1.
William III of the Netherlands
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William III was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866, William was the son of King William II and Anna Pavlovna of Russia. On the abdication of his grandfather William I in 1840, he became the Prince of Orange, on the death of his father in 1849, he succeeded as King of the Netherlands. William married his cousin Sophie of Württemberg in 1839 and they had three sons, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom predeceased him. After Sophies death in 1877 he married Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1879 and they had one daughter Wilhelmina, William was born on 19 February 1817 in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels, which was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. He was the eldest son of the future king William II of the Netherlands and he had three brothers, one of whom died in infancy, and one sister. In 1827, at the age of ten, he was made a colonel in the Royal Netherlands Army. In the 1830s, he served as lieutenant in the Grenadiers Regiment, in 1834, he was made honorary commander of the Grenadiers Regiment of Kiev nr.5 in the Imperial Russian Army. He married his first cousin, Sophie, daughter of King William I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia and this marriage was unhappy and was characterized by struggles about their children. Sophie was an intellectual, hating everything leaning toward dictatorship. William was simpler, more conservative, and loved the military and he prohibited intellectual exercise at home, for which action Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who corresponded with Princess Sophie, called him an uneducated farmer. Another cause of tension was his capriciousness, he could rage against someone one day. William loathed the 1848 constitutional changes initiated by his father and Johan Rudolf Thorbecke and his father saw them as key to the monarchys survival in changing times. Sophie, who was a liberal, also shared this view, William himself saw them as useless limitations of royal power, and would have preferred to govern as an enlightened despot in the mold of his grandfather, William I. He considered relinquishing his right to the throne to his younger brother Henry and his mother convinced him to cancel this action. The Dutch constitution provided no way to relinquish ones claim to the throne, on 17 March 1849 his father died and William succeeded to the throne of the Netherlands. He was at that moment a guest of the Duchess of Cleveland in Raby Castle, representatives of the Dutch government traveled to London to meet their new king in London. William was reluctant to return, but he was convinced to do so, upon arrival the new Queen welcomed her spouse with the question did you accept
2.
Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet
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As a result of this complex inheritance his eldest son became the 2nd Earl of Egremont. Both his sons became earls and his daughter Elizabeth Wyndham was both the wife and mother of Prime Ministers, namely George Grenville and William Wyndham Grenville respectively and he built the pier at Watchet harbour, near Orchard Wyndham. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, as a young man while at Rome on his Grand Tour he was approached by a fortune teller who warned him to beware of a white horse. A similar prophecy was made to him later in England and he entered parliament in 1710 and became Secretary at War in the Tory ministry in 1712 and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1713. He was closely associated with the radical Tory leader Lord Bolingbroke and was privy to the made to bring about a Jacobite restoration on the death of Queen Anne. On the failure of the plot he was dismissed from office, a rebellion to oust King George was planned for the summer of 1715, and Wyndham sent a message to the Pretender in July not to lose a day in going over. Harvey and Anstis were in London, and were at once taken, harvey stabbed himself in the breast in two or three places but his wounds were not mortal. Forster escaped and served as General of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising, accordingly Colonel John Huske of the foot-guards, at about this time an aide-de-camp to William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, was sent to arrest Wyndham at home at Orchard Wyndham. The story is related in detail by the contemporary commentator Boyer, Wyndham however escaped by the third unguarded door of his chamber and fled, it is said by having jumped out of a window onto a waiting horse. This caused the king to circulate a hand-bill headed Proclamation for apprehending Sir William Wyndham, Baronett, dated 23 September 1715, which offered a huge reward of £1,000 for his capture. Seeing that his case was hopeless, having for a while disguised himself as a clergyman, he visited his father-in-law the Duke of Somerset at his seat of Syon House, the 6th Duke of Somerset offered bail to the council for Wyndhams liberty, which was refused. It was soon after having made that offer that the king dismissed him from the office of Master of the Horse. He was in constant communication with the exiled Bolingbroke and after 1723 was actively associated with him in abortive plans for the overthrow of Walpole. The published speeches, including some of those of William Pitt, were in fact often literary masterpieces wholly invented by the contributors, including William Guthrie. Despite these various enmities, Wyndham was a participant in public life in London. He was one of the governors of the Foundling Hospital. His first marriage was to Lady Catherine Seymour, the younger of the two daughters of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, KG, and sister of Algernon Seymour and he died unmarried and without children when the earldom became extinct. Elizabeth Wyndham, wife of George Grenville, Prime Minister and mother of William Wyndham Grenville, Sir Williams second wife was Maria Catherina de Jonge, the widow of William Godolphin, Marquess of Blandford
3.
Jacobitism
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The movement took its name from Jacobus, the Renaissance Latin form of Iacomus, the original Latin form of James. Adherents rebelled against the British government on several occasions between 1688 and 1746, the strongholds of Jacobitism were parts of the Scottish Highlands and the lowland north-east of Scotland, Ireland, and parts of Northern England. Significant support also existed in Wales and South-West England, the Jacobites believed that parliamentary interference with the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was illegal. Catholics also hoped the Stuarts would end recusancy, in Scotland, the Jacobite cause became intertwined with the clan system. The emblem of the Jacobites is the White Cockade, White Rose Day is celebrated on 10 June, the anniversary of the birth of the Old Pretender in 1688. From the second half of the 17th century onwards, a time of political, the Commonwealth ended with the Restoration of Charles II. During his reign the Church of England was re-established, and episcopal government was restored in Scotland. The authorities attempted some accommodation with Presbyterian dissidents, introducing official Indulgences in 1669 and 1672 and this was particularly true of the followers of the Reverend Richard Cameron, soon to be known as the Cameronians. The government increasingly resorted to force in its attempts to out the Cameronians. The reigns of the last three Stuart Kings – Charles I, Charles II and James II and VII – were marked by growing Royal resistance to this developing consensual model of government. In part the Kings were inspired by the development of Royal Absolutism in contemporary Europe, exemplified particularly strongly by their neighbour and contemporary, Louis XIV of France. In part, however, the apologists of royal authority based their claims on a just assessment of the powers claimed by England, in 1685, Charles II was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, James II and VII. In addition to sharing his familys absolutist views of government, James attempted to introduce religious toleration of Roman Catholics, in Seventeenth-century Europe, being a religious outsider meant being a political and social outsider as well. James tried to encourage the participation in life of Roman Catholics, Protestant Dissenters. Such attempts to broaden his basis of support succeeded in antagonising members of the Anglican establishment, in England and Scotland, James attempted to impose religious toleration, which helped the Catholic minority but alarmed the religious and political establishment. Then in 1688 Jamess second wife had a boy, bringing the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, on 4 November 1688 William arrived at Torbay, England. When he landed the next day, at Brixham, James fled to France, in February 1689, the Glorious Revolution formally changed Englands monarch, but many Catholics, Episcopalians and Tory royalists still supported James as the constitutionally legitimate monarch. Forces of Cameronians as well as Clan Campbell Highlanders led by the Earl of Argyll had come to bolster Williams support, the convention set out its terms and William and Mary were proclaimed at Edinburgh on 11 April 1689, then had their coronation in London in May
4.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
5.
English law
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English law is the common law legal system governing England and Wales, comprising criminal law and civil law. English law has no formal codification, the essence of English common law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts applying statute, and legal precedent from previous cases. A decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the highest civil court of the United Kingdom, is binding on every other court. Some rulings are derived from legislation, others, known as law, are based on rulings of previous courts. For example, murder is a common law rather than one established by an Act of Parliament. Common law can be amended or repealed by Parliament, murder, for example, the first schedule of the Interpretation Act 1978, defines the following terms, British Islands, England, and United Kingdom. The use of the term British Isles is virtually obsolete in statutes and, for interpretation purposes, England includes a number of specified elements, Wales and Berwick Act 1746, section 3 formally incorporated Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed into England. But section 4 Welsh Language Act 1967 provided that references to England in future Acts of Parliament should no longer include Wales, but Dicey & Morris say It seems desirable to adhere to Diceys definition for reasons of convenience and especially of brevity. It would be cumbersome to have to add or Wales after England, the adjacent islands of the Isle of Wight and Anglesey are a part of England and Wales by custom, while Harman v Bolt 47 TLR219 expressly confirms that Lundy is a part of England. The adjacent territorial waters by virtue of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878, great Britain means England, Wales, Scotland, their adjacent territorial waters and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, the Hebrides and, by virtue of the Island of Rockall Act 1972, Rockall. V Canon Film Sales Ltd.1 WLR1597 and Chloride Industrial Batteries Ltd, V F. & W. Freight Ltd.1 WLR823. British Islands – but not British Isles – means the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, compare with American convention, which includes of, as in Civil Rights Act of 1964. For example, the Pleading in English Act 1362 was referred to as 36 Edw,15, meaning 36th year of the reign of Edward III, chapter 15, though in the past this was all spelt out, together with the long title. Common law is a term with historical origins in the system of England. This may be a legacy of the Norman conquest of England, an example is the Law Merchant derived from the Pie-Powder Courts, named from a corruption of the French pieds-poudrés implying ad hoc marketplace courts. In 1276, the concept of time immemorial often applied in common law was defined as being any time before 6 July 1189, one of the major challenges in the early centuries was to produce a system that was certain in its operation and predictable in its outcomes. Too many judges were either partial or incompetent, acquiring their positions only by virtue of their rank in society, thus, a standardised procedure slowly emerged, based on a system termed stare decisis which roughly means let the decision stand. The doctrine of precedent which requires similar cases to be adjudicated in a like manner, thus, the ratio decidendi of each case will bind future cases on the same generic set of facts both horizontally and vertically in the court structure
6.
Great Seal of the Realm
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The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereigns approval of important state documents. Scotland since the 14th century has had its own seal, the Great Seal of Scotland, sealing wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix and impressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the Monarch wishes to make official. Edward the Confessor sometime before A. D.1066 started using a Great Seal casting in wax of his own visage to signify that a document carried the force of his will. With some exceptions, each subsequent monarch up to 1603 and the Union of the Crowns which united the crowns of Scotland and England has chosen his or her own design for the Great Seal. This Seal was inscribed with The Great Seal of England,1648, displaying the map of England, Ireland, Jersey, and Guernsey on one side, with the Arms of England and Ireland. On the other side was shown the interior of the House of Commons, but they held the seal only until 1656, when Cromwell nominated William Steele, Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in England, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In 1688, before attempting to flee to France, James II is said to have thrown his Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames in the hope that the machinery of government would cease to function. This may have been a choice, in order to imply the continuity of government. A new obverse was created, but the reverse was crudely adapted by inserting a female figure beside the male figure, when Mary died, the obverse returned to the design used by James II, while the female figure was deleted from the reverse. Thus, William III used a seal that was identical to James IIs, except for changes to the lettering, on the other hand, the longer-lived British monarchs have had several Great Seals during their reigns. Only one matrix of the Great Seal exists at a time, and since the wax used for the Great Seal has a melting point. Queen Victoria had to select four different Great Seal designs during the years of her reign. The current seal matrix was authorised by the Privy Council in July 2001 and it was designed by James Butler and replaced that of 1953, designed by Gilbert Ledward. The obverse shows a middle-aged Elizabeth II enthroned and robed, holding in her hand a sceptre. F. D. is the abbreviated Latin form of the royal title, on the reverse are the full royal arms, including crest, mantling and supporters. This is the first time that the arms have provided the main design for one side of the British Great Seal. The seals diameter is 6 inches and the weight of both sides of the seal matrix exceeds 275 troy ounces. The Great Seal is attached to the documents of state that require the authorisation of the monarch to implement the advice of the Government
7.
Declaration of war
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A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state goes to war against another. The declaration is a speech act by an authorized party of a national government. The legality of who is competent to declare war varies between nations and forms of government, in many nations, that power is given to the head of state or sovereign. In other cases, something short of a declaration of war, such as a letter of marque or a covert operation. The official international protocol for declaring war was defined in the Hague Convention of 1907 on the Opening of Hostilities, in addition to this, non-state or terrorist organizations may claim to or be described as declaring war when engaging in violent acts. These declarations may have no standing in themselves, but they may still act as a call to arms for supporters of these organizations. A definition of the three ways of thinking about a declaration of war was developed by Saikrishna Prakash. He argues that a declaration of war can be seen from three perspectives, Categorical theory, under which the power to declare war includes the power to all decisions to enter war. This means that the power to declare war in effect rests with the ability to engage in combat, pragmatic theory, which states that the power to declare war can be made unnecessary by an act of war in itself. Formalist theory, under which the power to declare war constitutes only a formal documentation of executive war-making decisions and this sits closest to traditional legal conceptions of what it is to declare a war. An absolute declaration of war declares war absolutely due to the failure of negotiations over the grievances and remedies found in the conditional declaration and it ends absolutely the state and condition of peace, replacing it with the state and condition of war until such time as peace is restored. Degree of justification of the war A reasoned declaration of war justifies the resort to war by stating the grievances that have made peace intolerable, an unreasoned declaration of war does not justify the resort to war, or does so only minimally. Degree of perfection with which the act was made A perfect declaration of war is a formal, solemn speech act made in accordance with the proper laws, rites. An imperfect declaration of war is an informal, unsolemn speech act not made in accordance with the laws, rites. The practice of declaring war has a long history, the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh gives an account of it, as does the Old Testament. However, the practice of declaring war was not always strictly followed, the primary multilateral treaties governing such declarations are the Hague Conventions. The utility of formal declarations of war has always been questioned, the Hague Convention of 1907 called Convention Relative to the Opening of Hostilities gives the international actions a country should perform when opening hostilities. Neutral Powers, nevertheless, cannot rely on the absence of notification if it is established that they were in fact aware of the existence of a state of war
8.
State of emergency
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A government or division of government may declare that their area is in a state of emergency. This means that the government can suspend and/or change some functions of the executive and it alerts citizens to change their normal behavior and orders government agencies to implement emergency plans. Justitium is its equivalent in Roman law, where Senate could put forward senatus consultum ultimum and it can also be used as a rationale for suspending rights and freedoms guaranteed under a countrys constitution or basic law. The procedure for and legality of doing so varies by country, under international law, rights and freedoms may be suspended during a state of emergency, for example, a government can detain persons and hold them without trial. All rights that can be derogated from are listed in the International Covenant for Civil, non-derogable rights are listed in Article 4 of the ICCPR, they include the rights to freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty and to freedom from torture and/or ill-treatment. Constitutions are contracts between the government and the individuals of that country. The International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights is an international law document signed by states, therefore, the Covenant only applies to persons acting in an official capacity, not private individuals. However, signatories to the Covenant are expected to integrate it into national legislation, although this is common protocol stipulated by the ICCPR often this is not strictly followed, enforcement is better regulated by European Convention of human rights. In some situations, martial law is declared, allowing the military greater authority to act. In other situations, emergency is not declared and de facto measures taken or decree-law adopted by the government. Ms. Nicole Questiaux and Mr. Article 4 to the International Covenant on Civil, the European Convention on Human Rights and American Convention on Human Rights have similar derogatory provisions. No derogation is permitted to the International Labour Conventions, some political theorists, such as Carl Schmitt, have argued that the power to decide the initiation of the state of emergency defines sovereignty itself. The state of emergency can, and often has been, abused by being invoked, an example would be to allow a state to suppress internal opposition without having to respect human rights. An example was the August 1991 attempted coup in the Soviet Union where the coup leaders invoked a state of emergency and this provision was much abused during dictatorships, with long-lasting states of siege giving the government a free hand to suppress opposition. State-of-emergency legislation differs in each state of Australia, in Victoria, the premier can declare a state of emergency if there is a threat to employment, safety or public order. The declaration expires after 30 days, and a resolution of either the upper or lower House of Parliament may revoke it earlier, under the Public Safety Preservation Act, a declared state of emergency allows the premier to immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety. However, these regulations expire if Parliament does not agree to them within 7 days. Also, under the Essential Services Act, the premier may operate or prohibit operation of, as desired, a State of Emergency does not apply to the whole state, but rather districts or shires, where essential services may have been disrupted
9.
Neutral country
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A neutral country in a particular war is a sovereign state which officially declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral, the rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907. A permanently neutral power is a state which is bound by international treaty to be neutral towards the belligerents of all future wars. An example of a neutral power is Switzerland. The concept of neutrality in war is defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognised right to remain neutral. Neutralism or a neutralist policy is a policy position wherein a state intends to remain neutral in future wars. A sovereign state that reserves the right to become a belligerent if attacked by a party to the war is in a condition of armed neutrality, belligerents may not invade neutral territory, and a neutral powers resisting any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality. A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory, belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citizens, but they may go abroad to enlist. Belligerent armies personnel and material may not be transported across neutral territory, a neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents, but not war material, although it need not prevent export of such material. Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, exceptions are to make repairs—only the minimum necessary to put back to sea—or if an opposing belligerents vessel is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start. A prize ship captured by a belligerent in the waters of a neutral power must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral. Note, Whether a state that is a member of the European Union may be considered neutral is a point of debate and this is discussed in the section below. The neutrality of countries now in the European Union is under dispute, especially as the EU now operates a Common Foreign. This view was supported by the Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, on 5 July 2006, while speaking to the European Parliament as Council President, I must correct him on that, Finland is a member of the EU. We were at one time a neutral country, during the time of the Iron Curtain. Now we are a member of the Union, part of community of values, which has a common policy and, moreover. Sweden has traditionally described itself as Alliance-free with the intention of being neutral in any conflict, since joining the European Union, Sweden has changed its stance and is now making strong hints that it will support other European Union members in case of a conflict in its vicinity. Later, the solidarity clause in the Lisbon Treaty was deemed sufficient to replace the Western European Union military alliances mutual defence clause, as a result, the WEU was closed down with its mutual defence role having been absorbed by the European Union
10.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
11.
Bank holiday
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A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, some Commonwealth countries, other European countries, and a colloquialism for a public holiday in Hong Kong and Ireland. Until 1834, the Bank of England observed about 33 saints days and religious festivals as holidays, the English people were so thankful that some called the first Bank Holidays St Lubbocks Days for a while. Scotland was treated separately because of its traditions, for example. In 1903, the Bank Holiday Act added 17 March, Saint Patricks Day, New Years Day did not become a bank holiday in England until 1 January 1974. Commencing in 1965, on a basis, the August Bank Holiday weekend was observed at the end of August to give a lead in extending British holidays over a longer summer period. Each years date was announced in Parliament on a basis, to the despair of the calendar. The rule seems to have been to select the weekend of the last Saturday in August, a century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The majority of the current bank holidays were specified in the 1971 Act, in 1978 the first Monday in May in the rest of the UK, and the final Monday of May in Scotland, were designated as bank holidays. In January 2007, the St Andrews Day Bank Holiday Act 2007 was given royal assent, under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, bank holidays are proclaimed each year by the legal device of a royal proclamation. Royal proclamation is also used to move bank holidays that would fall on a weekend. In this way, public holidays are not lost in years when they coincide with weekends and these deferred bank holiday days are termed a bank holiday in lieu of the typical anniversary date. In the legislation they are known as substitute days, the movement of the St Andrews Day Scottish holiday to the nearest Monday when 30 November is a weekend day is statutory and does not require a proclamation. A number of differences apply in Scotland relative to the rest of the United Kingdom, for example, Easter Monday is not a bank holiday. Also, although they share the name, the Summer Bank Holiday falls on the first Monday of August in Scotland, as opposed to the last Monday in England, Wales. Despite this, it is custom and practice to follow the rest of the UK and banks close on the last Monday, Bank holidays do not, however, assume the same importance in Scotland as they do elsewhere. The number of holidays in the UK is relatively small compared to many other European countries, however, direct comparison is inaccurate since the substitute day scheme of deferment does not apply in most European countries, where holidays that coincide with a weekend are lost. In fact, the number of non-weekend holidays in such countries is only marginally higher than the UK. There have been calls for more bank holidays, among the most notable dates absent from the existing list are the feast days of patron saints,23 April in England and 1 March in Wales are not currently recognised
12.
The Crown
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The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their sub-divisions, although the term is not only a metonym for the State. The Crown is a sole that represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative. These monarchies are united by the union of their monarch. The concept of the Crown developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the crown and property of the nation state from the person. The concept spread through English and later British colonisation and is now rooted in the lexicon of the other 15 independent realms. In this context it should not be confused with any physical crown, the concept of the Crown took form under the feudal system. Though not used this way in all countries that had this system, in England, all rights, land, for instance, was granted by the Crown to lords in exchange for feudal services and they, in turn, granted the land to lesser lords. One exception to this was common socage—owners of land held as socage held it only to the Crown. The Crown as ultimate owner of all property also owns any property which has become bona vacantia, the monarch is the living embodiment of the Crown and, as such, is regarded as the personification of the state. He office cannot exist without the office-holder, the Crown also represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative, and judicial governance. While the Crowns legal personality is usually regarded as a sole, it can, at least for some purposes. Historically, the Crown was considered to be indivisible, two judgments—Ex parte Indian Association of Alberta and Ex parte Quark —challenged that view. The Crown in each of the Commonwealth realms is a similar, because both Canada and Australia are federations, there are also crowns in right of each Canadian province and each Australian state. The Succession to the Crown Law 2013 defined the Crown, for the purposes of implementing the Perth Agreement in Jersey law, as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Legislation in the Isle of Man also defines the Crown in right of the Isle of Man as being separate from the Crown in right of the United Kingdom and this constitutional concept is also worded as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on the advice of the UK government, often cases are brought by the Crown according to the complaint of a claimant. The title of the case follows the pattern of R v Y. Thus R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, where Miller is Gina Miller, in Scotland, criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the Lord Advocate in the name of the Crown
13.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
14.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
15.
Royal Proclamation of 1763
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It rendered worthless land grants given by the British government to Americans who fought for the crown against France. The Proclamation angered American colonists who wanted to continue their expansion into new farm lands. The Royal Proclamation continues to be of importance to First Nations in Canada. Lawrence Divide from there northwards through New England, the Treaty of Paris was the official conclusion of the Seven Years War, of which the French and Indian War was the North American theater. Under this treaty, France ceded ownership to Britain all of continental North America east of the Mississippi River, including Quebec, Spain received all French territory west of the Mississippi. Both Spain and Britain received some French islands in the Caribbean, France kept a few small islands used by fishermen, modern-day Haiti and the rich sugar island of Guadeloupe. Besides regulating colonial expansion, the Proclamation of 1763 dealt with the management of inherited French colonies from the French and it established government for four areas, Quebec, West Florida, East Florida, and Grenada. Some Native American peoples—primarily in the Great Lakes region—had a long and close relationship with France and they missed the gifts the French bestowed and the amicable relationship with the French, neither of which they had with the British. Pontiacs Rebellion, a war launched by a group of natives around the Great Lakes, however tribes were able to take over a large number of the forts which commanded the waterways involved in trade within the region and export to Great Britain. The Proclamation of 1763 had been in the works before Pontiacs Rebellion, British officials hoped the proclamation would reconcile American Indians to British rule and help to prevent future hostilities. At the outset, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 defined the limits of the conquered territory. Out of what had been the Canada colony of New France, a new colony. The territory northeast of the St. John River on the Labrador coast was placed under the Newfoundland Colony, the proclamation created a boundary line between the British colonies on the Atlantic coast and American Indian lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. It was also not designed as a boundary, people could cross the line. Its contour was defined by the headwaters that formed the watershed along the Appalachians, the proclamation outlawed the private purchase of Native American land, which had often created problems in the past. Instead, all future land purchases were to be made by Crown officials at some public Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians, furthermore, British colonials were forbidden to settle on native lands, and colonial officials were forbidden to grant ground or lands without royal approval. The proclamation gave the Crown a monopoly on all future land purchases from American Indians, British colonists and land speculators objected to the proclamation boundary since the British government had already assigned land grants to them. Many settlements already existed beyond the line, some of which had been temporarily evacuated during Pontiacs War
16.
Transvaal Colony
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The physical borders of the Transvaal Colony were not identical to the defeated South African Republic, but was larger. In 1910 the entire territory became the Transvaal Province of the Union of South Africa, both the Boer republics, the South African Republic known as ZAR and the Orange Free State were defeated in the Anglo Boer War and surrendered to Britain. That all burghers so surrendering will not be deprived of their property No Civil or Criminal proceedings against burghers for acts of war, the Commission would also feed the homeless and assist with the reconstruction of homes affected by the war. To that end, the crown agrees to a grant of £3,000,000 as well as loans at no interest for two years to be repaid at 3 percent interest over years thereafter. In 1902, with following the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. The political issue faced depended on what side of politics you stood on, the existing British administrators under Alfred Milner wished to anglicise the population through two main means. One by increasing the English speaking population of the Transvaal and secondly teach the Boer children in English with very little Dutch used, followed by self-rule, the Transvaal Boers political objectives was the restoration of self-rule in the colony and the political environment to be dominated by the Boer. As the war ended the British were faced with a proportion of Boer men as prisoners of war. As the British followed a scorched earth policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock, roman Dutch law was translated into English so the law courts could continue, with some old acts repealed and a considerable amount of new law promulgated by the authorities in Johannesburg. The Resident Magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the Governor for district commission under the magistrate. They would consist of one British subject, and two Boers, one from those who had surrendered early on in the war and one who had fought until the end. Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals and stone, the rail transport network struggled to compete with the transport of army requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony. All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as process started in the winter of 1902, refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts. At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again, food rations were provided for almost a year. The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war, damage and the reconstruction required varied from district to district, In the larger towns, municipal or health boards were “appointed” to manage them under the resident Magistrate. They had limited functions and the rates they levied were for sanitary functions. The British administrators set out to place most Boer farmers back on their land by March 1903 with nineteen million pounds spent on war damages, grants, the administrators reformed the state agricultural departments to modernise farming in the colony which resulted in a maize and beef surplus by 1908. They also attempted to solve the poor white problem by settling them as tenant farmers on land but lack of capital
17.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
18.
Herald
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A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally sent by monarchs or noblemen to convey messages or proclamations—in this sense being the predecessors of the modern diplomats. In the Hundred Years War, French heralds challenged King Henry V to fight, like other officers of arms, a herald would often wear a surcoat, called a tabard, decorated with the coat of arms of his master. It was possibly due to their role in managing the tournaments of the Late Middle Ages that heralds came to be associated with the regulation of the coats of arms. Heralds have been employed by kings and large landowners, principally as messengers and ambassadors, Heralds were required to organise, announce and referee the contestants at a tournament. This science of heraldry became increasingly important and further regulated over the years, thus the primary job of a herald today is to be an expert in coats of arms. In the United Kingdom heralds are still called upon at times to read proclamations publicly, there are active official heralds today in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the Republic of South Africa. In England and Scotland most heralds are full-time employees of the sovereign and are called Heralds of Arms in Ordinary, temporary appointments can be made of Heralds of Arms Extraordinary. These are often appointed for a major state occasions, such as a coronation. In addition, the Canadian Heraldic Authority has created the position of Herald of Arms Emeritus, with which to honor long-serving or distinguished heraldists
19.
College of Arms
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The College is also the official body responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and it maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols. Though a part of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the College is self-financed, unsupported by any public funds, founded by royal charter in 1484 by King Richard III, the College is one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in Europe. Within the United Kingdom, there are two authorities, the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland and the College for the rest of the United Kingdom. The College has had its home in the City of London since its foundation, the College of Arms also undertakes and consults on the planning of many ceremonial occasions such as coronations, state funerals, the annual Garter Service and the State Opening of Parliament. Heralds of the College accompany the sovereign on many of these occasions, the College comprises thirteen officers or heralds, three Kings of Arms, six Heralds of Arms and four Pursuivants of Arms. There are also seven officers extraordinary, who take part in ceremonial occasions but are not part of the College, the entire corporation is overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office held by the Duke of Norfolk, currently Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. King Richard IIIs interest in heraldry was indicated by his possession of two important rolls of arms, while still Duke of Gloucester and Constable of England for his brother from 1469, he in the latter capacity supervised the heralds and made plans for the reform of their organisation. Soon after his accession to the throne he created Sir John Howard as Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England, who became the first Howard appointed to both positions. The charter then goes on to state that the heralds for the time being, shall be in perpetuity a body corporate in fact and name and this charter titled Literæ de incorporatione heraldorum is now held in the British Museum. There has been evidence that prior to this charter, the royal heralds had already in some ways behaved like a corporation as early as 1420. Nevertheless, the charter is the earliest surviving document to affirm the chapter as a body of heralds. The charter outlines the constitution of the officers, their hierarchy, the College was also granted a house named Coldharbour on Upper Thames Street in the parish of All-Hallows-the-Less, for storing records and living space for the heralds. The house, built by Sir John de Pulteney, four times Lord Mayor of London, was said to be one of the greatest in the City of London. The defeat and death of Richard III at Bosworth field was a blow for the heralds. The victorious Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII soon after the battle, henrys first Parliament of 1485 passed an Act of Resumption, in which large grants of crown properties made by his two predecessors to their supporters were cancelled. Whether this act affected the status of the Colleges charter is debatable, however, Henry then granted the house to his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort, for life. This was because it was supposed that the house was granted personally to John Writhe the Garter King of Arms, as a result, the heralds were left destitute and many of their books and records were lost. Despite this ill treatment from the King, the position at the royal court remained
20.
Lyon Court
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The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court or Lyon Office, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, the Lyon Court is a public body, and the fees for grants of arms are paid to HM Treasury. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the chief officer of Scotland is both a Great Officer of State as well as a Judge in the Scottish judiciary. The Lord Lyons judicial duties concerning Scottish heraldic business and heraldic laws are conducted through the machinery of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Court exercises both civil and penal jurisdiction under the old Common Law of Scotland and many Acts of Parliament. The Lord Lyon Court is directly responsible for the establishment of the rights to arms and these can include the granting and regranting of armorial bearings by Letters Patent and various Birthbrieves, such as Diplomas of Nobility or of the Chiefship. All of these actions must begin with a petition to the Court. When sufficient evidence is attested to these rights, a judicial Interlocutor or warrant will be issued by the Lord Lyon and this power of the Lord Lyon is derived from the monarchs royal prerogatives, which has been delegated to the office by law. The fees on all of these procedures are payable to the Exchequer and this is in contrast to the College of Arms in London, which is an independent corporate body and not a government department, therefore all fees are reinvested into the corporation. The penal aspect of the Court is concerned with the protection of the rights of private individuals and of the Crown in Scottish armorial bearings. The Lord Lyon also has control over H. M, messengers-at-arms, judicial officers responsible for serving documents and enforcing legal orders throughout Scotland. A coat of arms can only belong to one person at a time. Without such protection, a coat of arms would be useless as a form of identification, furthermore, a misappropriation or unauthorised use of a mans coat of arms is still considered a real injury under Scottish common law. Accordingly, an owner of a Scottish coat of arms may obtain an order in the Court against anybody using his arms. Individual coats of arms are considered legal evidence, which means that they could be used in legal cases concerning the establishment of succession or identity. The Lyon Court, like all Scottish courts has a prosecutor, styled Procurator Fiscal to Lyon Court. He raises proceedings, when necessary, against those who improperly usurp armorial bearings, the punishment for this offence is set out in several Scottish statutes acts. The court has the power to fine and to ensure items bearing the offending Arms are removed, destroyed or forfeited, accordingly, an armorial offender was viewed as sternly as any other evading national taxation. Historically the punishment for the usurpation of arms were severe, in Acts dated 1592 and 1672, the Court was given the full power to fine and imprison offenders
21.
Coronation of the British monarch
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The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally invested with regalia and crowned at Westminster Abbey. It corresponds to the coronations that took place in other European monarchies. The coronation usually takes several months after the death of the previous monarch. This interval also gives the planners enough time to complete the elaborate arrangements required, the ceremony is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior cleric in the Church of England, of which the monarch is supreme governor. Other clergy and members of the nobility also have roles, most participants in the ceremony are required to wear uniforms or robes. Many other government officials and guests attend, including representatives of other countries, the essential elements of the coronation have remained largely unchanged for the past thousand years. The sovereign is first presented to, and acclaimed by, the people and he or she then swears an oath to uphold the law and the Church. Following that, the monarch is anointed with oil, invested with regalia. Wives of kings are then anointed and crowned as queen consort, the main elements of the coronation service and the earliest form of oath can be traced to the ceremony devised by Saint Dunstan for the coronation of King Edgar in 973 AD at Bath Abbey. It drew on ceremonies used by the kings of the Franks, two versions of coronation services, known as ordines or recensions, survive from before the Norman Conquest. It is not known if the first rescension was ever used in England and it was the second recension which was used by Edgar in 973 and by subsequent Anglo-Saxon and early Norman kings. A third recension was compiled during the reign of King Henry I and was used at the coronation of King Stephen in 1135. It remained in use until the coronation of Edward II in 1308 when the fourth recension was first used, having been compiled over several preceding decades. Although influenced by its French counterpart, the new ordo focussed on the balance between the monarch and his nobles and on the oath, neither of which concerned the absolutist French kings. One manuscript of this recension is the Liber Regalis at Westminster Abbey which has come to be regarded as the definitive version, however, six years later, he was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary I, who restored the Catholic rite. Scottish coronations were held at Scone Abbey, with the king seated on the Stone of Destiny. The original rituals were a fusion of ceremonies used by the kings of Dál Riata, based on the inauguration of Aidan by Columba in 574, a crown does not seem to have been used until the inauguration of Alexander II in 1214. The ceremony included the laying on of hands by a senior cleric, Alexander III was the last Scottish king to be crowned in this way in 1249, since the Stone was captured by the English forces of Edward I in 1296
22.
Royal Exchange, London
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The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers and it is trapezoidal in shape and is flanked by Cornhill and Threadneedle Street, which converge at Bank junction in the heart of the City. The design was inspired by a bourse Gresham had seen in Antwerp and was Britains first specialist commercial building and it has twice been destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt. The present building was designed by William Tite in the 1840s, the site was notably occupied by the Lloyds insurance market for nearly 150 years. Today the Royal Exchange contains offices, luxury shops, and restaurants, traditionally, the steps of the Royal Exchange is the place where Royal Proclamations are read out by either a herald or a crier. The Royal Exchange was officially opened on 23 January 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I who awarded the building its royal title, only the exchange of goods took place until the 17th century. Stockbrokers were not allowed into the Royal Exchange because of their manners, hence they had to operate from other establishments in the vicinity. Greshams original building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, a second complex was built on the site, designed by Edward Jarman and opened in 1669, but that also burned down, on 10 January 1838. It had been used by the Lloyds insurance market, which was forced to move temporarily to South Sea House following the 1838 fire, the internal works, designed by Edward IAnson in 1837, made use of concrete—an early example of this modern construction method. It features pediment sculptures by Richard Westmacott, and ornamental cast ironwork by Henry Grissells Regents Canal Ironworks and it was opened by Queen Victoria on 28 October 1844 though trading did not commence until 1 January 1845. In June 1844, just before the reopening of the Royal Exchange, the bronze used to cast it was sourced from enemy cannons captured during Wellingtons continental campaigns. Paul Julius Reuter established the Reuters news agency at No,1, Royal Exchange Buildings in 1851. It later moved to Fleet Street, the western end of the building consists of a portico of eight Corinthian columns topped by a pediment containing a tympanum with a sculptured frieze by Richard Westmacott. The central figure represents Commerce, above an inscription from the Bible, The Earth is the Lords, the Latin inscription states that the Exchange was founded in the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, and restored in the seventh of Queen Victoria. Two statues stand in niches in the central courtyard, Charles II a copy of 1792 by John Spiller after Grinling Gibbons statue in the centre of the C17 courtyard, and Queen Elizabeth I by M. L. The Charles II statue survived the fire of 1838 that destroyed the previous Exchange, the Elizabeth I statue was commissioned as she was the monarch who had conferred the status ‘Royal’ on the Exchange. From 1892, twenty-four scenes from Londons history were painted on the walls by artists including Sir Frederick Leighton, Sir Frank Brangwyn. The murals run as a sequence, at the wars end, the building had survived the Blitz, albeit with some near misses
23.
Mercat Cross, Edinburgh
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The Mercat Cross of Edinburgh stands in Parliament Square next to St Giles Cathedral, facing the High Street in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current Mercat Cross is of Victorian origin, but was close to the site occupied by the original. The Cross is first mentioned in a charter of 1365 which indicates that it stood about 45 feet from the east end of St. Giles, in 1617 it was moved to a position a few yards down the High Street now marked by an octagonal arrangement of cobble stones. This is the position shown on Gordon of Rothiemays map of 1647, in 1756, the Cross was demolished and parts of the pillar re-erected in the grounds of Drum House, Gilmerton. A monument now stands there and on it a plaque that reads Erected in memory of the old Mercat Cross of Edinburgh which stood at The Drum from 1756 to 1866 and this Monument was erected November 1882. In 1866 the pieces of the cross from Drum House were reassembled on a new stepped pedestal on the east side of the door of St Giles. Because the pillar had been broken during demolition in 1756, its height was reduced after reassembly from 19.7 to 13.9 feet, in 1885 it was placed on a new octagonal drum substructure at its current location,24 feet south of the original pre-1617 position. This was designed by Sydney Mitchell and paid for by William Gladstone, M. P. for Midlothian from 1880 to 1895, the original shaft was replaced when the Cross underwent extensive renovations in 1970. The tympanum above the studded door on the east side of the Cross bears the following Latin inscription composed by William Gladstone, in incised Gothic letters. This ancient monument, the Cross of Edinburgh, which of old was set apart for public ceremonies, as elsewhere in Scotland, important civic announcements were made at the mercat cross. In Edinburgh, royal and parliamentary proclamations that affected all of Scotland were publicly read, the practice of announcing successions to the monarchy and the calling of parliamentary general elections is continued to this day by heralds of the Lord Lyon King of Arms. In 1591, John Dickson, convicted of parricide, was broken upoun the row at the Cross and this is one of only two recorded instances of this brutal form of punishment being used in Scotland, the other having also occurred at the Cross. The nurse was burnt on the day her mistress was beheaded. Four years later, in 1604, Weir was apprehended, tried and condemned to be broken on ane cart wheel with ane coulter of ane pleughe in the hand of the next to the Mercat Cross. Alastair MacGregor of Glen Strae, chief of the outlawed Clan Gregor was executed at the Cross along with eleven of his kinsmen in January 1604, a contemporary recorded that Himself being Chieff, he wes hangit his awin hicht aboune the rest of hes freindis. The Cross was the place of execution of the Royalist leaders George Gordon, 2nd Marquis of Huntly on 22 March 1649 and James Graham, five of Montroses close supporters were also beheaded there shortly thereafter. This union ended with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, guthries The Causes of the Lords Wrath and Samuel Rutherfords Lex, Rex, regarded by the Monarchy as dangerously seditious tracts, had been burned at the Cross by the common hangman in 1660. In June 1679, two Presbyterian ministers, John King and John Kidd, captured at Bothwell Brig, were executed for taking part in the battle
24.
Proclamation of accession of Queen Elizabeth II
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Queen Elizabeth II was proclaimed sovereign throughout her realms after the death of her father, King George VI, who died in the night between 5 and 6 February 1952 while she was in Kenya. Proclamations were made in different realms on 6,7,8, the line of succession was identical in all the Commonwealth realms, but the royal title as proclaimed was not the same in all of them. The Governor-General of Australia, Sir William McKell, issued the proclamation of Elizabeths accession as Queen of Australia. m. m, according to the Times, it was expected that the public proclamation would be made in due form by the heralds of the College of Arms. After the announcement of the Kings death had been communicated to the Legislative Board of Turks and Caicos Islands. Also, the Crown, which had referred to as the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland, was also now non-specific. These last two points reflected the existence of the Republic of Ireland, as well as the sovereignty of countries over which Elizabeth was now separately queen, Elizabeth was also proclaimed Queen of Ireland in South Africa. Changes of the style and title in any realm do not as such change the constitutional status or position of the monarch or the Crown. Privy council Executive Council Royal Style and Titles Act Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed at the Royal Exchange,6 February 1952 The London Gazette, accession Councils first meeting and proclamation The London Gazette, no.3946. Queens declaration made in the council of 8 February 1952 The London Gazette, ceremonial observed at the proclamation in London The Edinburgh Gazette, no.16949. Ceremonial observed at the proclamation at Meercat Cross, Edinburgh
25.
Proclamation Day
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Proclamation Day is the name of official or unofficial holidays or other anniversaries which commemorate or mark an important proclamation. In some cases it may be the day of, or the anniversary of, a proclamation day may also celebrate the independence of a country, the end of a war, or the ratification of an important treaty. Proclamation Day in South Australia celebrates the establishment of government in South Australia as a British province, the proclamation was made by Captain John Hindmarsh beside The Old Gum Tree at the present-day suburb of Glenelg North on 28 December 1836. The proclamation specified the same protection under the law for the native population as for the settlers. The date 28 December as a holiday in South Australia was modified to the first otherwise working day after the Christmas Day public holiday. Formal ceremonies involving the most senior current officials and politicians, followed by public celebrations, the proclamation was printed by Robert Thomas, who came from England with his family on the Africaine, arriving at Holdfast Bay on 8 November 1836. Thomas brought with him the first printing press to reach South Australia, the press was a Stanhope Invenit No. 200, and was on display in the State Library until 2001, the colonising fleet consisted of 10 vessels which had gathered at Nepean Bay before being directed to Holdfast Bay. The Africaine was the first to arrive, discharging settlers on 9 November 1836, followed by the Emma, the John Pirie, and the Tam OShanter. These deliberately preceded Governor John Hindmarsh on the Buffalo to enable preparations including the printing of the proclamation in advance of his arrival on 28 December. Thomass wife Mary published The Diary of Mary Thomas, in which she described the journey on the Africaine and the early years in South Australia. An extract from the reads, About December 20th 1836. And in this place the first printing in South Australia was produced, one of the children of Robert and Mary Thomas was a surveyor who assisted Colonel William Light in the survey which led to the founding of the City of Adelaide. Another son, William Kyffin Thomas, inherited from his father the newspaper of the time, The Register, William had a son, also called Robert, who became senior proprietor of The Register. He was knighted by King Edward VII in 1909 when President of the first great Press Conference in London, a majestic statue of that king stands prominently outside the South Australian Institute building in North Terrace, Adelaide. Proclamation Day also refers to October 21,1836, the day that government was proclaimed in Western Australia. It used to be a holiday in Western Australia. In 1919 it was renamed Labour Day, and shortly afterwards the celebration date changed, privy Council of the United Kingdom)
26.
Proclamation of the Irish Republic
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In it, the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, styling itself the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, proclaimed Irelands independence from the United Kingdom. The reading of the proclamation by Patrick Pearse outside the General Post Office on Sackville Street, Dublins main thoroughfare, the proclamation was modelled on a similar independence proclamation issued during the 1803 rebellion by Robert Emmet. Though the Rising failed in terms, the principles of the Proclamation to varying degrees influenced the thinking of later generations of Irish politicians. The proclamation had been printed prior to the Rising on a Summit Wharfedale Stop Cylinder Press, located in Liberty Hall. Because of its printing, problems arose which affected the layout. In particular, because of a shortage of type, the document was printed in two halves, printing first the top then the bottom on the pieces of paper. The typesetters were Willie OBrien, Michael Molloy and Christopher Brady and they lacked a sufficient supply of type in the same size and font, and as a result the some parts of the document use es from a different font, which are smaller and do not quite match. The language suggested that the copy of the proclamation had actually been signed by the Risings leaders. Molloy also recalled that Connolly had asked for the document to resemble an auctioneers notice in general design, there are about 30 original copies still remaining, one of which can be viewed in the National Print Museum. Reproductions were later made, which have sometimes been misattributed as originals, james Mosley notes that complete originals rapidly became rare in the chaos, and that over a month later the Dublin police had failed to find one for their files. Had the arrangement of names been alphabetical, Éamonn Ceannt would have appeared on top, clarkes widow maintained that it was because the plan had been for Clarke, as a famed veteran, to become the President of the Provisional Republic. Such an explanation would explain his premier position. However others associated with the Rising dismissed her claims, which she made in her memoirs, all seven signatories of the proclamation were executed by the British military in the aftermath of the Rising, being viewed as having committed treason in wartime. British political leaders regarded the executions initially as unwise, later as a catastrophe, though initially deeply unsympathetic to the Rising, Irish public opinion switched and became more sympathetic due to manner of their treatment and executions. Eventually Asquiths government ordered a halt to the executions and insisted that those not already executed be dealt with through civilian, not military, by that stage all the signatories and a number of others had been executed. Full copies of the Easter Proclamation are now treated as a revered Irish national icon, a copy owned by Rising participant Seán T. OKelly was presented by him to the Irish parliament buildings, Leinster House, during his tenure as President of Ireland. It is currently on permanent display in the main foyer, Other copies are on display in the GPO, the National Museum of Ireland, the Trinity College Librarys Long Room and other museums worldwide. Facsimile copies are sold as souvenirs in Ireland, and copies of the text are displayed in Irish schools
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Ukase
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A ukase, or ukaz, in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law. Edict and decree are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts of Roman law, from the Russian term, the word ukase has entered the English language with the meaning of any proclamation or decree, an order or regulation of a final or arbitrary nature. Prior to the 1917 October Revolution, the term applied in Russia to an edict or ordinance, legislative or administrative, a ukase proceeded either from the emperor or from the senate, which had the power of issuing such ordinances for the purpose of carrying out existing decrees. All such decrees were promulgated by the senate, a difference was drawn between the ukase signed by the emperor’s hand and his verbal ukase, or order, made upon a report submitted to him. After the Revolution, a government proclamation of wide meaning was called a decree, both terms are usually translated as decree. According to the Russian Federations 1993 constitution, an ukaz is a Presidential decree, the English term Executive Order is also used by the official website as an equivalent of the Russian ukaz. As normative legal acts, such ukazes have a status of by-law in the hierarchy of legal acts, rule by decree Ukase of 1821 Decree of the President of Russia Ukase Bulgaro OED staff. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary,1921, the dictionary definition of ukase at Wiktionary
28.
Letters patent
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Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for the granting of city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms, in the United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent granting exclusive rights in an invention. e, the opposite of letters patent are letters close, which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents. Letters patent are thus comparable to other kinds of open letter in that their audience is wide, letters patent are so named from the Latin verb pateo, to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originators seal was attached pendent from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. Thus letters patent do not equate to a letter but rather to any form of document, deed, contract, letter, despatch, edict, decree. Letters patent are a form of open or public proclamation and an exercise of extra-parliamentary power by a monarch or president. Prior to the establishment of Parliament, the monarch ruled absolutely by the issuing of his written orders. They can thus be contrasted with the Act of Parliament, which is in effect an order by Parliament. No explicit government approval is contained within letters patent, only the seal or signature of the monarch, in their original form they were simply written instructions or orders from the sovereign, whose order was law, which were made public to reinforce their effect. According to the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice, there are 92 different types of letters patent. The Patent Rolls are made up of copies of English royal letters patent. In 1634, during the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became convinced that his general Albrecht von Wallenstein was plotting treason, on 24 January 1634 the Emperor signed a secret patent removing him from his command. Finally an open patent, charging Wallenstein with high treason, was signed on 18 February, in the patent, Ferdinand II ordered to have Wallenstein brought under arrest to Vienna, dead or alive. On the basis of patent, several of Wallensteins officers assassinated him and were rewarded by the Emperor. The form of patent for creating peerages has been fixed by the Crown Office Order 1992. Part III of the schedule lays down nine pro forma texts for creating various ranks of the peerage, lords of appeal in ordinary, gender-specific differences are highlighted in italics. In Commonwealth realms, letters patent are issued under the powers of the head of state
29.
Proclamation of Indonesian Independence
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The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10.00 a. m. on Friday,17 August 1945. In 2005, the Netherlands declared that they had decided to accept de facto 17 August 1945 as Indonesias independence date, in a 2013 interview the Indonesian historian Sukotjo, amongst others, asked the Dutch government to formally acknowledge the date of independence as 17 August 1945. The United Nations, who mediated in the conflict, formally acknowledge the date of independence as 27 December 1949, the document was signed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were appointed president and vice-president respectively the following day. The draft was prepared only a few hours earlier, on the night of 16 August, by Sukarno, Hatta, the original Indonesian Declaration of Independence was typed by Sayuti Melik. Maeda himself was sleeping in his room upstairs and he was agreeable to the idea of Indonesias independence, and had lent his house for the drafting of the declaration. Marshal Terauchi, the highest-ranking Japanese leader in South East Asia and son of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake, was however against Indonesias independence, the declaration was to be signed by the 27 members of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence symbolically representing the new nations diversity. The particular act was inspired by a similar spirit of the United States Declaration of Independence. Instead, the radical activists demanded that the signatures of six of them were to be put on the document. All parties involved in the moment finally agreed on a compromise solution which only included Sukarno. There was no evidence for the growing suspicions, as the Japanese had already surrendered to the Allies. An English translation of the proclamation was broadcast overseas, proklamasi Kami, bangsa Indonesia, dengan ini menjatakan kemerdekaan Indonesia. Hal2 jang mengenai pemindahan kekoeasaan d. l. l, 17-8-45, changed to hari 17, boelan 8, tahoen 05, Wakil-Wakil Bangsa Indonesia, changed to Atas nama bangsa Indonesia. P R O K L A M A S I Kami, bangsa Indonesia, hal-hal jang mengenai pemindahan kekoeasaan d. l. l. Diselenggarakan dengan tjara saksama dan dalam tempo jang sesingkat-singkatnja, djakarta, hari 17 boelan 8 tahoen 05 Atas nama bangsa Indonesia, Soekarno/Hatta. An English translation published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of October 1948 included the speech as read by Sukarno. It incorporated remarks made immediately prior to and after the actual proclamation, PROCLAMATION WE THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA HEREBY DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF INDONESIA. MATTERS WHICH CONCERN THE TRANSFER OF POWER AND OTHER THINGS WILL BE EXECUTED BY CAREFUL MEANS AND IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME. DJAKARTA,17 AUGUST1945 IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA SOEKARNO/HATTA This proclamation is printed in the front of the Rp.100,000 Indonesian banknote of the year 1999 and 2004 series, java in a Time of Revolution, Occupation and Resistance, 1944-1946
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Public domain
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The term public domain has two senses of meaning. Anything published is out in the domain in the sense that it is available to the public. Once published, news and information in books is in the public domain, in the sense of intellectual property, works in the public domain are those whose exclusive intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples for works not covered by copyright which are therefore in the domain, are the formulae of Newtonian physics, cooking recipes. Examples for works actively dedicated into public domain by their authors are reference implementations of algorithms, NIHs ImageJ. The term is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, as rights are country-based and vary, a work may be subject to rights in one country and be in the public domain in another. Some rights depend on registrations on a basis, and the absence of registration in a particular country, if required. Although the term public domain did not come into use until the mid-18th century, the Romans had a large proprietary rights system where they defined many things that cannot be privately owned as res nullius, res communes, res publicae and res universitatis. The term res nullius was defined as not yet appropriated. The term res communes was defined as things that could be enjoyed by mankind, such as air, sunlight. The term res publicae referred to things that were shared by all citizens, when the first early copyright law was first established in Britain with the Statute of Anne in 1710, public domain did not appear. However, similar concepts were developed by British and French jurists in the eighteenth century, instead of public domain they used terms such as publici juris or propriété publique to describe works that were not covered by copyright law. The phrase fall in the domain can be traced to mid-nineteenth century France to describe the end of copyright term. In this historical context Paul Torremans describes copyright as a coral reef of private right jutting up from the ocean of the public domain. Because copyright law is different from country to country, Pamela Samuelson has described the public domain as being different sizes at different times in different countries. According to James Boyle this definition underlines common usage of the public domain and equates the public domain to public property. However, the usage of the public domain can be more granular. Such a definition regards work in copyright as private property subject to fair use rights, the materials that compose our cultural heritage must be free for all living to use no less than matter necessary for biological survival
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Renton, Alexander Wood (1911). "Proclamation". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 417.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the 
