitled to a share of fines and other moneys levied for the king's use and passing through his hands. The whole executive government may be considered as a great aristocratical association, of which the ealdormen were the members, and the king little more than the president. The ealdorman and the king were both surrounded by a number of followers called thegnas or thanes, who were bound by close ties to their superior. The king's thanes were the higher in rank, they possessed a certain quantity of land, smaller in amount than that of an ealdorman, and they filled offices connected with the personal service of the king or with the administration of justice. The scir-gerefa (shire-reeve or sheriff) was also
important functionary. He presided at the county-court along with the ealdorman and bishop, or alone in their absence; and he had to carry out the decisions of the court, levy fines, collect taxes, etc. The shires were divided into hundreds and tithings, the latter consisting of ten heads of families, who were jointly responsible to the state for the good conduct of any member of their body. Eor the trial and settlement of minor causes there was a hundred court held once a month. The place of the modern parliament was held by the witena-gemot. Its members, who were not elected, comprised the gethelings or princes of the blood royal, the bishops and abbots, the ealdormen, the thanes, the sheriffs, etc.

One of the peculiar features of Anglo-Saxon society was the wergyld, which was established for the settling of feuds. A sum, paid either in kind or in money, was placed upon the life of every freeman, according to his rank in the state, his birth, or his office. A corresponding sum was settled for every wound that could be inflicted upon his person; for nearly every injury that could be done to his civil rights, his honour, or his domestic peace, etc. From the operation of this principle no one from king to peasant was exempt.

Agriculture, including especially the raising of cattle, sheep, and swine, was the chief occupation of the Anglo-Saxons. Gardens and orchards are frequently mentioned, and vineyards were common in the southern counties. The forests were extensive, and valuable both from the mast they produced for the swine, and from the beasts of the chase which they harboured. Hunting was a favourite recreation among the higher ranks, both lay and clerical. Fishing was largely carried on, herrings and salmon being the principal fish caught; and the Anglo-Saxon whaling vessels used to go as far as Iceland. The manufactures were naturally of small moment. Iron was made to some extent, and some cloth, and salt works were numerous. In embroidery and working in gold the English were famous over Europe. There was a considerable trade at London, which was frequented by Normans, French, Flemings, and the merchants of the Hanse towns. Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers were notorious for their excess in eating and drinking, and in this respect formed a strong contrast to the Norman conquerors. Ale, mead, and cider were the common beverages, wine being limited to the higher classes. Pork and eels were favourite articles of food. The houses were rude structures, but were often richly furnished and hung with fine tapestry. The dress of the people was loose and flowing, composed chiefly of linen, and often adorned with embroidery. The men wore their hair long and flowing over their shoulders. Christianity was introduced among the Anglo-Saxons in the end of the sixth century by St Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Kent, then under King Ethelred, was the first place where it took root, and thence it soon spread over the rest of the country. The Anglo-Saxon Church long remained independent of Rome, notwithstanding the continual efforts of the popes to bring it under their power. It was not until the tenth century that this result was
t about by Dunstan. Many Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics were distinguished for learning and ability, but the Venerable Bede holds the first place.

The Anglo-Saxon language, which is simply the earliest form of English, claims kinship with Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and German, especially with the Low German dialects (spoken in North Germany). It was not called Anglo-Saxon by those who spoke it, but Englisc (English), and many condemn the former name as a misnomer. The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature show different dialects, of which the northern and the southern were the principal. The former was the first to be cultivated as a literary language, but afterwards it was supplanted in this respect by the southern or that of Wessex. It is in the latter that the principal Anglo-Saxon works are written. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet was substantially the same as that which we still use, except that some of the letters were different in form, while it had two characters either of which represented the sounds of th in thy and in thing. Nouns and adjectives are declined much as in German or in Latin. The pronouns of the first and second person had a dual number, 'we tw' or 'us two' and 'you two', besides the plural for more than two. The infinitive of the verb is in -am, the participle in -ende, and there is a gerund somewhat similar in its usage to the Latin gerund. The verb had four moods - indicative, subjunctive, imperative, and infinitive, but only two tenses, the present (often used as a future) and the past. Other tenses and the passive voice were formed by auxiliary verbs. Anglo-Saxon words terminated in a vowel much more frequently than the modern English, and altogether the language is so different that it has to be learned quite like a foreign tongue. Yet notwithstanding the large number of words of Latin or French origin that our language now contains, and the changes it has undergone, its framework, so to speak, is still Anglo-Saxon. Many chapters of the New Testament do not contain more than four per cent of non-Teutonic words, and as a whole it averages perhaps six or seven.

The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature include compositions in prose and poetry, some of which must be referred to a very early period, one or two perhaps to a time before the Angles and Saxons emigrated to England. The most important Anglo-Saxon poem is that called Beowulf, after its hero, extending to more than 6000 lines. Beowulf is a Scandinavian prince, who slays a fiendish cannibal, after encountering supernatural perils, and is at last slain in a contest with a frightful dragon. Its scene appears to be laid entirely in Scandinavia. Its date is uncertain; parts of it may have been brought over at the emigration from Germany, though in its present form it is much later than this. The poetical remains include a number of religious poems, or poems on sacred themes; ecclesiastical narratives, as lives of saints and versified chronicles; psalms and hymns; secular lyrics; allegories, gnomes, riddles, etc. The religious class of poems was the largest, and of these Caedmon's (about 660) are the most remarkable. His poems consist of loose versions of considerable portions of the Bible history, and treat of the creation, the temptation, the fall, the exodus of the Israelites, the story of Daniel, the incarnation, and the harrowing of hell, or release of the ransomed souls by Christ. Other most interesting poems are those ascribed to Cynewulf, the Christ, Elene, and Juliana, the subjects respectively being Christ, the finding of the cross by the Empress Helena, and the life of Juliana. Rhyme was little used in Anglo-Saxon poetry, alliteration being employed instead, as in the older northern poetry generally. The style of the poetry is highly elliptical, and it is full of harsh inversions and obscure metaphors.

The Anglo-Saxon prose remains consist of translations of portions of the Bible, homilies, philosophical writings, history, biography, laws, leases, charters, popular treatises on science and medicine, grammars, etc. Many of these were translations from the Latin. The Anglo-Saxon versions of the Gospels, next to the Moeso-Gothic, are the earliest scriptural translations in any modern language. The Psalms are said to have been translated by Bishop Aldhelm (who died in 709), and also under Alfred's direction; and the Gospel of St John by Bede; but it is not known who were the authors of the extant versions. A translation of the first seven books of the Bible is believed to have been the work of Aelfric, who was Abbot of Ensham and lived in the beginning of the eleventh century. We have also eighty homilies from his pen, several theological treatises, a Latin grammar, etc. King Alfred was a diligent author, besides being a translator of Latin works. We have under his name translations of Boethius De Consolatione Philosophise, the Universal History of Orosius, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great, etc. The most valuable to us of the Anglo-Saxon prose writings is the Saxon Chronicle, as it is called, a collection of annals recording important events in the history of the country, and compiled in different religious houses. The latest text comes down to 1154. A considerable body of laws remains, as well as a large number of charters.
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ARCHIBALD ALISON

Archibald Alison was a Scottish theologian and writer on aesthetics. He was born in 1757 in Edinburgh and died in 1839. He studied at Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, entered the English Church, and finally in 1800 settled as the minister of an Episcopal chapel at Edinburgh. He published two volumes of sermons, and a work entitled Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste, published in 1790, in which he maintains that all the beauty of material objects depends upon the associations connected with them.

Sir Archibald Alison was an English lawyer and writer of history. He was born in 1792 at Shropshire and died in 1867. The son of Arbibald Alison, the theologian, hee was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1814 was admitted to the Scottish bar. He spent the next eight years in continental travel. On his return he was appointed advocate-depute, which post he held until 1830. In 1832 he published Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland, and in 1833 The Practice of the Criminal Law. He was appointed sheriff of Lanarkshire in 1834, and retained this post until his death. He was made a baronet in 1852. His chief work - The History of Europe, from 1789 to 1815 - was first issued in ten volumes between 1833 and 1842, the narrative being subsequently brought down to 1852, the beginning of the second French Empire. This work displays industry and research, and is generally accurate, but not very readable. It has been translated into French, German, Arabic, Hindustani, etc. Among Sir Archibald's other productions are Principles of Population; Free-trade and Protection ; England in 1815 and 1845; Life of the Duke of Marlborough, etc.
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DUNCAN FORBES

Duncan Forbes of Culloden was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was born in 1685 and died in 1747. He studied law at Edinburgh and Leyden; was called to the bar in 1709, and appointed Sheriff of Midlothian. He helped to crush the rebellion of 1715; in 1716 was advocate-depute, in 1722 member of parliament for the Inverness burghs, in 1725 lord-advocate, and in 1737 lord-president of the Court of Session. In 1734, in consequence of the death of his brother, he fell heir to the estate of Culloden. He devoted himself to the improvement of the industry of Scotland, and materially aided in laying the foundations of that commercial prosperity to which his country since attained. He also effected many improvements in the procedure of the Court of Session. It was mainly owing to his exertions that the rebellion of 1745 was prevented from spreading more rapidly among the clans; but so ungratefully was he treated by the government, that he was never able to obtain repayment of the large sums he had expended to uphold it. He wrote several religious works: Thoughts on Religion; Reflections on the Sources of Incredulity in Regard to Religion; Letter to a Bishop; etc.
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GROVER CLEVELAND

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd president of the USA from 1885 to 1889 and the 24th president of the USA from 1893 to 1897. He was born in 1837 at Caldwell, New York and died in 1908. He studied law and in 1855 he became a clerk at a Buffalo law office and in 1859 was admitted to the bar. He joined the democratic party, along with his law associates and took an active role in the local organisation. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, he didn't enlist and when conscripted took advantage of the commutation provision of the law and hired a substitute, staying behind to support his mother and two teenage sisters. In 1870 he was elected sheriff of Erie County.
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HENRY GLASSFORD BELL

Henry Glassford Bell was a Scottish poet, miscellaneous writer, and lawyer. He was born in 1803 at Glasgow 1803 and died in 1874. He was educated at the Glasgow High School and Edinburgh University. In 1828 he became editor of the Edinburgh Literary Journal, which had a short but brilliant career. In 1832 he passed as advocate, and in 1836 competed with Sir W Hamilton for the chair of logic and metaphysics in Edinburgh University. In 1839 he was appointed sheriff-substitute of Lanarkshire, and in 1867 sheriff-principal. He was author of several volumes of poetry, a Life of Mary Queen of Scots, etc.
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