Part 19

A nickname of Louis XVI, referring to the power given him by the Constitution of 1791 to veto the acts of the Legislative Assembly. Marie Antoinette was known as Madame Véto, as it was believed that it was largely her influence which induced the King to exercise his right.

Montesa, Knights of.

A Spanish order of religious chivalry, established in 1317. They succeeded the Templars in Aragon.

Montpelier, Treaty of.

A treaty between Louis XIII and the Huguenots, after their last appearance in arms in 1622. The King undertook to observe the Edict of Nantes, and gave the Huguenots two towns. La Rochelle and Montauban, as places of safety.

Montrouge Club.

A club composed of friends of the Duc d’Orléans (Philippe Egalité), which was formed about 1789. Its object was to supplant the reigning dynasty by the Orleans branch. Among its prominent members were Mirabeau, Siéyès and Sillery.

Montsioa War.

In 1884 the Transvaal Boers attacked Montsioa, a Bechuana chief under British protection, and forced him to make a treaty with them, in defiance of the London Convention. In the following year a force under Sir Charles Warren occupied the disturbed territory, which was brought under the British administration, and the Boers were forced to withdraw.

Montt-Varistas.

The extreme reactionaries of the Pelucones, or Conservative party, in Chile in 1850. They took their name from President Montt, and his Secretary of State, Varas.

Moonlighters.

An agrarian secret society, similar in its constitution and methods to the Whiteboys, which was guilty of numerous outrages in Ireland in 1881.

Moors, Expulsion of.

The final overthrow of the Moorish power in Spain was accomplished by the capture of Granada in 1492, under Ferdinand and Isabella. The terms of capitulation provided that the Moors, while remaining under Spanish dominion, should preserve their own laws, language and religion, with the right to hold property free of molestation. The non-Christian Moors were, however, expelled from Spain by Philip III in 1610.

Morant Bay Riots.

An outbreak of negroes in Jamaica in 1865, which was promptly suppressed, and is only noteworthy as leading to the long controversy with regard to the action of Governor Eyre, whose repressive measures led to his recall. Several attempts were made to bring him to trial, but the case never got beyond the Grand Jury, who always declined to find a true bill.

Moravians.

A Protestant sect, having its origin in the Hussites, which was very numerous in Bohemia and Moravia in the sixteenth century. In 1627 they were expelled from these countries, and, later, settled in Saxony.

Morey Letter.

A letter purporting to be written by Garfield, on the eve of the Presidential Election in the United States in 1880, to a large employer of labour named Morey. It advocated free admission of Chinese labour, and it was hoped by the Democrats would seriously injure the Republican cause on the Pacific Slope. It was of course a forgery.

Mormons.

A sect founded by Joseph Smith, the son of a Vermont farmer, in 1830, at Fayette, New York State. The Mormons moved westward and, after several years’ wanderings, settled on the Great Salt Lake in 1847, under Brigham Young. Their advocacy of polygamy was for a long time a bar to the admission of Utah to the Union, but the enforcement of the Edmunds Act of 1882 led to the formal abandonment of polygamy as a tenet by the Mormons in 1890, and Utah was admitted a State in 1896.

Mortmain, Statute of.

A statute passed in 1279, to put a stop to the growing practice of giving landed property to the Church, and receiving it back as tenants, thus evading feudal obligations. To prevent land thus passing into a dead hand (_mortuum manum_), all such alienations were forbidden, except with the King’s consent.

Morton’s Fork.

The scheme devised by Morton, the Minister of Henry VII, to increase the revenues of the State. He exacted contributions from those who lived well on the plea that they were obviously rich, and from those who lived plainly on the ground that their economy had made them wealthy.

Mossbacks.

The name given to an old-fashioned section of the Democratic party in the United States, most numerous in Ohio. The word is derived from the popular name for the snapping turtle, which is so called from the growth of a species of aquatic moss on its shell.

Most Holy Synod.

A body charged with the administration of the Russian National Church. Its members are appointed and removed by the Czar, and its head, the Procurator, is practically an autocrat in all matters of Church discipline. It has however no jurisdiction over matters of dogma.

Mother Ann.

The leader of the Shakers in Sussex, at the end of the eighteenth century. Her name was Ann Lee.

Mother of Presidents.

The State of Virginia is so called, as having furnished no less than six Presidents of the United States.

Mother of States.

A name given to the State of Virginia, either as the oldest colony, or as having had five States, namely, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and West Virginia, formed out of her original territories.

Moujik.

The Russian peasant.

Moulins, Edict of.

An edict issued in 1566 by the Chancellor, de l’Hôpital, after a conference of Notables representing both the Huguenot and the Catholic parties. It dealt with the reform of judicial procedure.

Mountain.

The Jacobins, or ultra-revolutionary party in the Convention during the French Revolution. Its leaders were Danton and Robespierre. The Mountain came to an end with the fall of Robespierre and his followers on the 9th Thermidor (July 28, 1794). It was so called because its members occupied the upper tiers of seats in the Convention.

Mountain Meadow Massacre.

The massacre by Indians, under Mormon leadership, of a party of 140 emigrants, who were crossing Utah on their way to California in 1857. The Mormons had been for some time in difficulties with the United States Government, and Federal troops were in the neighbourhood of Salt Lake City, but no hostilities had taken place. The leader of the band, J. D. Lee, a Mormon Bishop, was executed for the crime on the actual site of the massacre in 1877.

Mountain Men.

A name given to the Cameronians.

Mugwumps.

A section of the Republican party in the United States who, in 1884, supported Cleveland, the Democratic candidate for President, owing to his advocacy of Civil Service Reform. The word is also applied to those who for various reasons decline to attach themselves definitely to either of the great political parties.

Mulmutine Laws.

A code of laws said to have been drawn up by Mulmutius, King of the Britons, circ. 400 B.C. They were translated by Alfred the Great, and remained the basis of English law until the Conquest.

Mundebunde or Mundium.

Among the Franks the protection afforded by the King or a feudal lord to an ecclesiastic or other person not being an ordinary vassal.

Municipal Reform Act.

An Act passed in 1835, dealing with 178 municipalities. In the majority of these the election to municipal offices had been entirely in the hands of the freemen, often a very small minority of the inhabitants. The Act instituted an electoral qualification of three years’ residence, and the payment of poor and borough rates. It also established town councils, and provided for an independent audit.

Mustafiz.

The second line of reserve, or militia, of the Turkish army.

Mutiny Act.

This Act was passed for the first time in 1689, for one year only, and has since that time been passed annually. It gives disciplinary powers to the officers of the army and navy, apart from the ordinary process of law, and neither service could be maintained without it.

Mutualists.

A secret association of the _chefs d’ateliers_, or middlemen, of the Lyons weavers, which ordered a strike of workmen in April, 1834. The strike resulted in a rising, which was promptly suppressed, and the leaders were prosecuted under the Associations Law.

N

Nag’s Head Controversy.

A controversy which arose over an allegation of the Roman Catholics, in 1599, that Archbishop Parker’s consecration, forty years previously, had taken place in the most informal manner at the Nag’s Head Tavern, in Cheapside. The statement was proved to be entirely devoid of foundation.

Nanking, Treaty of.

A treaty between Great Britain and China, signed in 1842, at the close of the Opium War. By its terms England secured Hong Kong in perpetuity, and Shanghai and other ports were opened to foreign trade.

Napoleon of Peace.

A sobriquet of Louis Philippe, whose peaceful reign of eighteen years was a marked contrast to the constant wars of the Napoleonic era.

Natal, Republic of.

A republic founded by emigrant burghers from Cape Colony in 1838. It stretched from the Drakensberg to the sea, and from the Tugela to the Umzimvubu river, while Zululand, under Panda, was tributary to it. The British Government never recognized the republic, and in 1842 steps were taken to obtain possession of the country, in which a regular colonial government was established in 1845.

Nation of Shopkeepers.

A phrase first applied to England by Samuel Adams, the American politician, in 1776. It is generally attributed to Napoleon, but was probably taken by him from a translation of the speech in which it occurs.

National Association for King William.

An association formed on the discovery of the Assassination Plot in 1696, at the suggestion of Sir Rowland Gwyn. The signatories declared their loyalty to the King, and bound themselves to take vengeance on all who might attempt his life.

National Debt.

The origin of the National Debt was a loan raised by Montague, afterwards Lord Halifax, in 1693. The lenders were life-annuitants, and as each died his annuity was divided among the survivors till only seven remained; after which, on the death of each of the seven, his portion was absorbed by the Government.

National Guard.

An urban militia raised in Paris in 1789 by Flesselles, Prévôt des Marchands. It took a leading part in the destruction of the Bastille.

National Guards.

A body of volunteers raised by Napper Tandy in Ireland in 1792. They were promptly suppressed by the Government.

National Scouts.

A force recruited from surrendered Boers, for service as scouts with the British Army, during the latter stages of the Boer War of 1899-1902.

Nationalverein.

An association formed in 1859, the declared object of which was to substitute for the Confederation the German constitution of 1848, under the hegemony of Prussia, and to the complete exclusion of Austria. Its founder was Baron Benigsen of Hanover.

Nations, Battle of the.

The Battle of Leipsic, fought on October 16, 17 and 18, 1813, is so called. Five nations--France, Prussia, Russia, Austria and Sweden, were engaged.

Naturalia.

The contributions in kind exacted for the support of the royal household among the Franks.

Naturalization Act.

An Act of Congress passed in 1870, which, while authorizing the naturalization of the African negro, declined to admit to the citizenship Indians and Chinese.

Naundorff Claimant.

A claim was brought before the French courts in 1874 by the son of a clock-maker of Delft, named Naundorff. The claimant, who called himself Adalbert de Bourbon, demanded to be recognized as the grandson of Louis XVI, on the ground that his father, Naundorff, was in reality the Dauphin, who had been imprisoned in the Temple, and of whose escape he told a marvellous story. The courts dismissed his claim.

Navigation Act.

An Act passed in 1651, under the Commonwealth, prohibiting the importation of goods into England except in British ships, or in ships belonging to the country of origin of the goods. The Act was renewed in 1672, and, with the modifications then introduced, continued in force till the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, when the English Government agreed to suspend its operation so far as concerned vessels of the United States.

Neck Verse.

A verse of the Psalms, read by condemned criminals who claimed “benefit of clergy,” as a test of their clerkship. It was so called because those who succeeded in reading it in clerkly fashion were handed over to the ecclesiastical authorities, and saved their necks.

Negus.

The title of the King of Abyssinia or Ethiopia.

Nemours, Edict of.

An edict issued by Henri III in 1785, withdrawing all the privileges accorded to the Huguenots by previous edicts, and giving them six months to conform to the Roman Catholic Church or to leave the realm.

Nepaul Treaty.

A treaty signed in 1815, at the end of the Ghoorka war, between the British and Nepaul. By its provisions Nepaul relinquished all rights over the Hill Rajahs west of the Kali river, ceded the major portion of the Terai, restored the territory conquered from the Rajah of Sikkim, and agreed to receive a British resident at Khatmandu.

Neri.

_See_ Bianchi.

Nertchinsk, Treaty of.

A treaty between Russia and China signed in 1689, and notable as being the first convention between China and a European Power. This treaty put a stop for nearly 150 years to Russia’s eastward expansion in Siberia.

Nestor of Europe.

Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1831-1865) was so called.

Neuf Thermidor.

July 27, 1794, the day on which the Decree of Accusation was launched against Robespierre, Couthon, St. Just and the other extremists of the Revolution, thus putting an end to the Reign of Terror.

New Custom.

A system of granting to foreign merchants the privilege of trading with English ports in return for a subsidy. This system was introduced by Edward I in 1303, and is the origin of Customs Duties.

New Departure.

A change of programme on the part of a section of the Democratic party in the United States in 1871. They admitted that all, including negroes, were entitled to equal rights and full citizenship, but demanded a universal amnesty for the Southerners, condemned protective duties as levied solely in the interests of the Northern manufacturers, and strongly protested against the Force Bill of 1870.

New England Confederation.

A union of the four New England Colonies, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut, formed in 1643 for mutual protection against the Dutch and the Indians.

New Learning.

The name given in England to the revival of learning in the West, the first manifestation of which was the Italian Renaissance.

New Model.

The name given to the Parliamentary Army as reformed by the Self-denying Ordinance of 1645.

New Republic.

A republic formed in 1884 in what was later the Vryheid district of the Transvaal, the territory having been given by Dinizulu to certain Boers in return for their help in his war with Usibepu. Lucas Meyer was elected president, but the republic was short-lived, being absorbed by the South African Republic in 1887.

New Roof.

A nickname given to the Constitution of the United States shortly after its promulgation.

New Style.

The name given to the Gregorian Calendar, introduced into England by the Calendar Act of 1752.

New Tipperary.

A township started in 1890, under the Plan of Campaign, with the object of bringing to terms the owner of the land on which the town of Tipperary stands. The scheme was a complete fiasco, and collapsed in 1891.

New Unionism.

This form of trade unionism had its rise about 1884. It differs from the old unionism in that it is frankly Socialistic in its tendencies, and demands State interference between workmen and employers, whereas the old demanded only to be left alone and to be allowed the right of combination for the advancement of the interests of the workers.

New Zealand Centralization.

By an Act passed in 1876, during the premiership of Sir Julius Vogel, the nine provinces of New Zealand were united, with one Parliament sitting at Wellington. The nine provincial Parliaments were abolished, their administrative functions being entrusted to road boards in the country districts and municipalities in the towns.

Newcastle Programme.

The platform of the Liberal party at the general election of 1892, based on resolutions passed at the meeting of the National Liberal Federation at Newcastle in October, 1891. The “planks” of the platform were Abolition of the House of Lords, Home Rule, Disestablishment of the Church in Wales, Taxation of Ground Values, and One Man One Vote.

Newfoundland Fisheries.

_See_ French Shore.

Newport, Treaty of.

The final attempt of the Parliament to come to terms with the King in 1648. Negotiations were opened at Newport, but the King contested every demand of the Parliament, and the Independents, supported by the Army, lost patience, and confined the King in Hurst Castle.

Nicæa, Second Council of.

An Œcumenical Council held during the reign of the Empress Irene, at which the decrees of the Council of Constantinople with regard to image-worship were reversed.

Nichan-Sherif.

A decree of the Sultan Ahmed I in 1604, granting the Venetians certain trading and navigating facilities in the Ottoman dominions.

Nightmare of Europe.

A sobriquet of the Great Napoleon.

Nihilists.

The Russian revolutionary society, an important section of which is in favour of physical force. Their position is perhaps best explained by the manifesto issued after the assassination of the Czar Alexander II in 1881, in which they declare their object to be the amelioration of the condition of the peasantry, and the introduction of more civilized methods of government. They go on to say that Russia demands a new system, and that, their peaceful efforts having only met with repression, they have been driven to adopt violent means to gain their ends.

Nimeguen, Treaty of.

A treaty signed in 1678, following the five years’ war of Louis XIV against Holland and Spain. Louis obtained Franche-Comté and sixteen fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands.

Nîmes, Edict of.

An edict issued in 1629, shortly after the fall of La Rochelle, which, while confirming the religious freedom granted to the Huguenots by the Edict of Nantes, deprived them of their special political status, and thus broke up the Huguenot League.

Nine Articles, Constitution of.

A constitution drawn up at Winburg in 1837 by the emigrant burghers who had settled between the Orange and the Vaal rivers after the Great Trek. A Volksraad was elected, and the burghers bound themselves to observe the old Roman-Dutch law, except when inconsistent with the articles of the constitution.

Ninety-eight.

The Irish rebellion under Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Wolfe Tone in 1798. The rebellion had been carefully planned for some years before the outbreak, and, the sympathies of the French having been enlisted, a landing by Hoche was attempted at Bantry Bay. This was unsuccessful, and a little later Humbert, who landed at Killala, was forced to surrender to Lord Cornwallis. Horrible outrages were perpetrated by the rebels, and the consequent reprisals gave a most bloodthirsty character to the whole affair. The rebels were finally defeated at Vinegar Hill, which put an end to all organized resistance, though there were a few isolated risings from time to time. Wolfe Tone was captured and condemned to death, but escaped the scaffold by suicide. Fitzgerald was killed a few days before the outbreak, resisting the military who were about to arrest him.

Nine Worthies.

This title was given to nine members of the Privy Council of William III, namely, the Duke of Devonshire, the Earls of Nottingham, Dorset, Monmouth, Orford, Pembroke and Marlborough, Lord Caermarthen, and Sir John Lowther.

Nizam.

The regular infantry of the Turkish Army.

No Popery Agitation.

An agitation against the action of the Pope in creating Cardinal Wiseman Archbishop of Westminster in 1851. To appease the Protestant party the Government brought in the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill.

Nobles’ War.

The rising of Rhenish knights under Franz von Sickingen in 1522. They were bitterly hostile to the Suabian League and to the new institutions, such as the Reichskammergericht. The rising was suppressed in the following year.

Noces Vermeilles.

“The blood-red wedding” was the name given afterwards to the marriage between the Protestant Henry of Navarre and the Catholic Marguerite de Valois in May 1572, only three months before the massacre of the Huguenots on the eve of St. Bartholomew.

Noche Triste.

The night of June 20, 1520, when the Spaniards under Cortes were attacked by the Mexicans as they were evacuating Mexico, and suffered very heavy losses.

Noir, Code.

The code of laws promulgated by Louis XIV in 1685 to be enforced in the West Indian colonies of France. It had special reference to the treatment of negroes, whether slaves or freedmen.

Nomansland.

The district south of the Basuto country, now known as Griqualand East, was so called in 1860. It was settled in 1861 by the migration of Adam Kok and his tribe of Griquas from the country they had previously occupied between the Orange and the Riet Rivers.

Nomansland.

A district lying between Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and the Indian territory, which now forms part of the territory of Oklahoma.

The same name is given to a strip of land in dispute between the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Nominees, Assembly of.

Barebone’s Parliament is sometimes known by this name.

Non-Compounders.

_See_ Compounders.

Non-Jurors.

The clergymen, between three and four hundred in number, who refused to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy on the accession of William III in 1689.

Non-Resistance.

The doctrine that it was a deadly sin to oppose the will of the King as being sovereign by Divine right. This tenet was preached by the Anglican clergy in the times of the Stuarts. It was also called the “Doctrine of Passive Obedience.”

Nore, Mutiny at the.

The name usually given to the mutinies in the fleet at the Nore and Spithead, which broke out in 1797. The discontent, due to real grievances, first showed itself at Spithead, where Lord Howe, who was in command, succeeded by his tact in arranging matters satisfactorily, and nothing very serious occurred. At the Nore the mutiny assumed a political character, the men demanding a revision of the Articles of War and other impossible concessions. Their demands being refused the mutineers seized the fleet, but gradually yielded, and finally Parker, the ringleader, was arrested and hanged, with four or five others.

Norman Reconciliation.

_See_ Baiser de Lamourette.

North, Council of the.

A council established by Henry VIII in 1536, after the Insurrection of the North, to deal with questions arising out of that event. In the reign of Charles I it was reorganized by Wentworth on the lines of the Star Chamber, and it was finally abolished by Act of Parliament in 1641.

North, Society of the.

A Russian secret society. (_See_ December Rising.)

North German Confederation.

A confederation of twenty-two States north of the Maine, formed in 1867, after the signing of the Treaty of Prague, under the perpetual presidency of Prussia. Two assemblies were formed, one, the Reichstag, being representative of the people, the other, the Bundesrath, being composed of delegates from the Governments of the twenty-two States.

Northampton, Treaty of.

A treaty between England and Scotland, signed in 1328, by which Robert Bruce was acknowledged as King of Scotland, and the independence of Scotland was recognized, Edward III renouncing his suzerainty. Bruce agreed to pay compensation for damage in the North of England, and to reinstate the Scottish lords who had been dispossessed on account of their supporting Edward.

Nottingham, Peace of.

A treaty signed between Æthelred and the Northmen in 868, by which Mercia was saved from their depredations.

Noyades.