Various

“ Bacon was great as a moralist, a historian, a writer on politics, and a rhetorician; but it is as the father of the inductive method in science, as the powerful exponent of the principle that facts must be observed and collected before theorizing, that he occupies the grand position he holds among the world's great ones. ”

“ Balance of Trade, the difference between the stated money values of the exports and imports of a country. The balance is erroneously said to be 'in favour' of a country when the value of the exports is in excess of that of the imports, and 'against it' when the imports are in excess of the exports. The phrases date from the days of the mercantile system, the characteristic doctrine of which alleged the desirability of regulating commerce with a view to amassing treasure by exporting produce largely, importing little merchandise in return, and receiving the balance in bullion. ”

“ Babylon was triumphant as a political and trading centre, and, during Nebuchadnezzar's long reign of 42 years, prospered greatly. Its products and its culture were carried far and wide, and Chaldean astrologers as well as merchants became known in Egypt and Greece. Babylonia was the birthplace of the science of astronomy, which developed from astrology. Nebuchadnezzar was a great builder. It is the ruins of his Babylon that have been excavated in our own day. Although Greek descriptions of the city have been found to be somewhat exaggerated, it was yet made very strong and impressive. ”

“ Money is less commonly advanced by bankers upon mortgages on land, in which the money loaned is almost invariably locked up for a number of years. To banks of issue a further source of profit is open in their note circulation, inasmuch as the bank is enabled to lend these notes, or promises to pay, as if they were so much money and to receive interest on the loan accordingly, as well as to make a profitable use of the money or property that may be received in exchange for its notes, so long as the latter remain in circulation. ”

“ The object in maintaining the balance of power is to secure the general independence of nations as a whole, by preventing the aggressive attempts of individual States to extend their territory and sway at the expense of weaker countries. The first European monarch whose ambitious designs induced a combination of other States to counteract them was the Emperor Charles V, similar coalitions being formed in the end of the seventeenth century, when the ambition of Louis XIV excited the fears of Europe, and a century later against the exorbitant power and aggressive schemes of the first Napoleon. ”

“ Bata ́via, a city and seaport of Java, on the north coast of the island, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. It is situated on a wide, deep bay, the principal warehouses and offices of the Europeans, the Java Bank, the exchange, &c., being in the old town, which is built on a low, marshy plain near the sea, intersected with canals and very unhealthy; while the Europeans reside in a new and much healthier quarter. Batavia has a large trade, sugar being the chief export. It was founded by the Dutch in 1619, and attained its greatest prosperity in the beginning of the eighteenth century. ”

“ The view from the ruins of the castle is one of the sublimest on the Rhine.
Bach ́elor, a term applied anciently to a person in the first or probationary stage of knighthood who had not yet raised his standard in the field. It also denotes a person who has taken the first degree in the liberal arts and sciences, or in divinity, law, or medicine, at a college or university; or a man of any age who has not been married.—A knight bachelor is one who has been raised to the dignity of a knight without being made a member of any of the orders of chivalry such as the Garter, the Thistle, or the Bath. ”

“ It was carried to battle with the king, so that wherever the king was, there was the national god of war. The heavily-bearded Assyrians were a fiercer and more war-like people than the mild shaven Babylonians, who were ever influenced by Sumerian modes of thought. The Assyrian temperament is reflected in its art, which at its best is characterized by vigorous realism and brilliant ferocity. ”

“ If it requires a considerable excess of weight to deflect the beam from the level, we may infer either that there is too much friction at the fulcrum, or that the centre of gravity is too low. If two weights are found to be in equipoise, one being in each scale, and if, when that which is in one scale is put into the other, there is no longer equilibrium, then we may infer that the arms of the beam are of unequal lengths. ”

“ In the fifteenth century specimens multiply rapidly: ballad-making became in the reign of Henry VIII a fashionable amusement, the king himself setting the example; and though in the reign of Elizabeth ballads came into literary disrepute and ballad singers were brought under the law, yet there was no apparent check upon the rate of their production. Except perhaps in the north of England and south of Scotland, there was, however, a marked and increasing tendency to vulgarization as distinct from the preservation of popular qualities. ”

“ Since that time we have the instance of the Crimean War, entered into to check the ambition of Russia. Of late years there has been a marked tendency among British politicians to decry and impugn the principle of the balance of power, as calculated only to propagate a system of mutual hostility, and retard the cause of progress, by the expenditure both of money and life thus occasioned. An equilibrium between the various Powers is, of course, essential to the very existence of international law. ”

“ Civil war ensued, and Assyria's history is found to be obscure for a century afterwards. In Babylon the Kassite dynasty, under which trade flourished, came to an end as a result of an Elamite invasion about 1185 B.C. A new Babylonian dynasty then arose, and the third king, Nebuchadnezzar I, revived the old empire and waged war against Assyria. But the future lay with Assyria, which was organized as a military State. It did not have Babylonia's natural resources, and could only exist as a great Power by imposing tribute on weaker States. A standing army was the basis of its strength. ”

“ The other English banks consist of numerous joint-stock and private banks in London and the provinces, many of the provincial establishments of both kinds having the right to issue notes. Private banks in London with not more than six partners have never been prevented from issuing notes, but they could not profitably compete with the Bank of England. The maximum issues of the provincial banks are limited to a certain amount, against which they are not compelled to hold gold in reserve, and they have no power to issue against specie in excess of the fixed circulation. ”

“ In London jurisdiction in bankruptcy now rests with the High Court of Justice, while the county courts continue to have jurisdiction in bankruptcy outside the London district. When the court is satisfied as to the petition, a 'receiving order' is issued to protect the debtor's estate by constituting the official appointed by the Board of Trade receiver of the debtor's property, and to stay the remedies of all creditors until the meeting of creditors. The debtor must make out a full statement of his affairs, accounting as best he can for his insolvency. ”

“ Augsburg was a renowned commercial centre in the Middle Ages, and is still an important emporium of South German and Italian trade; industries: cotton spinning and weaving, dyeing, woollen manufacture, machinery and metal goods, books and printing, chemicals, &c. The Emperor Augustus established a colony here about 12 B.C. In 1276 it became a free city, and, besides being a great mart for the commerce between the north and south of Europe, it was a great centre of German art in the Middle Ages. ”

“ The Assyrian military organization collapsed and Assyria ceased to be. The factors that led to the downfall of Assyria can only be guessed at. It may be that its many wars of conquest had left it in a state of exhaustion. It is also possible that the new generation of the aristocratic class that grew up in wealth and luxury was disorganized by intrigues and corruption. After Ashur-bani-pal died, no great leader arose, and the vast unwieldy empire suffered from internal decay. Babylonia was the first to foster organized revolt. ”

“ The climate varies much. The hilly parts, especially in the east, are cold and have a long winter, while the valley of the Rhine enjoys the finest climate of Germany. The principal minerals worked are coal, salt, iron, zinc, and nickel. The number of mineral springs is remarkably great, and of these not a few are of great celebrity. The vegetation is peculiarly rich, and there are magnificent forests. The cereals comprise wheat, oats, barley, and rye. Potatoes, hemp, tobacco, wine, and sugar-beet are largely produced. ”

“ The British Linen Company was incorporated in 1746, for the purpose of promoting the linen manufacture, but soon became a general banking company; capital, £1,250,000 paid up. These three banks claim to be by their charters banks of limited liability. All the other Scottish banks have been established within the nineteenth century. They are all incorporated by royal charter or Act of Parliament, which enables them to sue and be sued as a corporation, and latterly they have all become banks of limited liability, except that their liability is not to be limited in respect to their note issue. ”

“ Barley is better adapted for cold climates than any other grain, and some of the coarser varieties are cultivated where no other cereal can be grown. Russia devotes a surface of over 20,000,000 acres to barley, i.e. a little under 11 per cent of the cereal area of the country. Germany has 4,000,000 and France 1,800,000 acres of barley. Some species of the genus, three of which are natives of Britain, are mere grasses. Pot or Scotch barley is the grain deprived of the husk in a mill. Pearl barley is the grain polished and rounded and deprived of husk and pellicle. ”

“ The more highly-organized banks discharge all three functions, but all modern banks unite the two first. For the successful working of a banking establishment certain resources other than the deposits are of course necessary, and the capital paid up by shareholders on their shares and forming the substantial portion of their claim to public credit is held upon a different footing from the sums received from depositors. It is usually considered that for sound banking this capital should not be traded with for the purpose of making gain in the same way as the moneys deposited in the bank ”

“ Bats are animals of the twilight and darkness, and are common in temperate and warm regions, but are most numerous and largest in the tropics. All European bats are small, and have a mouse-like skin. The body of the largest British species, Vespertilio noctŭla, is less than that of a mouse, but its wings stretch about 15 inches. During the day [421] it remains in caverns, in the crevices of ruins, hollow trees, and similar lurking places, and flits out at evening in search of food, which consists of insects. Several species of the same genus are common in North America. ”

“ Base-ball, the national game of the United States of America. It holds the position there that is held by cricket in England. It is a scientific development of the old English game of 'rounders', and is played by nine players a side. A diamond-shaped space of ground, 90 feet on the side, is marked out, the corners being the 'bases'. One side takes the field and the other sends a man to bat. ”

“ Babylon became the greatest trading centre in Western Asia and a rival of the Egyptian Memphis. Sumerian gradually ceased to be a spoken language, being supplanted by Semitic, but remained, like Latin, in mediæval Europe, the language of law, culture, and religion, while the Babylonian language became the language of trade and diplomacy, and was used in international correspondence by all the great Powers. The Hammurabi dynasty came to an end about 1926 B.C., when the Hittites raided Babylonia and carried off the statues of Marduk and his consort. ”

“ Australia is a region containing a vast quantity of mineral wealth. Foremost come its rich and extensive deposits of gold, which, since the precious metal was first discovered in 1851, have produced a total of nearly £600,000,000. The greatest quantity has been obtained in Victoria, [319] but New South Wales and Queensland have also yielded a considerable amount, and now Western Australia stands first in respect of annual output. ”

“ A Convention, which sat at Adelaide in 1897-8, drafted a Constitution Bill, and on 9th July, 1900, the British Parliament passed the Act to constitute the Commonwealth. There is now a Governor-General and Central or Federal Parliament, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, while each State has also (as before) a Governor, an administration, and a Parliament of its own. Each Parliament consists of two Houses corresponding to the British House of Lords and House of Commons, but both Houses are elected by popular vote. ”

“ Slavery and polygamy were both legitimate, but the children of slaves were regarded as free. Although ignorant of the horse, ox, &c., they had a considerable knowledge of agriculture, maize and the agave being the chief produce. Silver, lead, tin, and copper were obtained from mines, and gold from the surface and river beds, but iron was unknown to them, their tools being of bronze and obsidian. Metal coins were not in use. In metal-work, feather-work, weaving, and pottery they possessed a high degree of skill. ”

“ Should the infant die, notice of the fact must be given by the person with whom it is farmed out to the Procurator-fiscal of the district, if in Scotland, and, if in England, to the Coroner of the district, within twenty-four hours. He shall hold an inquest unless a certificate by a medical practitioner specifying the cause of death shall be forwarded. Failure to give such notice is punishable under the Act.
A person nursing an infant for reward shall have no interest in the life of the child for the purposes of life assurance. ”

“ The restoration of the reputation of Bavaria in art was chiefly the work of Ludwig I, under whom the capital became one of the most prominent seats of the fine arts in Europe. The religion of the State is Roman Catholicism, over [430] 70 per cent of the population being Roman Catholics. All citizens, whatever their creed, possess the same civil and political rights. The dioceses of Bavaria comprise two Roman Catholic archbishopries, Munich and Bamberg ”

“ The native fruit trees are few and unimportant, and the same may be said of the plants yielding roots used as food; but exotic fruits and vegetables may now be had in the different colonies in great abundance and of excellent quality. The vine, the olive, and mulberry thrive well, and quantities of wine are now produced. The cereals of Europe and maize are extensively cultivated, and large tracts of country, particularly in Queensland, are under the sugar-cane. ”

“ The excess of the value of imports over that of exports, which is regarded by some as an adverse and alarming symptom in British trade, is in large part readily accounted for on the ground of shipping receipts, insurance returns, interest on capital employed in foreign trade, merchants' profits, and the income derived from foreign investments. ”