bright cross, resembling that whereon St. Andrew suffered martyrdom, seen by Achaius, the night before he gained a victory over Athelstan, King of England. This order after having much declined, was revived by James II of England in 1687, and again by Queen Anne in 1703. The motto is Nemo me impune lacessit. (No one provokes me with impunity). The Victoria Order was instituted by Queen Victoria during the Crimean war, as a reward for deeds of valour, heroism, & performed on the field of battle. Tournaments, Jousts, &c. The origin of Tournaments is uncertain, by some it is derived from the Arabians; but all historical monuments tend to show their Teutonic origin. They reached their full perfection in France, in the 9th and 10th centuries; and first received the form under which they are known to us from the French. The word tournament is also evidently of French origin (from "tourner.") The place of combat was called the lists, a large open space, surrounded by ropes or a railing. Galleries were erected around the lists for the spectators, among whom were seated the ladies, the supreme judges of the tourna The sport being over, the prizes were delivered to the successful knights by the queen of beauty, who had been chosen by the ladies. ments. Jousts (Joute) differed from tournaments in being single combats between two knights, while tournaments were performed by two parties of cavaliers. The Troubadours were singers and poets, their proper home was France, part of Upper Italy, and, for some time, the kingdoms of Catalonia and Arragon, and their flourishing period extends from the 10th. century, to the middle of the 13th. Their name is derived from the French word, trouver. Minstrels (French menestrier) a name introduced by the Normans, and which comprehended singers and performers of instrumental music, together with jugglers, dancers, sleightof-hand performers, and other similar persons, to amuse the great. The celebrated minstrel Blondel taught Richard I. in 1190. TABLE OF EVENTS, STATUTES, &c. CONNECTED WITH THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. (To us, we will own, nothing is so interesting and delightful, as to contemplate the steps by which the England of the Domesday Book, the England of the Curfew and Forest Laws, the England of crusaders, monks, schoolmen, astrologers, serfs, outlaws, became the England which we know and love, the classic ground of liberty and philosophy, the school of all knowledge, the mart of all trade. The Charter of Henry Beauclerc, the Great Charter, the First Assembling of the House of Commons, the Extinction of personal slavery, the Separation from the See of Rome, the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, the Revolution, the Establishment of the liberty of unlicensed printing, the Abolition of religious disabilities, the Reform of the representative system, all these seem to us to be the successive stages of one great Revolution.) Macaulay. Ethelbert, King of Kent enacted a body of laws, which was the first written code promulgated by the northern conquerors, about King Ina's laws supposed to have been published A. D. 597 709 890 1041-1066 Cities and Boroughs send Representatives to Parliament 1295 for the king to raise money without the consent of Parliament 1297 Statute of Treasons 1352 John Hampden refused to pay Ship money A. D. Henry VIII. attempted to raise money without Parliamentary authority 1522 Star Chamber and High Commission Court abolished 1534 1603-1625 1628 Office of King and House of Lords abolished by vote of the House James II. orders customs and other duties to be collected without waiting for consent of Parliament The King claims power to dispense with the observance of any particular law Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement Toleration Act.. Liberty of the Press established Triennial Bill Succession Act Act of Union of English and Scotch Parliaments Septennial Bill.. Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland Roman Catholic Relief Bill 1801 1811 1829 BRITISH CONSTITUTION. Among the various advantages of the Roman possession of Britain, nothing is more important to the Constitution of our kingdom than the spirit of freedom that was introduced by the Roman Civil System. It may truly be said to have laid the foundation of that antagonism which contributed to subdue every subsequent attempt to enslave the liberties of the people; and it may further be said, even in our own time, that the study of that great people's literature exerts an influence upon the national character, which is in the highest degree inimical to oppression, and favourable to the development of a free and enlightened Constitution. Ina is celebrated as the principal legislator of the AngloSaxons. His laws, some of which are yet extant, served as the foundation of that famous code promulgated by Alfred the Great, which even now forms the bulwark of our freedom. To Alfred we owe the institution of juries, and the division of England into hundreds, tithings, &c. These laws were again embodied in a code by Edward the Confessor, to which the nation was long fondly attached. The Curfew Law made it compulsory for all candles and fires to be extinguished at eight o'clock in the evening, and that no one might violate it through ignorance, the Curfew bell was regularly tolled at that hour. The Feudal System arose from the practice, common among barbarous nations, of recompensing the perils of war by a distribution of the spoil. As the power of the chief increased, in the progress of conquest, the territory which he acquired was divided among his followers, on condition of military service. They were hence called his vassals. The vassals, in turn, divided their lands among their dependents, on similar conditions. Lands thus held were called fiefs. These fiefs soon became hereditary. They were, however, subject to certain burthens, and on failure of heirs reverted to the original lord. The husbandmen who tilled the soil, and who were in a manner part of the property, were designated serfs. The serfs or villeins were regarded as belonging to the estate, were incapable of acquiring property, and under any injury, were without redress. The clergy used their influence for the amelioration of such slavery, and the progress of events tended to its ultimate abolition; but, for several centuries, the feudal system rendered the condition of the lower orders in England very miserable. The great distinction between the Feudal System prevalent elsewhere, and that established by William in England, was that he made the Barons' dependants swear allegiance to himself, instead of being only responsible to their immediate lord. The Domesday Book is a survey of the whole kingdom, giving an account of the extent of every township, with all particulars respecting it. This book is still preserved in Westminster, and informs us to whom each estate belonged at the Conquest, whether it was arable or pasture, and what was its value. The Forest Laws were enacted by William the Conqueror, A. D. 1069, when he ruined a large tract of land near Winchester, since called the New Forest, in order that he might enjoy the pleasures of the chase. These laws were very cruel, and are the foundation of the present game laws. By means of them he reserved to himself the exclusive privilege of killing game throughout England, and enacted the severest penalties on all who should attempt it without his permission. The suppression, or rather mitigation_of_these penalties, was one of the articles of the Charta de Foresta, which the barons afterwards obtained by force of arms. (Nullus de cætero amittat vitam, vel membra, pro venatione nostra). Ch. de Forest. Art. 10. The Charter of Liberties was granted by Henry I. about A. D. 1100, for he, having ascended the throne to the |