was prohibited in 1483; but it was used in the court costume of Elizabeth's reign. Dresden, Valenciennes, Mechlin, and Brussels have long been famous for their fine lace. An ounce weight of Flanders thread has been frequently sold for four pounds in London; and its value, when manufactured, has been increased to forty pounds, ten times the price of standard gold. A framework knitter of Nottingham, named Hammond, is said to have invented a mode of applying his stocking-frame to the manufacture of lace from studying the lace on his wife's cap, about 1768.-MacCulloch. So many improvements have been made in this manufacture, particularly by Heathcote (1809, 1817, etc.), Morley and Leaver (1811, etc.), that a piece of lace which about 1809 cost 177. may now be had for 78. (1853).-Ure. The process of "gassing," by which cotton lace is said to be made equal to fine linen lace, was invented by Samuel Hall of Basford, near Nottingham. He died in Nov. 1862. Seguin's "La Dentelle; Histoire," etc., published 1874. Lacedæmon, or LACONIA (Tzakonia), see Sparta. La Colle Mills, ATTACK ON, in Lower Canada, not far from Rouse's Point, by 3000 Americans of gen. Wilkinson's division, on 30 March, 1814. The mill was fortified, and garrisoned by 200 British soldiers under major Hancock. The Americans lost 16 killed and 122 wounded, the British loss was 10 killed and 46 wounded. Lacteals (absorbent vessels connected with digestion) were discovered in a dog by Jasper Asellius of Cremona, 1622, and their termination in the thoracic duct by Pecquet, 1651; see Lymphatics. Ladocea, in Arcadia. Here Cleomenes III., king of Sparta, defeated the Achæan League, 226 B.C. Ladrone Isles (N. Pacific), belonging to Spain, discovered by Magellan in 1520. He first touched at the island of Guam. The natives having stolen some of his goods, he named the islands the Ladrones, or Thieves. In the seventeenth century they obtained the name of Marianna islands from the queen of Spain. Lady. The masters and mistresses of manor houses, in former times, served out bread to the poor weekly, and were therefore called Lafords and Lefdays; signifying bread-givers (from hluf, a loaf): hence Lords and Ladies. Wedgewood considers this fanciful, and derives the words from the Anglo-Saxon laford, lord, and hlafdig, lady.-LADY-DAY (March 25), a festival instituted about 350, according to some authorities, and not before the seventh century according to others, see Annunciation. The year, which previously began on this day, was ordered to begin on Jan. 1, in France in 1564; and in Scotland, by proclamation, on 17 Dec. 1599; but not in England till 3 Sept. 1752, when the style was altered. Lady-birds. About 18 Aug. 1869, great flights of these insects alighted on the southeast coasts of England, and advanced inland as far as London. A similar event occurred in 1867. Laffeldt (Holland). Here marshal Saxe defeated the English, Dutch, and Austrians, 2 July, 1747. Lagos, in the Bight of Benin (Africa), was assaulted and taken by the boats of a British squadron under commodore Bruce, 26, 27 Dec. 1851. This affair arose out of breaches of a treaty for the suppression of the slave-trade. In 1861 the place was ceded to the British government, and created a settlement: Henry Stanhope Freeman, first governor; see Gold Coast Colony. Lagos Bay (Portugal). Here was fought a battle between admiral Boscawen and the French admiral De la Clue, who lost both his legs in the engagement, and died next day, 17, 18 Aug. 1759. The Centaur and Modeste were taken, and the Redoutable and Océan ran on shore and burned; the scattered remains of the French fleet got into Cadiz. La Hogue (N.W. France), BATTLE OF, 19 May, 1692, when the English and Dutch fleets under admirals Russell and Rooke defeated the French fleet commanded by admiral Tourville. The English burned thirteen of the enemy's ships, and destroyed eight more, thus preventing a descent upon England. Lahore (N.W. India) was taken by Baber about 1520, and was long the capital of the Mongol empire. It fell into the power of the Sikhs in 1798. It was occupied by sir Hugh Gough, 22 Feb. 1846, who in March concluded a treaty of peace; see Durbar. Visit of the prince of Wales, 18 Jan. 1876. Laing's Nek, see Transvaal, 1881. Lake Champlain, a long and narrow body of water in northern New York, discovered by Champlain, an eminent French navigator, in 1609. In the French and Indian war, the American war for independence, and the last war between the United States and Great Britain, this lake became the theatre of important events. Upon its western shore stood the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where first the French and English, and then the English and Americans, contested for dominion. On the lake below these fortresses naval engagements between British and American vessels, the latter under gen. Arnold, took place in 1776. In front of Plattsburg British and American vessels had a sharp conflict on 11 Sept. 1814, when the latter were victorious; see Battle of Plattsburg, and Battles, Naval Battles (United States). Lake Dwellings contain relics of the stone, iron, and brass ages. Herodotus (about 450 B.C.) described the Paonians as living on platforms in Lake Prasias. In 1855 Dr. Keller discovered the remains of lake habitations which had been supported on piles in several Swiss lakes ages ago. His book was published in England in 1866. The artificial fortified islands termed "Crannoges" discovered in some Irish lakes are attributed to the ninth and tenth centuries. They have been frequently used as places of refuge. Lake Erie. On the shores and waters of this lake great historical events have occurred. Once French expeditions sailed to place missionaries and trading-stations in the West, and military ones at the close of the Indian war, in connection with the important post of Detroit. Along its shore, from Detroit to Buffalo, were stirring scenes during the last war between the United States and Great Britain; and near its western end an important naval engagement took place on 10 Sept. 1813, between an American fleet under commodore Perry and a British fleet under commodore Barclay. The Americans were victorious. Then Perry sent to gen. Harrison his noted despatch, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours!" See Battles, and Naval Battles (United States). Lake Ontario, the most easterly of the chain of great American lakes. Its shores and waters were the scenes of engagements between the Americans and British during the last war between the United States and Great Britain, in 1812-14; see York, Sackett's Harbor, Oswego, Sandy Creek, Fort Niagara, and Naval Battles (United States). Lake Poets, a term applied to Wordsworth (1770– 1850), Coleridge (1772-1834), and Southey (1774-1843), from their residence in the neighborhood of the lakes of Westmoreland. Lake Regillus (Italy), where, tradition states, the Romans defeated the Latin auxiliaries of the expelled Tarquins, about 499 B.C. Lamaism, the religion of Mongolia and Thibet (dating about 1357), is a corrupt form of Buddhism (which see). Lambeth Palace. A considerable portion was built early in the thirteenth century by Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury. The tower of the church was erected about 1375, and other parts of the edifice in the fifteenth century. Simon of Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, was killed here by the followers of Wat Tyler, who attacked the palace, burned the furniture and books, and destroyed the registers and public papers, 14 June, 1381. The domestic portion of the palace was greatly enlarged for archbishop Howley (who died 1848) | at various times employed medical men as commissionby Mr. Blore, at an expense of 52,0001. The palace was ers of inquiry. The reports of the Analytical Sanitary reopened after restoration, Oct. 1873; see Canterbury, commission of the Lancet in 1851-4 were published by Articles, and Pan-Anglican Synods. Lambeth bridge Dr. A. H. Hassall, as "Food and its Adulterations," in was freed from toll 24 May, 1879. 1855. The Lancet commissioners (three physicians) inLamian War, 323 B.C., between Athens and her quired into the state of workhouse infirmaries in London, allies (excited by Demosthenes, the orator), and Antip- 1865, and in the country, 1867. ater, governor of Macedon. Antipater fled to Lamia, in Thessaly, and was there besieged. He escaped thence and defeated his adversaries at Cranon, 322 B.C. Land is said to have been let generally in England for 1s. per acre, 36 Hen. VIII. 1544. The whole rental of the kingdom was about 6,000,000l. in 1600; about Lammas-day, the 1st of August, one of our four 14,000,000l. in 1688. In 1798 Mr. Pitt proposed his incross quarter-days of the year. Whitsuntide was the come-tax of 10 per cent. on an estimate of 100 millions, first, Lammas the second, Martinmas the third, and taking the rent of land at 50 millions, that of houses at Candlemas the last; and such partition of the year was 10 millions, and the profits of trade at 40 millions; but once equally common with the present divisions of Lady-in his estimate were exempted much land and the infeday, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. Some rior class of houses. The rental of the United Kingdom rents are yet payable at each of these quarterly days in was estimated at 59,500,000l. in 1851. An act for renEngland, and very generally in Scotland. Lammas prob- dering the transfer of land more easy was passed in 1862; ably comes from the Saxon hlammæsse, loaf mass, because see Agriculture, Domesday (Old and New). formerly upon that day our ancestors offered bread made of new wheat. Anciently, those tenants that held lands of the cathedral church of York were by tenure to bring a lamb alive into church at high-mass. Lampeter College (Cardiganshire) was founded by bishop Burgess in 1822, and incorporated 1828. Henry James Prince, founder of the Agapemone (which see), was one of the revivalist Lampeter Brotherhood instituted among the students here about 1836. Lamps. The earthen lamp of Epictetus the philosopher sold after his death for 3000 drachmas. Lamps with horn sides said to be the invention of Alfred. Lon don streets were first lighted with oil-lamps in 1681, and with gas-lamps in 1814. A lamp "constructed to produce neither smoke nor smell, and to give considerably more light than any lamp hitherto known," was patented by M. Aimé Argand in 1784, and was brought into general use in England early in the present century. On his principle are founded the lamps invented by Carcel about 1803, and since 1825 the moderator lamps of Levavasseur, Hadrot, and Neuburger; see Safety-lamp. Paraffine oil and naphtha spirit are now much used in lamps. Lanark (W. Scotland) was a Roman station, and made a royal burgh 1103. Lancashire was created a county palatine by Edward III. for his son John of Gaunt, who had married the daughter of Henry, first duke of Lancaster, in 1359, and succeeded him in 1361. The court of the duchy chamber of Lancaster was instituted in 1376. On the accession of Henry IV., in 1399, the duchy merged into the crown. Net revenue to the queen in 1866, 29,000l.; total receipts, 42,545l.; see Cotton. Lancaster, supposed to have been the Ad Alaunam of the Romans. Lancaster was granted by William I. or II. to Roger de Poitou, who erected a castle upon its hill. It was taken by the Jacobites, Nov. 1715, and Nov. 1745. It was disfranchised for bribery by the Re form act of 1867. Lancasterian Schools, based on a system of education by means of mutual instruction, devised by Joseph Lancaster about 1796, were not much patronized till about 1808. The system led to the formation of the British and Foreign School Society in 1805, whose schools are unsectarian, and use the Bible as the only means of religious instruction. Lancaster was accidentally killed at New York in 1838. Lancastrians, see Roses. "Lancet," a weekly medical journal, established and edited by Thomas Wakley, surgeon (afterwards coroner for Middlesex and M.P. for Finsbury), first published 3 Oct. 1823. An injunction obtained by Mr. Abernethy against the publication of his lectures in the Lancet was dissolved by the lord chancellor in 1825. Mr. Wakley died 16 May, 1862. The proprietors of the Lancet have 1648 | A species of land-tax was exacted in England in the tenth Mr. Pitt made the tax perpetual at 4s. in the pound, but in 1830, 1,423,6187.; in 1840, 1,298,622.; in 1852, 1,151,613.; in year 1872-3, 1,108,225.; in 1875-6, 1,090, 1777. From the Revolution to the year 1800, the Land-tax and house duty (to 31 March), in 1875, 2,440,land-tax had yielded 227,000,000l. 000Z.; 1876, 2,496,000l.; 1877, 2,532,000l.; 1878, 2,670,000l.; 1879, 1,075,5117. (land-tax only). Land Allotments. Lord Braybrooke's successful experi ment in Essex of allotting small portions of land to poor families to assist them and relieve the parish poor-rates [The little colony was first called Pauper Gardens, but afterwards New Village, and it is calculated that 2007. per annum were saved to the parish.] Landed Estates Court, established to facilitate the sale and transfer of land in Ireland" (see Encumbered Estates act)..... 1819 1858 The Land Registry Office for transfer of land opened in veyancing act passed.. .7 Aug. Agricultural Holding act and Land Transfer act for Eng- 23 Feb. 1880 Land Bill, see Ireland, 1880-1. Land Credit Company (for Silesia), established by Frederick the Great (see Crédit Foncier), 1763. Land League, see under Leagues and Ireland, 1879. Landen, or NEERWINDEN (Belgium). Near here the French under marshal Luxembourg defeated the allies, commanded by William III. of England, chiefly through the cowardice of the Dutch, 19 July (N.S. 29), 1693. The duke of Berwick, illegitimate son of James II., fighting on the side of France, was taken prisoner. Landgrave (from land, and graf, a count), a German title, which commenced in 1130 with Louis III. of Thuringia, and became the title of the house of Hesse about 1263. Landlord, see Rent. Landlord and Tenant Act (Ireland), passed 1 Aug. 1870. Landshut (Silesia), where the Prussians were defeated by the Austrians under marshal Laudohn, 23 June, 1760. Landslips. Landslips are due to decay of the Hellenic (Greek and its dialects). Wendic (Lettic: Old Prussian; Slavonic dialects-Bohemian, Teutonic (High - German: Modern German; Low-German : Near Northwich, Cheshire, salt-works stopped, in 1870. Langdale's Act, LORD, 7 Will. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 26 (1837), relates to copyholds, etc. Langensalza (N. Germany). Here the Hanoverian army, on its way to join the Bavarians, was attacked by the Prussians, who were defeated, with the loss of about a thousand killed and wounded and 912 prisoners, 27 June, 1866. The victory was of little avail, for the Hanoverians were soon surrounded by Falckenstein, and compelled to capitulate on honorable terms on 29 June. Langobardi, see Lombards. III. TURANIAN (from Tura, swiftness). Northern Division.-Tungusic (Chinese, etc.), Mongolic, Turkic, Samoyedic, and Finnic. Southern Division.-Taic (Siamese, etc.), (Himalayas), Malayic (Polynesia, etc.), Gangetic, Lonitic (Burmese, etc.), Munda, Tamulic. Langue d'Oc, see Troubadours. the Roman Gallia Narbonensis; was named Gothia, as Languedoc (a province, S. France), formed part of having been held by the Visigoths 409, who were expelled by the Saracens; in turn driven out by Charles Martel in the eighth century. In the dark ages the country was named Septimania (probably from its containing seven important towns): afterwards Languedoc (from its dialect, see Troubadours), about 1270, when annexed to the monarchy. It suffered during the persecutions of the Albigenses and Huguenots. Lanterns of scraped horn were invented in England, it is said, by Alfred; and it is supposed that horn was Langside (S. Scotland), where the forces of the re-used for window lights also, as glass was not generally gent of Scotland, the earl of Murray, defeated the army known, 872-901.-Stow. London was lighted by susof Mary queen of Scots, 13 May, 1568. Mary fled to pended lanterns with glass sides, 1415. England and crossed the Solway Frith, landing at Workington, in Cumberland, 16 May. Soon afterwards she was imprisoned by Elizabeth. Language must either have been revealed originally from heaven, or is the fruit of human invention. The latter opinion is embraced by Horace, Lucretius, Cicero, and most of the Greek and Roman writers; the former by the Jews and Christians, and many modern philosophers. Some suppose Hebrew to have been the language spoken by Adam; others say that the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic are only dialects of the original tongue. "And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech" (Gen. xi. 1).* George I. in 1724, and George II. in 1736, appointed regius professors of modern languages and of history to each of the universities of Eng land. Lanthanum, a rare metal discovered in the oxide of cerium by Mosander in 1839. Laocoön, an exquisite work of Grecian art, in marble, modelled by Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus, all of Rhodes, and other eminent statuaries (about A.D. 70); it represents the death of the Trojan hero Laocoon, priest of Neptune, and his two sons, as described by Virgil.-Eneid, ii. 200. It was discovered in 1506 in the Sette Salle near Rome, and purchased by pope Julius II. It is now in the Vatican. Laodicea, see Seven Churches. Laon (N. France). A succession of actions between the allies (chiefly the Prussians) and the French was defeat of the latter with great loss, 9, 10 March, 1814. fought under the walls of the town, which ended in the Laon surrendered to the Germans, 9 Sept. 1870. As the last man of the garde mobile left the citadel, a French soldier, in contravention of the capitulation, blew up the powder-magazine, causing great destruction to the town and fortress. The grand-duke William of Mecklenburg Schwerin was bruised, and 95 German riflemen and 300 French gardes mobiles were killed or wounded; gen. Theremin du Hame, the commander, was wounded. The French attributed the explosion to accident. Laparo-elytrotomy, an operation, the introduction of which was a highly important advance in surgery, was devised and performed by Dr. T. G. Thomas, of New York, in 1870. Dr. A. T. C. Skene, of Brooklyn, N. Y., first successfully performed the operation, Oct. 1875. La Perouse's Voyage. In 1785 La Perouse sailed from France for the Pacific, with the Boussole and Astrolabe under his command, and was last heard of from Botany Bay, in March, 1788. Several expeditions were subsequently despatched in search of Perouse; but no certain information was obtained until capt. Dillon, of the East India ship Research, ascertained that the French ships had been cast away on the New Hebrides, authenticated by articles which he brought to Calcutta, 9 April, 1828. Lapland, or SAMELAND (N. Europe), nominally subject to Norway in the thirteenth century, and now to Sweden and Russia. Several Laplanders were exhibited | Suetonius at the Westminster Aquarium, Nov. 1877. Juvenal... .about 120 | Ammianus Marcellinus.. 390 128 Claudian Aulus Gellius..flourished 169 La Plata, see Argentine Republic, and Wrecks, 1874. Apuleius.. La Rothière (France). Here the French, commanded by Napoleon, defeated the Prussian and Russian armies, with great loss, after a desperate engagement, 1 Feb. 1814. This was one of Napoleon's last victories. Laryngoscope, an instrument consisting of a concave mirror, by which light is thrown upon a small plane mirror placed in the posterior part of the cavity of the mouth. By its means the vocal chords of the interior of the larynx, etc., are exhibited, and have been photographed. It was invented by Mr. Manuel Garcia, and reported to the Royal Society 24 May, 1855. One constructed by Dr. Türck was greatly modified, in 1857, by Dr. Czermak, who exhibited its successful action in London in 1862. A similar apparatus is said to have been constructed by Mr. John Avery, a surgeon in London, in 1846. La Salette, see Pilgrimages. Lateran, a church at Rome, dedicated to St. John, "the mother of all the churches," was originally a palace of the Laterani, a Roman family, and was given to the bishops of Rome by Constantine, and inhabited by them till their removal to the Vatican in 1377. Eleven councils have been held there. Latham House (Lancashire) was heroically defended for three months against the parliamentarians by Charlotte, countess of Derby. She was relieved by prince Rupert, 27 May, 1644. The house was, however, surrendered 4 Dec. 1645, and dismantled. Lathe. The invention is ascribed to Talus, a grandson of Dædalus, about 1240 B.C. Pliny ascribes it to Theodore of Samos, about 600 B.C. Great improvements have been made in recent times. Latin Kingdom, EMPIRE, etc., see Latium, Eastern Empire, 1204, and Jerusalem. Latin Language (founded on the Oscan, Etruscan, and Greek), one of the original languages of Europe, and from which sprang the Italian, French, and Spanish, see Latium. A large portion of our language is derived from the Latin. It ceased to be spoken in Italy about 581; and was first taught in England by Adelmus, brother of Ina, in the seventh century. The use of Latin in law deeds in England gave way to the common tongue about 1000; was revived in the reign of Henry II.; and again was replaced by English in the reign of Henry III. It was finally discontinued in religious worship in 1558, and in conveyancing and in courts of law in 1731 (by 4 Geo. II. c. 25). A corrupt Latin is still spoken in Roumelia. The foreign pronunciation of Latin (a, ah; e, a; i, e, etc.) was adopted in English universities and many schools about 1875-6. 43 Pliny the Elder 40 34 Died 17 18 174 Macrobius Boethius. (See Fathers of the Church.) 408 415 524 Latin Union, that of France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland, to maintain the use of the same coinage, from 1865 to 1880. Latitat, an ancient writ directing the sheriff to apprehend persons to be brought before the king's bench court, had its name from its being supposed that the person was lying hid, and could not be found in the county to be taken by bill. The writ was abolished by the Uniformity of Process act, 23 May, 1832. Latitude. First determined by Hipparchus of Nice, about 162 B.C. It is the extent of the earth or the heavens, reckoned from the equator to either pole. Maupertuis, in 1737, in latitude 66.20, measured a degree of latitude, and made it 69.493 miles. Swanberg, in 1803, made it 69.292. At the equator, in 1744, four astronomers made it 68.732; and Lambton, in latitude 12, made it 61.743. Mudge, in England, made it 69.148. Cassini, in France, in 1718 and 1740, made it 69.12; and Biot, 68.769; while a recent measurement in Spain makes it but 68.63-less than at the equator, and contradicts all others, proving the earth to be a prolate spheroid (which was the opinion of Cassini, Bernoulli, Euler, and others), instead of an oblate spheroid; see Longitude. Latitudinarians, a name given to certain theologians who endeavored to reconcile the church and nonconformists in the seventeenth century-such as Hales, Chillingworth, Tillotson, and Burnet. Latium, now CAMPANIA (Italy), the country of Latinus, king of Janiculum, 1240 B.C. Laurentum was the capital of the country in the reign of Latinus, Lavinium in that of Eneas, and Alba in that of Ascanius; see Italy and Rome. La Trappe, see Trappists. Latter-day Saints, see Mormons. Lauenburg, a duchy, N. Germany; was conquered from the Wends by Henry the Lion of Saxony about 1152; ceded to Hanover, 1689, incorporated with the French empire, 1810; ceded to Denmark, 1815; annexed by Prussia, 14 Aug. 1865; possession taken 15 Sept. following; see Gastein. Population in 1855, 50,147. Laufach, Bavaria (S.W. Germany), was taken by the Prussians under Wrangel, on 13 July, 1866, after a sharp action, in which the Hessians were defeated, the Prussian needle-gun being very efficacious. Laundry, London and Provincial Steam Laundry, Battersea, erected by a company; opened in 1880. Laureate, see Poet Laureate. Laurel was sacred to Apollo, god of poetry; and from the earliest times the poets and generals of armies, when victors, were crowned with laurel. Petrarch was crowned with laurel, 8 April, 1341.-The Prunus laurocerasus was 18 brought to Britain from the Levant before 1629; the 21 Portugal laurel, Prunus Lusitanica, before 1648; the royal bay, Laurus Indica, from Madeira, 1665; the Alexandrian 65 laurel, Ruscus racemosus, from Spain, before 1713; the 79 glaucous laurel, Laurus aggregata, from China, 1806 or 1821. 62 65 Quintilian...... flourished 80 Valerius Flaccus Vitruvius......flourished 27 Pliny the Younger Horace 26 Statius.. 81 100 .about 100 ...flourished 100 101 Laurentalia were festivals celebrated at Rome in honor of Acca Laurentia, or Larentia, said to have been either the nurse of Romulus and Remus, or a rich disso8 Martial........flourished 104 lute woman who bequeathed her property to the Roman 18 Silius Italicus.... people. The festival commenced about 621 B.C., and was held on the last day of April and the 23d of December. Laurium Mines, see Greece, 1872. Laurustinus, Viburnum Tinus, an evergreen shrub, was brought to England from the south of Europe before 1596. Lausanne, capital of the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Here Gibbon completed his "Decline and Fall," 27 June, 1787. The International Workmen's Congress assembled here Sept. 1867. La Valetta, see Malta. Lavalette's Escape. Count Lavalette, for joining the emperor Napoleon on his return in 1815, was condemned to death, but escaped from prison in the clothes of his wife, 20 Dec. 1815. Sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Michael Bruce, and capt. J. H. Hutchinson, aiding the escape, were sentenced to three months' imprisonment in the French capital, 24 April, 1816. Lavalette was permitted to return to France in 1820, and died in retirement in 1830. La Vendée (W. France). The French royalists of La Vendée took arms in March, 1793, and were successful in a number of hard-fought battles with the republicans, between 12 July, 1793, and 1 Jan. 1794, when they experienced a severe reverse. Their leader, Henri comte de La Rochejaquelein, was killed, 4 March, 1794. A short peace was made at La Jaunay, 17 Feb. 1795. The war was terminated by gen. Hoche in 1796, and a treaty of peace was signed at Luçon, 17 Jan. 1800; see Chouans. Lavender, Lavandula spica, brought from the south of Europe before 1568. Law, see Canons, Codes, Common-law, Civil Law, Crime, Digest, Supreme Court. The Jewish law was given by God, and promulgated by Moses, 1491 B.C. The laws of Phoroneus, in the kingdom of Argos (1807 B.C), were the first Attic laws; they were reduced to a system by Draco, for the Athenians, 623 B.C.; whose code was superseded by that of Solon, 594 B. C. The Spartan laws of Lycurgus were made about 844 B.C.; they remained in full force for about 700 years, and formed a race totally different from all others living in civilized society. The Roman laws of Servius Tullius, 566 B. C., were amend ed by the Twelve Tables, published in 449 B.C., and remained in force till Justinian, nearly a thousand years. 590 LAW AMENDMENT SOCIETY founded in 1843. It holds meetings during the session of parliament, and publishes a jour nal and reports. Its first chairman was lord Brougham, who introduced the subject of Law Reform by a most eloquent speech in the house of commons, on 7 Feb. 1828. Many acts for law reform have been passed since, and vigorous measures proposed. Royal commission to inquire into the operation and constituThe Judicature Commission (appointed 1867) recommended the tion of the English courts of law, etc., issued 18 Sept. 1867. consolidation of all the superior courts into one supreme court divided into chambers, April, 1869. It issued its fifth and last report Sept. 1874. The High Court of Justice bill, introduced into the house of lords, 18 March, 1870, was dropped near the end of the session. Royal Commission on the administrative departments of Supreme Court of Judicature bill introduced by lord chan- LAW COURTS.-Commissioners appointed in 1859 reported in favor of the concentration of the law courts in London on Competitive designs were invited, and, after much discussion Offices in Eastern Block occupied 21 April, 1879. LAW REPORTS.-A new and more economical plan of preparing and publishing law reports was finally adopted by a committee of barristers on 11 March, 1865 (see Year-books). LAW TERMS (see Terms), abolished by Supreme Court of Judicature act, 5 Aug. 1873. International Law, see Neutral Powers. Expenditure for law and justice from the public purse exclusive of county rates, in the year 1865-6, 2,344,5407. 690 Courts of Justice: salaries, etc., one year (to 31 March, 1877), 631,791. Alfred's code of laws, the foundation of the common-law The maritime laws of Richard I. (see Oleron).. 1195 1372 This prohibition was declared to be invalid by Coke and Law Association charity for widows founded in.. A professorship of international law, at Cambridge, en 1604 1817 1829 1855 Law's Bubble. John Law of Edinburgh (born 1681) was made comptroller-general of the finances of France, upon the strength of a scheme for establishing a bank, and an East India and a Mississippi company, by the profits of which the national debt of France was to be paid off; see Mississippi. He first offered his plan to Victor Amadeus, king of Sardinia, who told him he was not powerful enough to ruin himself. The French ministry accepted it; and in 1716 he opened a bank in his own name, under the protection of the duke of Orleans, regent of France, and the deluded rich subscribed for shares both in the bank and the companies. In 1718 Law's was declared a royal bank, and the shares rose to upwards of twenty-fold the original value; so that in 1719 they were worth more than eighty times the amount of all the current specie in France. In 1720 this fabric of false credit fell to the ground, spreading ruin throughout the country. Law died in poverty at Venice in 1729. The South Sea Bubble in England occurred in 1720; see South Sea. Layamon's Brut, or Chronicle of Britain, a poetical semi-Saxon paraphrase of the Brut of Wace, made between 1100 and 1230, was published with a literal translation by sir Frederick Madden in 1847. Laybach (near Trieste, in Illyria). A congress met here in Jan. 1821, and was attended by the sovereigns |