Ireland.—The banks in Ireland consist of one public or national bank, the Bank of Ireland, and of sundry joint-stock and private banks. The authorized note circulation is arranged on the same footing as that of the Scotch banks. If any bank discontinues its issue and issues notes of the Bank of Ireland, the circulation ofthe latter may be to an equal amount increased. The authorized circulation is £6,354,494; the actual circulation is sometimes a little above, sometimes a little below. The Bank of Ireland, which was established by charter in 1783 with similar privileges to those granted to the Bank of England, has lent the greater portion of its capital to Government. Its capital is £2,769,230 (or £3,000,000 Irish); it has also a rest or reserve of over £1,000,000. The bank allows interest on deposits when lodged for a stated period.
Banque de France.—The Bank of France is second in importance only to the Bank of England. It was established in the beginning of the nineteenth century, at first with a capital of 45,000,000 francs, and with the exclusive privilege in Paris of issuing notes payable to bearer, a privilege which was extended in 1848 to cover the whole of France. It has numerous branches in the larger towns, a number of these having been acquired in 1848, when certain joint-stock banks of issue were by Government decree incorporated with the Bank of France, the capital of which was then increased to 91,250,000 francs (£3,650,000), in 91,250 shares of 1000 francs each. In 1857 the capital was doubled, and besides this it has a large surplus capital or rest. Like the Bank of England, it is a bank of deposit, discount, and circulation, and is a large creditor of the State. The Government appoints the governor and the two deputy-governors, who are all required to be stockholders. There is also a body of fifteen directors and three censors, nominated by the shareholders. The value of its note circulation in March, 1922, was 36,225,852,000 francs.
British Colonies.—With regard to the banks in British colonies little need be said. All the more important are joint-stock concerns, and they are carried on subject to Acts passed by the respective colonial legislatures. Some of them have their head-quarters in London, and have been established by English capital. In Canada the banks are not allowed to issue notes of lower denominations than five dollars, notes for one and two dollars and higher amounts being issued by the Dominion Government; and the banking laws are such that there is no possibility of holders of bank-notes being losers by them. The total paid-up capital of the Canadian banks is about £20,000,000; their total deposits about £135,000,000.
United States.—The more important of the banks of the United States are what are called national banks, established in accordance with an Act passed in 1863. Associations of this kind at starting must invest at least a third of their paid-up capital in Government bonds, which pay them an interest of 4 per cent more or less. They then obtain from the Government bureau, established for the purpose, 90 per cent of paper-money sheets, which they sign and pay out, this constituting their note circulation. These banks pay no interest to depositors. Besides the notes of these banks a large portion of the currency of the United States consists of Government notes issued from the national treasury. There are also banks chartered by the different States and private banks.
Savings-banksare banks established for the receiving of small sums, so as to be taken advantage of by the poorer classes, and they are carried on entirely for the benefit of the depositors. They are of comparatively recent origin, one of the earliest having been an institution in which small sums were received, and interest allowed on them, established by Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield, at Tottenham, near London, in 1803. The first savings-bank in Scotland was formed in 1810 by the Rev. Henry Duncan, of Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire. In 1814 the Edinburgh savings-bank was established on the same principles, and the system soon spread over the kingdom. The first Act relating to savings-banks was passed in 1817. By it all deposits in savings-banks, as soon as they reached £50, were placed in the hands of the National Debt Commissioners, who allowed interest on them. In 1824 it was enacted that the deposits for the first year should not exceed £50, nor those in subsequent years £30, the total deposits being limited to £150, and interest ceasing to be paid when accrued interest made the total £200. By the Act of 1893 the limit of annual deposit was raised to £50, and the interest is now rather less than 3 per cent. An Act of 1833 had provided for the purchase of Government annuities by depositors either for life or for a term of years; and an annuity of any amount up to £100 may now be obtained. Depositors in savings-banks (by an Act of 1880) can also have their money invested for them in Government stock, the banks collecting and paying the dividends; and when accrued interest raises an account above £200 the excess is now so invested for the depositor. The total amount invested by one person in Government stock is not to exceed £500, nor £200 in one year. These banks are managed by local trustees having no personal interest in the business, and by certain paid officers. A new class of savings-banks, namely,Post Office Savings-banks, was established in Britain in connection with the money-order department of the Post Office in 1861. Any sum not less than a shilling is received, provided that the total amount banked does not exceed £50 in one year, or more than £200 in all; the excess of accrued interest above this being invested in Government stock. Interest is paid on every complete pound at the rate of 2½ per cent. For the deposits the Government isresponsible, and they may be drawn from any Post Office Savings-bank in the kingdom. These savings-banks have become very numerous, and much of the funds formerly in the trustees' savings-banks has been transferred to them. The total amount deposited in the old banks is now about £52,000,000, in the new about £157,600,000. The regulations regarding the purchase of Government stock and annuities correspond with those given above. Savings-banks are now well known in all civilized countries, and the good they have done is incalculable. In the United States there is an enormous amount of money deposited in them. Post Office Savings-banks have been proposed to be established in the States, but have not yet been so. In Canada, Australia, and other British colonies they are established, as well as savings-banks of several other kinds. School savings-banks are the most recent institutions of this kind, and have had a marked effect for good.
Bank Holidays, in England and Ireland, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, first Monday in August, Christmas and following day, or 27th (if next day is a Sunday); in Scotland, New-Year's Day, first Monday of May and August and Christmas.
Bankrupt(from It.banca rotta'bank broken' or 'bench broken'. Dr. Johnson said that the word originated from the Italian custom of breaking the bench of an insolvent money-changer; butrottaalso means 'interrupted' or 'stopped', and is here used more in the sense of our colloquial wordbroken, and means 'insolvent'), a person whom the law does or may take cognizance of as unable to pay his debts. Properly it is of narrower signification thaninsolvent, an insolvent person simply being unable to pay all his debts. In England up till 1861 the termbankruptwas limited to an insolvent trader, and such traders were on a different footing from other insolvent persons, the latter not getting the same legal relief from their debts. In all civilized communities laws have been passed regarding bankruptcy. At present bankruptcy in England is regulated by the Bankruptcy Acts of 1883 and 1890, which have as one chief feature the intervention of the Board of Trade in the proceedings, with the object of obtaining full official supervision and control. A bankruptcy petition may be presented either by a creditor or a debtor. A creditor's petition must be founded on a debt of not less than fifty pounds, due to one or more creditors, and on an 'act of bankruptcy' committed by the debtor within three months before the presentation of the petition. A debtor commits an act of bankruptcy if he makes a conveyance of his property to a trustee for the benefit of his creditors; if he makes a fraudulent transfer of any part of his property; if, to defeat or delay his creditors, he conceal himself either at home or abroad; if execution issued against him has been enforced by seizure and sale of his goods under process in an action in any court; if he files in court a declaration of inability to pay his debts, or presents a bankruptcy petition against himself; if a creditor has obtained a final judgment against him for any amount and he fail to pay the judgment debt without satisfactory reason; or if the debtor gives notice to any of his creditors that he has suspended, or is about to suspend, payment of his debts. In London jurisdiction in bankruptcy now rests with the High Court of Justice, while the county courts continue to have jurisdiction in bankruptcy outside the London district. When the court is satisfied as to the petition, a 'receiving order' is issued to protect the debtor's estate by constituting the official appointed by the Board of Trade receiver of the debtor's property, and to stay the remedies of all creditors until the meeting of creditors. The debtor must make out a full statement of his affairs, accounting as best he can for his insolvency. The official receiver summons the meeting of creditors, a summary of the debtor's affairs being sent to each creditor with the notice of the meeting, which is also advertised in theLondon Gazette. The creditors must send to the official receiver, one day before the meeting, sworn proofs of their claims to enable them to vote. At the meeting the creditors (unless the debtor's proposal for a composition or scheme be entertained) pass a resolution adjudging the debtor bankrupt, and appoint a trustee of the bankrupt's property, with a committee of inspection selected from their own body to superintend the administration of the bankrupt's property by the trustee, who divides the available realized assets amongst all creditors who have sent sworn proofs of claims. Rates, assessments, and taxes, and all wages or salary of a clerk, servant, labourer, or workman during four months before the date of the receiving order not exceeding £50 are paid in priority to all other debts. The trustee is required to give satisfactory security to the Board of Trade, by which his accounts are audited not less than twice in each year. All moneys received by the trustee under the bankruptcy must be paid forthwith to an account kept at the Bank of England by the Board of Trade, called the 'Bankruptcy Estates Account'. The debtor is bound to be publicly examined upon oath in court, and any creditor who has tendered a proof, or his representative, may take part in the examination. Until the debtor has passed his public examination he cannot apply for an order of discharge, and upon proof of misdemeanour the court refuses orsuspends the discharge. A discharged bankrupt is disqualified for five years from acting as member of Parliament, justice of peace, alderman, overseer of the poor, county councillor, or as a member of any school, highway, or burial board. An undischarged bankrupt obtaining credit to the extent of £20 or upwards from any person, without informing such person of his status, is guilty of a misdemeanour. By the Act of 1883 the creditors may at the first meeting resolve to entertain a proposal for a composition or scheme of arrangement of the debtor's affairs, but the composition or scheme shall not be binding on the creditors, unless confirmed at a second meeting by a majority in number representing three-fourths in value of all the creditors who have proved. The composition or scheme has then to be formally brought before the court for approval, which may be refused. A composition or scheme may be sanctioned by the court after the debtor's adjudication as a bankrupt, and in this case the bankruptcy is annulled. Though imprisonment for debt has been abolished, fraudulent bankrupts may be punished, and the conduct of prosecutions for offences arising out of any bankruptcy proceeding falls to the public prosecutor. The estates of persons dying insolvent may be administered according to the law of bankruptcy. The Act of 1913 embodies suggestions of the Bankruptcy Law Amendment Committee of 1906. Thus, the Summary Jurisdiction Act can now be applied to offenders under the Debtors' Act. Whereas previously conviction for such offences as failure to keep proper accounts and concealment of debt could only be by trial before a jury, they are punishable after summary trial before a stipendiary magistrate or justice of the peace, the onus of proving innocence falling on the debtor. A married woman, too, may be made bankrupt even if not trading separately from her husband.
According to Scots law bankruptcy is notorious insolvency, that is, a public acknowledgment of inability to discharge obligations. By a judicial proceeding, calledsequestration, authorized by the Court of Session or sheriff court, on the petition of the debtor himself with the concurrence of one creditor swearing to a debt of £50, two whose debts together amount to £70, or of any number of creditors whose debts together amount to £100; or on the petition of a creditor or creditors to the foregoing extent without the concurrence of the debtor, if he has clearly shown himself to be insolvent (or anotour bankrupt), the whole estates and effects of the debtor, real and personal, are legally taken for behoof of the creditors. The debtor's estate is then made over to a trustee chosen by the creditors, the trustee being charged to bring the whole estate into the form of money, with certain precautions, and to receive, investigate, and reject or admit the claims of the creditors, subject to review of the Court of Session or sheriff court by summary petition. The debtor, and all who can give information as to the estate, must submit to public examination on oath before the sheriff of the county, and the debtor may thereafter, or by petition after six, twelve, or eighteen months from sequestration, be discharged of all debts by the court with consent of the creditors or a number of them, or at the expiry of two years without consent. These proceedings may be partly superseded by 'composition' if such be assented to by a majority in number and nine-tenths in value of creditors, or by a majority in number and four-fifths in value of the creditors, according to the period at which such arrangement may be proposed. They may also be terminated by a deed of arrangement entered into between the bankrupt and a majority in number and four-fifths in value of his creditors, approved of by the court. Before a discharge is given there must be a report from the trustee as to the conduct of the bankrupt, whether he has complied with the provisions of the Act, whether his bankruptcy is culpable or not, &c. Before the abolition of imprisonment for ordinary civil debts by Act passed in 1880, an insolvent debtor often took advantage of a form of process by which, on making a completecessio bonorum, or surrender to his creditors of all his property, he might obtain protection from imprisonment. Though no person can now be imprisoned for ordinary debts, a creditor of anotourbankrupt may present a petition to the sheriff, praying him to decern that the debtor assign over all his goods for behoof of his creditors and that a trustee be appointed; and this proceeding is still designated a process ofcessio bonorum. The Act of 1880 also provides for the better punishment of fraudulent debtors in Scotland. If the debtor's liabilities exceed £200, the sheriff may awardsequestrationof the debtor's estate instead ofcessio bonorum. There is no appeal from the sheriff's decision with respect to discharge.
In Ireland there is a special code of bankruptcy contained in special Acts, differing to some extent from the regulations prevailing both in England and Scotland. Thus in Ireland it is not an offence for an undischarged bankrupt to obtain credit to any amount without disclosing the fact of his bankruptcy. All bankruptcy business comes before the court at Dublin, Belfast, or Cork. Imprisonment for debt was abolished in 1872.
Official returns in Great Britain show a tendency towards a smaller number of failures, but a larger amount of money is involved.
In the different British colonies the laws regulating bankruptcy naturally differ, and the same is the case with the individual States of the American Union, though Congress has the power of legislating for the whole country in regard to this, and has oftener than once done so.—Bibliography: H. Goudy,Treatise of the Law of Bankruptcy in Scotland; Sir R. H. J. Palgrave,Dictionary of Political Economy; E. T. Baldwin,The Law of Bankruptcy and Bills of Sale; Sir R. L. V. Williams,The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy; R. Ringwood,The Principles of Bankruptcy.
Banks, Sir Joseph, Baronet, a distinguished naturalist, born in London 1743. After studying at Harrow and Eton he went to Oxford in 1760, and formed there amongst his fellow-undergraduates a voluntary class in botany, &c. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766, and soon after went to Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay to collect plants. In 1768, with Dr. Solander, a Swedish gentleman, pupil of Linnæus, and then assistant librarian at the British Museum, he accompanied Cook's expedition as naturalist. In 1772 he visited Iceland along with Dr. Solander, and during this voyage the Hebrides were examined, and the columnar formation of the rocks of Staffa first made known to geologists. In 1777 Banks was chosen President of the Royal Society, and in 1781 was made a baronet, and in 1795 received the Order of the Bath. He wrote only essays, papers for learned societies, and short treatises. He died in 1820, and bequeathed his collections to the British Museum.
Banks, Thomas, an English sculptor, born in 1735, died in 1805. He studied sculpture in the Royal Academy, where he obtained the gold medal for a bas-relief of theRape of Proserpine. In 1772 he went to Italy, where he executed several excellent pieces, particularlyCupid tormenting a Butterfly, which was afterwards purchased by the Empress Catherine. On leaving Italy he spent two unsatisfactory years in Russia, and then returned to England, where he was soon after made an Academician. One of his best-known works isShakespeare attended by Painting and Poetry. Among his other works was a colossal statue—Achilles mourning the loss of Briseis—in the hall of the British Institution, and the monument of Sir Eyre Coote in Westminster Abbey. His bust of Warren Hastings is in the National Gallery.
Bank´sia(named after Sir Joseph Banks), a genus of Australian shrubs and trees, order Proteaceæ, with leathery leaves generally dark-green on the upper surface and pale below, often cultivated in conservatories for their peculiar foliage and flowers. They are named "honeysuckles" by the colonists, from the honey the flowers contain.
Banks´ring.SeeBanxring.
Bankura´, a town of Bengal, on the Dhalkisor River, healthy and with a considerable trade Pop. 21,000.
Bann, Upper and Lower, two rivers in the N. of Ireland, the former rising in the mountains of Mourne, County Down, and, after flowing 38 miles in a northerly direction, falling into Lough Neagh, the latter being the outlet of Lough Neagh, and falling into the Atlantic Ocean 4 miles below Coleraine, after a course of nearly 40 miles.
Ban´natyne Club, a literary society instituted in Edinburgh (1823) by Sir Walter Scott (its first president), David Laing (secretary till its dissolution in 1861), Archibald Constable, and Thomas Thomson. It started with thirty-one members, subsequently extended to 100, having as its object the printing of rare works on Scottish history, literature, geography, &c. It derived its name from George Bannatyne (1545-1609), the collector of the famous MS. of early Scottish poetry.
Ban´neret, formerly, in England, a knight made on the field of battle as a reward for bravery, with the ceremony of cutting off the point of his pennon and making it a banner. The first banneret in England was made by King Edward I, and the last (John Smith) by Charles I after the battle of Edgehill in 1642.
Ban´nock, a cake made of oatmeal, barley-meal, or peasemeal baked on an iron plate or griddle over the fire. From a supposed resemblance the turbot is sometimes called in Scotland theBannock-fluke.
Bannockburn, a village of Scotland, in Stirlingshire, 2 milesS.E.Stirling, famous for the decisive battle in which King Robert Bruce of Scotland defeated Edward II of England, on the 24th June, 1314. It has manufactures of woollens, such as tartans, carpets, &c.; pop. 4103.
Banns of Marriage, public notice of the intended celebration of a marriage given either by proclamation, viva voce, by a clergyman, session-clerk, or precentor in some religious assembly, or by posting up written notice in some public place. Dissent of parents or guardians renders null and void the publication of the banns of minors. In France the banns must be published on two distinct Sundays, and the marriage cannot take place until three days after the second publication. In America the practice is confined to the Roman Catholics, although it is still recognized in the statutes of some of the States.
Bannu, a district in the north-west of Hindustan, traversed by the Indus; area, 3847 sq. miles; pop. 390,000, nearly half being Afghans.
Banquette(bang-ket´) in fortification, theelevation of earth behind a parapet, on which the garrison or defenders may stand. The height of the parapet above the banquette is usually about 4 feet 6 inches; the breadth of the banquette from 2½ or 3 feet to 4 or 6 feet, according to the number of ranks to occupy it. It is frequently made double, that is, a second is made still lower.
Banshee´, orBenshi´, a fairy woman believed in Ireland and some parts of Scotland to attach herself to a particular house, and to appear or make her presence known by wailing before the death of one of the family.
Ban´tam, a residency occupying the whole of theW.end of the Island of Java. It formed an independent kingdom, governed by its own sultan, till 1683, and the Dutch exercised suzerainty with brief intermission until its formal incorporation by them at the beginning of last century. It produces rice, coffee, sugar, cinnamon, &c. Serang is its capital. The town Bantam was the first Dutch settlement in Java (1595), and for some time their principal mart, though now not so prosperous.
Ban´tam Fowl, a small but spirited breed of domestic fowl, first brought from the East Indies, supposed to derive its name from Bantam in Java. Most of the sub-varieties have feathered legs; but these are not to be preferred. In point of colour the black and nankeen varieties are the best. A well-bred bantam does not weigh more than a pound.
Banteng´(Bos BantengorSondaicus), a wild species of ox, native of Java and Borneo, having a black body, slender white legs, short sleek hair, sharp muzzle, and the back humped behind the neck.
Banting System, a course of diet for reducing superfluous fat, adopted and recommended in 1863 by W. Banting of London. The dietary recommended was the use of butcher-meat principally, and abstinence from beer, farinaceous food, and vegetables. SeeCorpulence.
Ban´try, a seaport near the head of Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland. Pop. 3159.—Thebay, one of three large inlets at theS.W.extremity of Ireland, affords an unsurpassed anchorage, and is about 25 miles long by 4 to 6 broad, and from 10 to 40 fathoms deep, with no dangerous rocks or shoals.
Bantu(bän-tö´), the ethnological name of a group of African races below about 6°N.latitude, and including the Kaffirs, Zulus, Bechuanas, the tribes of the Loango, Congo, &c., but not the Hottentots.—Bibliography: Deniker,Races of Man; J. Roscoe,The Northern Bantu.
Banu.SeeBannu.
Banx´ring(genus Tapaia), a quadruped belonging to the Insectivora, inhabiting the Indian Archipelago, bearing some resemblance externally to a squirrel, but having a long pointed snout.
BanyanBanyan (Ficus benghalensis)
Ban´yan(Ficus benghalensis), a tree of India, of the fig genus. The most peculiar feature of this tree is its method of throwing out from the horizontal branches supports which take root as soon as they reach the ground, enlarge into trunks, and, extending branches in their turn, soon cover a prodigious extent of ground. A celebrated banyan tree has been known to shelter 7000 men beneath its shade. The wood is soft and porous, and from its white glutinous juice bird-lime is sometimes prepared. Both juice and bark are regarded by the Hindus as valuable medicines, and the tree itself is sacred. The banyan tree is described by Southey in his poemThe Curse of Kehama.
BaobabBaobab or Monkey-bread Tree (Adansonia digitata)
Ba´obab(Adansonia digitāta) orMonkey-bread Tree, a tree belonging to the nat. ord. (or sub-ord.) Bombaceæ, and the best-known species of its genus, which was named after the naturalist Adanson. Though not tall, it is one of the bulkiest of trees, its trunk sometimes measuring 30 feet in diameter, and as the profusion of leavesand drooping boughs sometimes almost hides the stem, the whole forms a hemispherical mass of verdure 140 to 150 feet in diameter and 60 to 70 feet high. It is a native of the African savannahs, and is cultivated in many of the warmer parts of the world. The roots are of extraordinary length, a tree 77 feet in girth having a tap-root 110 feet in length. The leaves are deep green, divided into five unequal parts lanceolate in shape, and radiating from a common centre. The flowers resemble the white poppy, having snowy petals and violet-coloured stamens; and the fruit, which is large and of an oblong shape, is said to taste like gingerbread, with a pleasant acid flavour. The wood is pale-coloured, light, and contains a large store of water, which enables the tree to withstand prolonged drought. The tree is liable to be attacked by a fungus which, growing in the woody part, renders it soft and pithlike. By the negroes of the west coast these trunks are hollowed into chambers, and dead bodies are suspended in them. There they become perfectly dry and well preserved, without further preparation or embalming. The baobab is emollient and mucilaginous; the pulverized leaves constitutelalo, which the natives mix with their daily food.
Bapaume, a French town in the department of Pas-de-Calais. It has been the scene of several battles. In 1793 the French were compelled by the allied troops to abandon the place, and in the Franco-German war one of the most closely-contested battles was fought there on 3rd Jan., 1871. Bapaume, occupied by the Germans in the European War, was recaptured by British troops on 29th Aug., 1918, the great battle of Bapaume having begun on 21st Aug. Pop. (1911) 2917.
Baph´omet, the imaginary idol or symbol which the Templars were accused of employing in their mysterious rites, and of which little is known. The word is supposed to be a corruption of Mahomet, to whose faith the Templars were accused of having a leaning. SeeGnosticism.
Baptism(from the Gr.baptizō, frombaptō, to immerse or dip), a rite which is generally thought to have been usual with the Jews even before Christ, being administered to proselytes. All that can be said, however, with some certainty is that the Jewish baptism was not of later origin than the Christian baptism. Anyhow, from this baptism that of St. John the Baptist differed, because he baptized Jews also as a symbol of the necessity of perfect purification from sin. Christ himself never baptized, but directed his disciples to administer this rite to converts (Mat.xxviii, 19); and baptism, therefore, became a religious ceremony among Christians, taking rank as a sacrament with all sects which acknowledge sacraments. It should, however, be borne in mind that among many peoples a rite is found which has considerable likeness to Christian baptism. In the primitive Church the person to be baptized was dipped in a river or in a vessel, with the words which Christ had ordered, generally adopting a new name further to express the change. Sprinkling, or, as it was termed,clinicbaptism, was used only in the case of the sick who could not leave their beds. The Greek Church and Eastern schismatics retained the custom of immersion; but the Western Church adopted or allowed the mode of baptism by pouring or sprinkling, since continued by most Protestants. This practice can be traced back certainly to the third century, before which its existence is disputed. Since the Reformation there have been various Protestant sects called Baptists, holding that baptism should be administered only by immersion, and to those who can make a personal profession of faith. The Montanists in Africa baptized even the dead, and in Roman Catholic countries the practice of baptizing church bells—a custom of tenth-century origin—continues to this day. Being an initiatory rite, baptism is only administered once to the same person. The Roman and Greek Catholics consecrate the water of baptism, but Protestants do not. The act of baptism is accompanied only with the formula that the person is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but, among most Christians, it is preceded by a confession of faith made by the person to be baptized if an adult, and by his parents or sponsors if he be a child. The Roman Catholic form of baptism is far more elaborate than the Protestant. This Church teaches that all persons not baptized are damned, and that even unbaptized infants are not admitted into Heaven; but for those whose chief fault was that they had not been baptized, even St. Augustine himself believed in a species of mitigated damnation. Protestants hold that though the neglect of the sacrament is a sin, yet the saving new birth may be found without the performance of the rite which symbolizes it. Naming the person baptized forms no essential part of the ceremony, but has become almost universal, probably from the ancient custom of renaming the catechumen.—Bibliography: E. B. Tylor,Primitive Culture(vol. ii); S. Baring-Gould,Origin and Development of Religious Belief; J. E. Hanaver,Baptism, Jewish and Christian; Harnack,History of Dogma; articleBaptisminEncyclopedia of Ethics and Religion; Corblet,Histoire du Sacrément du Baptême; P. Mauro,Baptism: its place and importance in Christianity.
BaptisteryBaptistery of S. Giovanni in Laterano, Rome
Bap´tistery, a building or a portion of a building in which is administered the rite of baptism. In the early Christian Church the baptistery wasdistinct from the basilica or church, but was situated near its west end, and was generally circular or octagonal in form, and dome-roofed. About the end of the sixth century the baptistery began to be absorbed into the church, the font being placed within and not far from the western door. Some detached baptisteries still remain in use, as those of the Lateran, Rome (the earliest in existence), at Pisa, Parma, Ravenna, Aquileia, Siena, Florence, &c., that of Florence being 108 feet in diameter externally, and richly decorated. Baptisteries were dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
Bap´tists, a Protestant sect, distinguished by their opinions respecting the mode and subjects of baptism. With regard to the mode, they maintain the necessity of immersion, and with regard to the subjects, they consider that baptism ought not to be administered to children at all, nor to adults in general, but to those only who profess repentance and faith. They are sometimes calledAnti-pædobaptists, to express their variance from those who defend infant baptism, and who are calledPædobaptists. Apart from the special sect of that name, Baptists are to be found equally among Calvinists and Arminians, Trinitarians and Unitarians. The Baptists as a whole adopt the Independent or Congregational form of church government, and their ecclesiastical assemblies are held for the purpose of mutual stimulus and intercourse, and not for the general government of the body, or for interference with individual churches. The Particular Baptists of England (so called from believing that Christ died only for the elect), the Baptists of Scotland and Ireland, the Associated Baptists of America, and some of the Seventh-day Baptists, are Calvinistic. The other classes, such as the General Baptists (who believe that Christ died for all), are Arminian, or at least not Calvinistic. Most Baptists profess to be Trinitarians. The Free-will Baptists, the Christian Society, and most of the General Baptists of England admit of open communion; the other bodies decline communion with any Christians but Baptists. The Associated or Calvinistic Baptists long ranked in the United States as the most numerous denomination of Christians. The Seventh-day Baptists, or Sabbatarians, observe the seventh day of the week. The Free-will Baptists profess the doctrine of free salvation. The Anabaptists of the Reformation period are not to be confounded with the Baptists, by whom their principles were expressly disclaimed. The first regular Baptist Church appears to have been formed in the reign of Elizabeth, but we may date their first public acknowledgment as distinct from the Anabaptists from their petition to Parliament in 1620. The year 1633 provides the earliest record of the formation of a Particular Baptist Church in London. In 1689 a Baptist General Assembly, held in London, formulated a confession of thirty-two articles and a catechism. The Baptist Union, formed in 1832, comprehends the greater number of members of the sect in Great Britain and Ireland. In July, 1905, a world-congress of Baptists was held in London, and the Baptist World Alliance was constituted. The total number of members of Baptist Churches in the United Kingdom was 405,104 in 1922, and 408,029 in 1920. There are nine colleges for training ministers, of which the chief are: Bristol Baptist College; Regent's Park; Rawdon, Bradford; and the Metropolitan Pastors' College. The Regular Baptists in the United States numbered 7,504,447 members in 1922, and nearly 6,000,000 in 1920, in addition to which there are Anti-mission Baptists, Free-will Baptists, and Seventh-day Baptists. In Canada there are in all about 128,730 Baptists.—Bibliography: H. C. Vedder,A Short History of the Baptists; A. H. Newman,History of the Baptist Churches in the United States;The Baptist Handbook(annually);The American Baptist Year-book(annually); W. E. MacIntyre,Baptist Churches, 1500-1914.
Bar, in law, the railing that encloses the place which counsel occupy in courts of justice; hence the phrase,at the bar of the court, that is, in open court. Hence also persons duly admitted as pleaders or advocates before the courts of England are denominatedbarristers(seeBarrister), and the whole body of such barristers or advocates are called thebar. The enclosed placeor dock in which persons accused of crimes stand in court is also called the bar. Near the door of both Houses of Parliament there is also a bar, beyond which none but the members and clerks are admitted, and at which counsel, witnesses, offenders against privilege, &c., are heard.
Bar, in music, is a line drawn through the stave to mark the rhythm of small portions; the notes composing these are also called a bar.
Bar, in heraldry, an ordinary resembling the fesse, stretching like it horizontally across the shield but narrower.
Bar, Confederation of.SeePoland.
Bar´aba, the name of a great steppe in the West Siberian governments of Tomsk, Akmolinsk, and Tobolsk.
Barabin´zians, a rude, uncultivated tribe of Tartars, living on the banks of the River Irtish, and subsisting chiefly on the produce of their herds and on fish supplied by the lakes of the Baraba steppe.
Baraguey-d'Hilliers(ba˙-ra˙-gā-dēl-yā),Louis, a distinguished French general under the first Empire, born in Paris, 1764. After serving under Custine and other generals he joined the army of Italy, and took Bergamo and Venice, of which he became Governor. He took part in the expedition to Egypt, served in the campaigns in Germany and Spain, and commanded a division of the "Great Army" in the Russian campaign of 1812. He was entrusted with the direction of the vanguard in the retreat, but was compelled to capitulate. Napoleon ordered him to return to France as under arrest, but, overcome with grief and fatigue, he died at Berlin on the way, Dec., 1812.
Baranovitchi, a town in Russia, government of Minsk. A battle was fought here between the Russians and the Germans in July, 1916. SeeEuropean War.
Barb, a horse of the Barbary breed, introduced by the Moors into Spain, and of great speed, endurance, and docility.
BarbacanBarbacan. Walmgate Bar, York
Bar´bacan, orBarbican, generally an advanced work defending the entrance to a castle or fortified town, as before the gate or drawbridge, and often of formidable size and strength.
Barba´does, orBarbados, the most eastern of the West India Islands, first mentioned in 1518, and occupied by the British in 1625. Length, 21 miles; breadth, 13; area, 106,470 acres or 166 sq, miles, about 74,000 being under cultivation. It is divided into eleven Church of England parishes; capital, Bridgetown. It is one of the most densely-populated areas in the world, the population in 1917 being estimated at 186,656, or nearly 1100 to the square mile. The climate is very hot, though moderated by the constant trade-winds; and the island is subject to dreadful hurricanes. The surface is broken, now without forests, and with few streams; the highest point is 1145 feet above the sea-level. There are few indigenous mammals or birds. The black lowland soil gives great returns of sugar in favourable seasons. The chief exports, besides sugar, are molasses and rum; imports: rice, salt meat, corn, butter, flour, &c. Both exports and imports were over £2,000,000 in 1918. Barbadoes has a considerable transit trade, being in some measure the central mart for all the Windward Islands. It is the see of a bishop and the head-quarters of the British forces in the West Indies. There is a railway across the island, also tramways, telephones, &c. The island forms a distinct government under a Governor, an Executive and a Legislative Council of 9 members, and a House of Assembly of 24 members. Liberal provision is made for education both by old foundations and by annual vote.
Barbadoes Leg, a form of elephantiasis.
Bar´bara, St., according to the legend, belonged to Nicomedia, in Asia Minor, and was beheaded by her father for having turned Christian, he being immediately thereafter struck dead by lightning. The latter part of this legend caused her, probably, to be invoked in storms, and to be considered the patron saint of artillerists.
Barbarelli.SeeGiorgione.
Barbarian(Gk.barbaros), a name given by the Greeks, and afterwards by the Romans, to everyone who spoke an unintelligible language; and hence coming to connote the idea ofrude,illiterate,uncivilized. This word, therefore, did not always convey the idea of something odious or savage; thus a Greek character inPlautus calls Nævius a barbarous poet, because he had not written in Greek; and Cicero terms illiterate persons without taste 'barbarians'.
Barbarossa('red-beard'), the name of two famous Turkish corsairs of the sixteenth century, who ravaged the shores of the Mediterranean, and established themselves in Algiers. The elder of the brothers, Aruch or Horuk, was killed in 1518; the younger and more notorious, Hayraddin, who captured Tunis, died in 1546. SeeFrederick Barbarossa.
Bar´bary, a general name for the most northerly portion of Africa, extending about 2600 miles from Egypt to the Atlantic, with a breadth varying from about 140 to 550 miles, comprising Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (Tripolitania, Barqa, and Fezzan). The principal races are: the Berbers, the original inhabitants, from whom the country takes its name; the Arabs, who conquered an extensive portion of it during the times of the caliphs; the Bedouins, Jews, Turks, and the French colonists of Algeria, &c. The country, which was prosperous under the Carthaginians, was, next to Egypt, the richest of the Roman provinces, and the Italian States enriched themselves by their intercourse with it. In the fifteenth century, however, it became infested with adventurers who made the name of Barbary corsair a terror to commerce, a condition of things finally removed by the French occupation of Algeria.
Barbary Ape(Inŭus ecaudātus), a species of ape, or tailless monkey, with greenish-brown hair, of the size of a large cat, remarkable for docility, also called themagot. It is common in Barbary and other parts of Africa, and some used to live formerly on Gibraltar Rock, being the only European monkey, though probably not indigenous. It has been the 'showman's ape' from time immemorial.
Bar´bastel, orBarbastelle, a bat with hairy lips (Barbastellus commūnis), a native of England.
Barbas´tro, a city, Spain, Arragon, province of Huesca, with an interesting cathedral, and some trade and manufactures. Pop. 7202.
Bar´bauld, Anna Letitia, English poet and general writer, was born in Leicestershire, 1743, daughter of a Presbyterian minister named Aikin. She published a small volume of miscellaneous poems in 1772, and in 1773, in conjunction with her brother, Dr. John Aikin, a collection of pieces in prose. In 1774 she married the Rev. Rochemont Barbauld. HerEarly Lessons and Hymns for Children, and various essays and poems, won considerable popularity. She edited a collection of English novels, with critical and biographical notices; a selection from the British essayists of the reign of Anne, and another from Richardson's correspondence. Her last long poem,Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, appeared in 1812. She died at Stoke-Newington, 1825.
Bar´becue, a word of West Indian origin, meaning a hog, or other large animal, roasted whole. In the United States the word means a large gathering of people in the open air, for a social or political feast, where whole animals are roasted and eaten.
Barbed Wire, wire-rope for fencing or other purposes, having fixed in it short bent pieces of wire with sharp projecting points, which serve to keep animals from pressing against it. There is an Act of Parliament (1893) to prevent the use of barbed-wire fences that form a nuisance on a public road or path; and a person employing barbed wire for fencing may render himself liable for damages caused by it to another person who is legitimately using the adjoining ground. Barbed wire plays an important part in the construction of obstacles in modern warfare. During the European War, all systems of trenches were protected by thick belts of wire. This wire was laid out in various different ways, two of the best being known as the Concertina Fence and the Double-apron Fence.
Barbel(Barbus), a genus of freshwater fishes of the carp family, distinguished by the four fleshy filaments growing from the lips, two at the nose and one at each corner of the mouth, forming the kind of beard to which the genus owes its name. Of the several species the EuropeanBarbus vulgāris, common in most rivers, has an average length of from 12 to 18 inches, and in form and habits strongly resembles the pike. Its body is elongated and rounded, olive-coloured above and bluish on the sides, and covered with small scales. The upper jaw, which is much longer than the lower, forms a snout, with which it bores into the mud for worms, insects, aquatic plants, &c. It is common in the Thames, where it gives good sport to the angler; but its flesh is very coarse, and at the time of spawning the roe is dangerous to eat.
Barber, one whose occupation is to shave or trim the beard, or to cut and dress hair. The practice of surgery was formerly a part of the craft, and by an Act of Henry VIII the Company of Barbers was incorporated with the Company of Surgeons—the company being then known as the Barber-surgeons—with the limitation, however, that the surgeons were not to shave or practise 'barbery', and the barbers were to perform no higher surgical operation than blood-letting and tooth-drawing. This continued till the time of George II. The signs of the old profession—the pole which the patient grasped, its spiral decoration in imitation of the bandage, and the basin to catch the blood—arestill sometimes retained. The barbers' shops, always notorious for gossip, were in some measure the news centres of classic and mediæval times. The ancient hall in London, formerly used by the Barber-surgeons, is still standing in Markwell Street, Cripplegate.
Barberini(ba˙r-be-rē´nē), a celebrated Florentine family, which, since the pontificate of Maffeo Barberini (Urban VIII, 1623-44), has occupied a distinguished place among the nobility of Rome. During his reign Urban was chiefly intent on the aggrandizement of his three nephews, of whom two were appointed cardinals, and the third Prince of Palestrina.