of Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Naples. It broke up in [erful about 320 B.C., which lasted till 189 B.C. and the May, after having issued two circulars stating it to be Achæan, revived 280 B.C., which was broken up by the their resolution to occupy Naples with Austrian troops, conquest of Greece by the Romans, 146 B.C. The fall of and put down popular insurrections. these leagues was hastened by dissension. Hanseatic League.... Layer's Conspiracy. Christopher Layer, a barrister, conspired with other persons to seize George I., the prince of Wales, lord Cadogan, and the principal officers of state; to seize the Tower, to plunder the Bank. and bring in the Pretender. Layer was hanged, 17 May, 1723. Bishop Atterbury was accused of complicity and attainted, but permitted to quit the country. Layer was hanged for enlisting soldiers for the Pretender. Lazarists (the Priests of the Mission), a congregation devoted to education, founded by St. Vincent de Paul, 1625, were so named from their first establishment in a house which once belonged to the military order of St. Lazarus. They are also called Vincentines. Lazaro, St. (N. Italy). Here the king of Sardinia and the imperialists defeated the French and Spaniards after a long and severe conflict, 4 June, 1746. Lazistan, a Turkish province in the pachalik of Trebizond, on the Black Sea. Batoum, its seaport, was ceded to Russia by the treaty of Berlin, 13 July, 1878. The inhabitants at first resisted the change, but submitted on persuasion, many emigrating. Lazzarites, see Italy, 1878. Lombard leagues against the emperors (see Lombards), 1140 1176 and 1226 ..about 1400 et seq. League of the Public Good was formed in Dec. 1464, by the dukes of Calabria, Brittany, and Bourbon, and other princes against Louis XI. of France, under pretext of reforming abuses; an indecisive battle was fought at Montlhéry, 16 July; and a treaty was signed....25 Oct. 1465 League of Cambray against Venice.. 1508 Holy League (the pope, Venice, etc.), against Louis XII. 1510 League of Smalcald.. 1530 League of the Beggars (Gueur); the Protestants so called (though Roman Catholics joined the league), to oppose the institution of the Inquisition in Flanders.. The HOLY LEAGUE, to prevent the accession of Henry IV. of France, who was then of the Reformed religion, was formed at Peronne and lasted till Henry embraced Romanism... ..1566 1576-93 League of Wurtzburg, by Catholics; of Halle, by Prot League against the emperor of Germany. 1686 1863 tional cause in the war of the Rebellion. League of St. Sebastian, instituted to promote the restoration of his temporal dominions to the pope about 1870; held 9th annual meeting in London.....20 Jan. 1879 League in aid of Christians in Turkey formed; earl of Shaftesbury chairman.. ..27 July, 1876 National Irish Land League ostensibly formed to buy up farms for the tenants; supported by Mr. Parnell and others, 1879; its enforcement of stringent rules against landlords and loyal tenants created a reign of terror; led to legislation (see Ireland).. Justin McCarthy president... Lazzaroni (from lazzáro, Spanish for a pauper or leper), a term applied by the Spanish viceroys to the degraded beings in Naples, half-clothed and houseless. No man was born a lazzáro; and he who turned to a trade ceased to be one. The viceroy permitted the lazzaroni to elect a chief with whom he conferred respect-"National Land League of Great Britain" formed; Mr. ing the imposts on the goods brought to the markets. In 1647, Masaniello held the office, and made an insurrection; see Naples. In 1793, Ferdinand IV. enrolled several thousands of lazzaroni as pikemen (spontoneers), who generally favored the court party; on 15 May, 1848, they were permitted, on the king's behalf, to commit fearful ravages on the ill-fated city.-Colletta. Lead is found in various countries, chiefly Great Britain, Spain, and the United States, and is abundant in various parts of Britain, and in some places richly mixed with silver ore. The famous Clydesdale mines were discovered in 1513. Pattinson's valuable method for extracting the silver was made known in 1829. The leadmines of Cumberland and Derbyshire yield about 15,000 tons per annum. British mines produced 65,529 tons of lead in 1855; 69,266 tons in 1857; 67,181 tons in 1865; 73,420 tons in 1870; 58,777 in 1875; 58,667 tons in 1876; 50,012 in 1879. The lead deposits of the United States are found chiefly in the Mississippi valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Leaden pipes for the conveyance of water were brought into use in. In 1859, 23,690 tons of pig and sheet lead were imported, and 18,414 tons exported; in 1866, 36,946 tons imported; 27,388 tons exported; in 1875, 79,825 tons imported, 35,398 tons exported, in 1879, 102,089 tons imported, 36,776 tons exported. 1236 Lead discovered in the Mississippi valley by Le Sueur. 1700-1 First mining done in America by Julien Dubuque, near the site of Dubuque, Iowa.. Mining leases issued by the government under act of 1807 in.. Mining became general.. Mineral lands thrown open to purchase. 1788 1822 1826-7 Leadenhall Market, London, founded by sir Richard Whittington in 1408, and presented to the city. A granary was added by sir Simon Cope, lord mayor, The demolition of the old market began in Sept. 1880; first stone of new one laid 28 June, 1881. 1419. 1880-1 .26 March, 1881 Leap-year, or BISSEXTILE, originated with the astronomers of Julius Cæsar, 45 B.C. They fixed the solar year at 365 days 6 hours, comprising, as they thought, the period from one vernal equinox to another; the six hours were set aside, and at the end of four years, forming a day, the fourth year was made to consist of 366 days. The day thus added was called intercalary, and was placed a day before the 24th of February, the sixth of the calends, which was reckoned twice, hence called bissextile, or twice sixth. This added day with us is 29 Feb.; see Calendar. This arrangement makes the year nearly three minutes longer than the astronomical year: to obviate this, 1700 and 1800 were not, and 1900 will not be, leap-years, but 2000 will be one; see Julian Year, Gregorian Calendar, etc. Learning and the Arts flourished among the Greeks, especially under Pisistratus, 537 B.C., and under Pericles, 444 B.C.; and with the Romans at the commencement of the Christian era, under Augustus. The Greek refugees caused their revival in Italy, particularly after the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, and the invention of printing shortly before-the period of the Renaissance. Leo X. and his family (the Medici) greatly promoted learning in Italy in the sixteenth century, when literature revived in France, Germany, and England; see Literature and authors under Greek, Latin, English, and other languages. Lease (from the French laisser, to let), a kind of conveyance invented by sergeant Moore, soon after the statute of uses, 27 Henry VIII. 1535. Acts relating to leases were passed in 1856 and 1858. Forged Leases case, see Trials, Jan. 1878. Leather was very early known in Egypt and Greece, and the thongs of manufactured hides were used for ropes, harness, etc., by all ancient nations. The Gordian knot was made of leather thongs, 330 B.C. A leather cannon was proved at Edinburgh, fired three times, and found to answer, 23 Oct. 1778.-Phillips. The Leagues. Four kings combined to make war against duty on leather imposed 1697, produced annually in Engfive, about 1913 B.C. (Gen. xiv.). The kings of Canaan land 450,000l., and in Ireland about 50,000l. It was abolcombined against the invasion of the Israelites, 1451 B.C. ished 29 May, 1830. Many bankruptcies were declared The more eminent Greek leagues were the Etolian, pow-in the leather trade in the autumn of 1860 in England. In the case of Lawrence, Mortimore, & Co., enormous | jected to a stamp-duty, and in 1796 the legacy-duty was fraudulent dealings in bills were disclosed. A plan for imposed. The impost was increased several times submaking artificial leather out of cuttings, etc., was made sequently, particularly in 1805, 1808, and 1845. In 1853 known in 1860.-Leather cloth (invented by Messrs. J. the legacy-duty was extended to landed or real properR. & C. P. Crockett of Newark, U. S., and patented in ty; see Succession Duty Act and Wills. John Camden 1849) is unbleached cotton coated with a mixture of Neild, an eccentric miser, died 30 Aug. 1852, bequeathing boiled linseed-oil and turpentine, and colored. The about 250,000l. to the queen. Received for legacy and Leather Cloth Company, London, successors to Messrs. succession duties in year 1870-1, 2,963,372.; 1875-6, Crockett, were established 1859. An exhibition of leath- 3,548,9667.; 1876-7, 3,675,8021. er manufactures at Northampton in the autumn of 1873; at the Agricultural Hall, London, 15-23 Sept. 1880. Lech, a river (S. Germany) near which, at a village named Rain, the cruel imperialist gen. Tilly was defeated by the Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, 5 April, 1632, and died of his wounds. Lectionary, the Roman Catholic service-book containing lessons from the Bible; see Common Prayer. Legal Practitioners' Society, for reforming abuses, etc., established Nov. 1873. the pope. governors of the provinces into which Augustus divided Legates (legatus). Roman ambassadors; and also the empire, 27 B.C. Legates are also ambassadors from The legate's court in England, erected in 1516 by cardinal Wolsey, to prove wills, and for the trial of offences against the spiritual laws, was soon discontinued. Legations were the twenty administrative divisions in the States of the Church, governed by legates. They rebelled in 1859-60, and are now included in the kingdom of Italy; see Rome. Lectures. Those on physic were instituted by Dr. Thomas Linacre, of the College of Physicians (founded by Henry VIII.), about 1502. Clinical lectures at the bedside of the patients in hospitals are said to have been given (by Dr. John Rutherford) in Edinburgh about 1748; in Dublin about 1785; in London (by sir B. C. Brodie) 1813-17. Mr. G. Macilwain, about 1824, gave fifteenth century, owes its prosperity to the Medici famLeghorn (Livorno, Tuscany), a mere village in the surgical clinical lectures in connection with a dispensary; ily. It suffered dreadfully by an earthquake in 1741; see Gresham College, Boyle's Lectures, Royal and London and was entered by the French army, 27 July, 1796, but Institutions, etc. The political lectures of Thelwall, the British property had been removed. It was held commenced in Jan. 1795, were interdicted by an act of by the French 1796-9, and retaken 1800. It was unparliament. In the autumn of 1857 and since, many dis- successfully attacked by the British and Italian forces tinguished noblemen and gentlemen lectured at mechan- in Dec. 1813. The Austrians took this city from the ics' institutes. An act passed in 1835 prohibited the insurgents, 12, 13 May, 1849, and quelled a slight insurpublication of lectures without the consent of the lect-rection, July 6, 1857. In June, 1857, above 60 persons urers. Public lectures have been very popular in the were killed at the theatre, through an alarm of fire; see United States since about 1855. In 1860 more than 200 Tuscany. professional lecturers were enrolled, and the number whose names are now on the books of the lecture bureaus is even greater than that. Leeds (Yorkshire), the Saxon Loidis, once a Roman station, received a charter in 1627. Population in 1861, 207,165; in 1871, 259,212. 1552 1775 Legion, Legio, a corps of soldiers in the Roman armies, first formed by Romulus, when it consisted of 3000 foot and 300 horse, about 720 B.C. When Hannibal was in Italy, 216 B.C., the legion consisted of 5200 soldiers; and under Marius, in 88 B.C., it was 6200 soldiers besides 700 horse. There were ten, and sometimes as many as 1327 eighteen, legions kept at Rome. Augustus had a standing army of 45 legions, together with 25,000 horse and 37,000 light-armed troops, about 5 B.C.; and the peace establishment of Adrian was thirty of these formidable brigades. A legion was divided into ten cohorts, and every cohort into six centuries, with a vexillum, or standard, guarded by ten men. The peace of Britain was protected by three legions. The French army has been divided into legions since Francis I.; see Thundering Legion. .... 1820 Reform act, 66 15 Aug. 1867 Exhibition of art treasures opened by the prince of ..31 Oct. 1868 Roundhay park inaugurated as a public park by prince Arthur, and new exchange founded.... Church congress met.. New bridge opened.. Musical festival.. Yorkshire College of Science opened.. by the duke of Edinburgh..... Theatre Royal burned.. New exchange opened.. 19, 20 Sept. 1872 .8-11 Oct. 66 ....9 July, 1873 ..26 Oct. Yorkshire Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures opened Yorkshire College for Science formally opened by the Leesburg Heights, see Ball's Bluff. Legion of Honor, a French order embracing the army, civil officers, and other individuals distinguished for services to the state; instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte, when first consul, 19 May, 1802. The order was confirmed by Louis XVIII. in 1815, and its constitution modified in 1816 and 1851. The honor was conferred on many British subjects who distinguished themselves in the Russian war, 1854-6, and in the Paris exhibitions of 1855 and 1867. The palace and offices were burned by the communists, 23 May, 1871. Legitimists, a term (since 1814) applied to those who support the claims of the elder branch of the Bourbon family to the throne of France, whose present representative is Henry, duc de Bordeaux, called comte de Chambord, born 29 Sept. 1820. They held a congress at Lucerne on 24-29 June, 1862, and agreed to continue a pacific policy. The party was active in Feb. 1871-5. Their efforts to recover power have proved ineffectual; see France. Legnago, a fortress on the Adige, N. Italy, one of the Quadrilateral. It was captured by the French in 1796; but reverted to the Austrians in 1815. It was surrendered to the Italians in Oct. 1866. An act for their federation passed 21 Aug. 1871. Legnano (Lombardy). Here the emperor FrederLegacies. In 1780 receipts for legacies were sub-ick Barbarossa was defeated by the Milanese and their allies, 29 May, 1176, and the treaty of Constance ensued in 1183. Leicester (central England), a bishopric for a short time in the eighth century, returned two members to parliament in the reign of Edward I. Here Richard III. was buried, 25 Aug. 1485; and here cardinal Wolsey died, 29 Nov. 1530. During the civil war, Leicester was taken by Charles I., 31 May, and by Fairfax, 17 June, 1645. The stocking manufacture was introduced in 1680. New town-hall opened 8 Aug. 1876. Leicester Square (London), see Globe. After remaining some time in a disreputable state, Mr. Albert Grant bought up the enclosure, and, after renovating it by the aid of an architect and gardener, and setting up statues and busts, presented it to the Metropolitan Board of Works, 2 July, 1874. Leighlin (W. Carlow), a see founded by St. Laserian about 628. Burchard, the Norwegian, the son of Garmond, founded or endowed the priory of St. Stephen of Leighlin. Bishop Doran, appointed in 1523, was murdered by his archdeacon, Maurice Cavenagh, who was hanged on the spot where the crime was committed.Beatson. In 1600 Leighlin was united to Ferns; the combined see united to Ossory in 1835; see Ferns and Bishops. Leiningen (or LINANGE), a principality partly in Bavaria, Baden, and Hesse, mediatized in 1806. The present prince, Ernest, born 9 Nov. 1830, a captain in the British navy, is the son of prince Charles, the halfbrother of queen Victoria. Feodore, dowager princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the queen's half-sister, died 23 Sept. 1872, aged nearly 65. The first husband of the duchess of Kent, prince Emich of Leiningen, died 4 July, 1814. Leinster, a kingdom in 1167, now one of the four provinces of Ireland, divided into four archbishoprics by pope Eugenius III., at a national synod held at Kells, 9 March, 1151-2, and in which his holiness was represented by cardinal Paparo. The abduction of Devorgilla, wife of O'Ruarc, a lord of Connaught, by Dermot, king of Leinster, in 1152, is asserted to have led to the landing of the English and the subsequent conquest. The province of Leinster gave the title of duke to Schomberg's son in 1690. The title became extinct in 1719, and was conferred on the family of Fitzgerald in 1766. Leipsic (Saxony), an ancient city, famous for its university (founded 1409) and its fair (1458). At Breitenfeld, near here, Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, defeated the imperialists under Tilly, 7 Sept. 1631; and the imperialists were again defeated here by the Swedes under Torstensen, 23 Oct. 1642. Here took place, on 16, 18, 19 Oct. 1813, "the battle of the nations," between the French army and its allies, commanded by Napoleon (160,000), and the Austrian, Russian, and Prussian armies (240,000 strong). The French were beaten, chiefly owing to 17 Saxon battalions, their allies, turning upon them in the heat of the engagement. 80,000 men perished on the field, of whom more than 40,000 were French, who also lost 65 pieces of artillery and many standards. The victory was followed by the capture of Leipsic, of the rear-guard of the French army, and of the king of Saxony and his family. The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated 18 Oct. 1863. The Leipsic book fair began 1545. The new supreme court for all Germany opened here 1 Sept. 1879. Leith, the port of Edinburgh, was burned by the earl of Hertford in 1544. It was fortified by the French partisans of queen Mary in 1560, and surrendered to the English. The "Agreement of Leith," between the superintendents and ministers, was made Jan. 1572. The docks were begun 1720. Leith Hill, near Dorking, Surrey; a lofty tower, commanding a view over twelve or thirteen counties (according to Evelyn), was erected here by Richard Hull in 1766. Leleges, a Pelasgic tribe which inhabited Laconia about 1490 B.C., and after many contests merged into the Hellenes. Le Mans, a French city, department of the Sarthe. Here the retreating French general Chanzy was overtaken and defeated by the Germans under prince Frederick Charles and the grand-duke of Mecklenburg, after some conflicts, 10, 11 Jan. 1871. Le Mans was entered 12 Jan. In six days' fighting about 22,000 French made prisoners. Lemures. The ancients supposed that the soul, after death, wandered over the world, and disturbed the peace of the living. The happy spirits were called Lares familiares; and the unhappy, Lemures. The Roman festival Lemuralia, kept on 9, 11, 13 May, is said to have been instituted by Romulus about 747 B.C., to propitiate the spirit of the slaughtered Remus. Lennie Mutiny, see Mutinies, 1875. Lent (from the Saxon lencten, spring), the forty days' fast observed in the Roman Catholic church from Ash-Wednesday to Easter-day, said to have been instituted by pope Telesphorus, 130. In early times Lent commenced on the Sunday, now called the first Sunday in Lent, and the four days beginning with Ash-Wednesday were added by pope Felix III. in 487, in order that the fasting days should amount to forty. Lent was first observed in England by command of Ercombert, king of Kent, in 640 or 641.-Baker's Chron. Flesh was prohibited during Lent; but Henry VIII. permitted the use of white meats by a proclamation in 1543, which continued in force until, by proclamation of James I., in 1619 and 1625, and by Charles I., in 1627 and 1631, flesh was again wholly forbidden; see Ash-Wednesday, Quadragesima. Leon, KINGDOM OF, see under Spain. Leonards' Acts, LORD ST., 22 & 23 Vict. c. 35; 23 & 24 Vict. c. 38 (1859-60), relate to legal proceedings. suburb, now included in the city of Rome, was founded Leonine City (Città Leonina or Borgo), formerly a by Leo IV., pope 847-55, and named Leopolis. It comprehends the castle of St. Angelo, the hospital of San Spirito, the Vatican palace and gardens, and St. Peter's. Its possession was allotted to pope Pius IX. when the Italian royal troops entered Rome, 20 Sept. 1870. About 1500 inhabitants of the Leonine City voted for union with the kingdom of Italy, 2 Oct. 1870. ing at the middle and the end, are said to have been Leonines, hexameter and pentameter verses, rhymfirst made by Leoninus, a canon, about the middle of the twelfth century, or by pope Leo II., about 682. Leopold's (Prince) Annuity Act (passed 7 Aug. 1874), provided for him 15,000l. a year, from 7 April, 1874, when he came of age. Lepanto (near Corinth), BATTLE OF, 7 Oct. 1571, when the combined fleets of Spain, Venice, Genoa, Malta, and Pius V., commanded by don John of Austria, defeated the whole maritime force of the Turks, and completely checked their progress. Leprosy, a skin disease described in Lev. xiii. (B.C. 1490), which prevailed in ancient times throughout Asia. It has now almost disappeared from Europe. It chiefly affected the lower classes, yet occasionally proved fatal to the very highest personages. Robert Bruce of Scotland died of leprosy in 1329. A hospital for lepers was founded at Granada, by queen Isabella of Castile, about 1504, and a large number of leper-houses were founded in Britain. Dr. Edmondson met with a case in Edinburgh in 1809. Lerida, the ancient Ilerda, E. Spain, founded by the Carthaginians. Near it Julius Cæsar defeated Pompey's lieutenants, 49 B.C. It was made the residence of the kings of Aragon, 1149. It was captured for Philip V. by Leitha, a river dividing the Austrian territories; see the French under the duke of Orleans, 13 Oct. 1707, and Austria. by Suchet, 13 May, 1810. Lettres de Cachet, sealed letters issued by the kings of France since about 1670, by virtue of which those persons against whom they were directed were thrown into prison or exiled. The National Assembly decreed their abolition, 1 Nov. 1789. Lettuce, introduced into England from Flanders about 1520. It is said that when queen Catherine wished for a salad she had to send to Holland or Flanders for lettuce. Leuctra, in Boeotia, N. Greece, where the Thebans under Epaminondas defeated the superior force of Cleombrotus, king of Sparta, 8 July, 371 B.C. 4000 Spartans, with their king, were slain. The Spartans gradually lost their preponderance in Greece. Leudes (from the German Leute, people), native feudal vassals, faithful to the German and French sovereigns in the sixth and seventh centuries. Leuthen (S. Prussia), see Lissa. coffer-dam was constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Hawkshaw, which was reported sound....July, 1862 Another inundation, begun through the bursting of a marsh-land sluice near Lynn, was checked......4 Oct. New outfall sluice opened... .......26 Nov. 1877 Leverian Museum, formed by sir Ashton Lever, exhibited to the public at Leicester House, London. It was offered to the public in 1785 by the chance of a guinea lottery, and won by Mr. Parkinson in 1785, who sold it by auction, in lots, May-July, 1806. Leviathan, see Steam Navigation. Lewes (Sussex), where Henry III., king of England, was defeated by Montfort, earl of Leicester, and the barons, 14 May, 1264.-Blaauw. The king, his brother Richard, king of the Romans, and his son Edward, afterwards Edward I., were taken prisoners. One division of Montfort's army, a body of Londoners, gave way to the furious attack of prince Edward, who, pursuing the fugitives too far, caused the battle to be lost; see Evesham. Lexicon, see Dictionaries and Lexicography. Lexington, MASS., BATTLE OF, fought 19 April, 1775. This was the beginning of the American revo Levant (the East), a term applied to Greece, Tur-lution. The British, 800 strong, marched to Lexington key, Asia Minor, etc. Levant companies in London were established in 1581, 1593, and 1605. Levellers, a fanatical party in Germany, headed by Münzer and Storck in the sixteenth century, who taught that all distinctions of rank were usurpations on the rights of mankind. At the head of 40,000 men, Münzer commanded the sovereign princes of Germany and the magistrates of cities to resign their authority, and on his march his followers ravaged the country. The landgrave of Hesse at length defeated him at Frankenhausen, 15 May, 1525; 7000 of the enthusiasts fell in the battle, and the rest fled; their leader was taken and beheaded at Mulhausen. The English "Levellers," powerful in parliament in 1647, were put down by Cromwell in 1649, and their leader Lilburn imprisoned. At the period of the French revolution some Levellers appeared in EngA "Loyal Association" was formed against them by Mr. John Reeves, Nov. 1792. land. and Concord during the night of 18 April, for the purpose of destroying the stores of the patriots. They upon and dispersed. The patriots from the region round were met at Lexington by 70 patriots, whom they fired about speedily gathered under arms, and successfully opposed the British at Concord, compelling their retreat and severely harassing them on the march. British loss, 273; American, 103.—LEXINGTON, Missouri, fortified by the federals, was attacked by the confederate general Price on 29 Aug., and, after a gallant resistance by col. Mulligan, surrendered on 21 Sept. 1861. powder blowing up, and demolishing a large part of the celebrated joyfully... ........8 Feb. 1875 Leyden (Holland), Lugdunum Batavorum, important in the thirteenth century. Between 31 Oct. 1573, and 3 Oct. 1574, when it was relieved, it endured two sieges by the armies of Spain, during which 6000 of the inhabitants died of famine and pestilence. In commemoration the university was founded, 1575. In 1699 two thirds of the population perished by a fever, which, Levels. The great Level of the Fens is a low-lying by prof. De la Boe. The university was almost destroyit was said, was aggravated by its improper treatment district of about 2000 square miles in Lincolnshire, Hun-ed by a vessel laden with 10,000 pounds' weight of guntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, said to have been overflown by the sea during an earthquake, 368. It was long afterwards an inland sea in winter and a noxious swamp in summer, and was gradually drained by the Romans, the Saxons, and especially by the monks during the reigns of the Plantagenet kings. One of the first works on a large scale was carried out by Morton, bishop of Ely, in the reign of Henry VII. A General Drainage act was passed, by the advice of lord Burghley, in 1601; but little work was done till the reign of James I., who, in 1621, invited over the great Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden, to assist in the general drainage of the country. After completing several great works, Vermuyden agreed (in 1629) to drain the "Great Level." He was at first prevented from proceeding with his undertaking through a popular outcry against foreigners; but eventually, aided by Francis, earl of Bedford, in spite of the great opposition of the people, for whose benefit he was laboring, he declared his great work complete in 1652. He also reclaimed much valuable land at Axholme, in Lincolnshire, 1626-30, and many Dutch and French Protestants settled here about 1634, and a few of their descendants still remain.There are the Middle, Bedford, South, and North Levels. The drainage of the Great Level employed the talents of Rennie (about 1807), and of Telford (1822), and of other eminent engineers. 1844 The Middle Level commission cut through certain barrier "The Libel. By the Roman laws of the Twelve Tables, William Prynne, a Puritan lawyer, fined 5000l., placed in Dispersing slanderous libels made felony. Blasphemous and seditious libels, on the second offence, made punishable with transportation.. 1545 1637 1792 1819 An action for libel was brought in the court of King's Verdicts were given in his favor; and in Nov. 1839, the sheriffs took possession of Hansard's premises. This caused much excitement in parliament, and they were ordered to appear at the bar of the house of commons, and were formally committed to the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, 21 Jan., but immediately discharged: the conflict was maintained by the law officers and the commons till... ......May, 1840 A law was passed giving summary protection to persons employed by parliament in the publication of its reports and papers. ..14 April. The severity of the law in respect to newspapers relaxed by lord Campbell's act, 6 & 7 Vict. c. 96.. A bill relieving newspapers from actions for libel in reporting speeches at lawful public meetings, read third time in the commons, Aug. 1867, but dropped; read second time, 1 April, and withdrawn..... .1 July, 1868 Wason vs. Walter (Times); parliamentary reports and fair comments declared no libel........ ..25 Nov. 1843 66 Liberals, a name given to the more advanced Whigs and reformers since 1828. The party held office under earl Grey, viscount Melbourne, earl Russell, viscount Palmerston, and Mr. W. E. Gladstone; see Administrations. New city Liberal club, earl Granville president; organized... .....May, 1874 New Liberal club for West End founded.. .....June, A new Liberal cry proposed-Free church, schools, and land" (Mr. Chamberlain)... .autumn, Mr. Gladstone resigned the leadership of the party in the commons, 13 Jan.; his successor, the marquess of Hartington... .13 Jan. 1875 Associations composed of elected delegates to organize Liberal voters have been formed in Birmingham, Southwark, Bradford, and other boroughs......1876 et seq. Mr. W. E. Forster refused to submit to the dictation of the committee of the Bradford association in respect to his voting (see Caucus).. National Liberal Federation; constituted at Birmingham, 31 May, 1877; first annual meeting (at Leeds), 22 Jan. 1879 Aug 1878 Liberation of Religion FROM STATE PATRONAGE AND CONTROL, SOCIETY FOR, was established by eminent political dissenters, May, 1844. Liberia, the republic of freed and indigenous negroes on the coast of Upper Guinea, West Africa, was founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society, which was established by Henry Clay in 1816; capital, Monrovia. The independence of Liberia was proclaimed 24 Aug. 1847; recognized by Europe in 1848; by America in 1861. It is stated to be flourishing. The president visited the International Exhibition of London in 1862. Presidents: Daniel B. Warner, elected 1864; James Spriggs Payne, installed 6 Jan. 1868; E. J. Roy, president, Jan. 1870, was deposed Oct. 1871; escaped from prison; drowned, Feb. 1872. J. J. Roberts, the first president, re-elected Jan. 1872 and 1874; died 25 Feb.; J. Spriggs Payne, elected 3 June, 1876; A. W. Gardner, 1878. Population, about 718,000. War with the aborigines at Cape Palmas: fighting, 17 Libertines (signifying freedmen and their sons), was a sect headed by Quintin and Corin, about 1525, who held monstrous opinions. Libraries. The first public library of which we have any certain account in history was founded at Athens by Pisistratus, about 540 B.C. The second of note was founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, 284 B.C. It was partially destroyed when Julius Cæsar set fire to Alexandria, 47 B.C. 400,000 valuable books in MS. are said to have been lost by this catastrophe.-Blair. The first private library was Aristotle's (Strabo).....B.C. 334 The first library at Rome brought from Macedonia, According to Plutarch, the library at Pergamos contained 200,000 books. It came into the possession of the Romans at the death of Attalus III., who bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman people. The library of Appellicon sent to Rome from Athens by 167 An Alexandrian library said to have been burned by the caliph Omer I... Library at St. Mark's, Venice, begun, by gifts from Pe- 640 1468 1490 .about 1560 1341 1411 1473 .about 1610 1630 1667 1705 Richard de Bury, chancellor and high treasurer of Eng- London Institution (1805), and the Royal College of Library of the University of Dublin (1601), and the Ad- 1753 1800 Library of East India Company founded. Royal Libraries in England: that of Edward IV., mentioned 1480, increased in the reigns of Edward VI. and James I.; much enlarged by Richard Bentley, while librarian, 1694-1735; added to the British Museum by George II., 1759. Rich library of George III., presented to the nation, 1823; deposited in the British Museum. 1829 In 1609 the Stationers' Company agreed to give a copy of every book published to the Bodleian Library, Oxford. By 14 Charles II. c. 33 (1662), three copies were required to be given to certain public libraries; by 8 Anne, c. 19 (1709), the number was increased to nine; by 41 Geo. III. c. 107, to eleven; which number was reduced to five by 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 110 (1835): the British Museum; the Bodleian, Oxford; the Public Library, Cambridge; the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; and Trinity College, Dublin. FREE LIBRARIES successfully established, since 1850, at Manchester, Liverpool, Salford, etc. Many others formed under acts passed in.. .1845, 1850, and 1856 On 5 Nov. 1855, a proposal to establish a Free Library in the city of London was negatived, and in 1857 that in Marylebone was closed for want of support. The New City Library, Guildhall (free), was opened. 5 Nov. 1872 Metropolitan Free Library Association formed...4 April, 1879 (See Circulating Library.) LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES. Following is a list of the most notable libraries in the United States, with the dates of their establishment: |