ENGLAND

with the addition of Wales, is the S. part of Great Britain (49° 57’-55° 48’ N., 5° 42’ W.-1° 43’ E.). The area of England is 50,874 sq. m.; the greatest length (from Berwick to Lizard Point) is 420 m., the greatest breadth (Lowest oft Ne to lLand’s End), 360 m. The coast line is c. 1,800 m. It is separated from Scotland by natural boundaries, the Liddel Water, Kershope Burn, Cheviot Hills (highest point, 2,422 ft.), and the Tweed, although until 16th cent. there was a strip of ‘Debatable Land’ between the Esk and the Sark. The Severn used to form part of boundary of Wales, but this has long been constituted by the Eng. counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Here ford shire, and Mon mouth sire. Physical Features—Deep bays on E. and W. coasts, with good harbours, cut into the country at nearly opposite points, making horizontal divisions sometimes almost peninsulas; thus Tyne mouth faces Solway Firth, the wide mouth of the Tees More cam be Bay, the Humber the mouth of the Mersey, which descends from same watershed as tributaries of the eastern stream; the Wash corresponds to Cardigan Bay, the Thames to the Bristol Channel, close to which it rises. The chief headlands on these coasts are: E., Flam borough Head and Spurn Head (Yorkshire), the slight projection of Lowest oft Ne —most E. point (Suffolk), the Naze (E ex), North Foreland and South Foreland (Kent); W., St. Bees Head (Cumber land), Hart land Point (Devons hire), Land’s End (Cornwall). The 8S. coast runs, with tilt to N. E. in series of gentle bays, of which chief are Mount’s Bay, Falmouth Harbour, Plymouth Sound, Lyme Bay (with Tor Bay), Weymouth Harbour, Poole Bay, and, between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the Solent and Spithead, with Southampton Water and Portsmouth Harbour (headquarters of Brit. fleet) running up into the land. Islands are Holy Island and Farne Islands (off North umber land), the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight (Hampshire), the Scilly Isles (Cornwall), Lundy Isle (Devon), Walney (Lancashire), and Man (midway between England and Ireland); the Channel Islands and Isle of Man do not form part of England. England is divided as to its physical characteristics into two clearly distinct parts, by a line of hills known to geologists as the Oloitic Escarpment, running from the lower Tees S.W. to the Exe mouth; the N.W. portion thus formed is of older geological character than rest of country, and contains its mountain systems, of Palaeozoic rocks with coal measures in the Carboniferous strata. The Old Rock systems may be divided into (1) the mountains of northern England, composed of (a) the Pennine Chain, the chief geological feature of the N., stretching S. from the N. boundary, the Cheviots. It attains chief height in Cro Fell (2,892 ft.), at meeting-place of the five northernmost counties; other heights in the chain are Whernside, Ingle borough, and Penygant, and its southern culmination, the Peak, Derby shire; (b) the Cum brian mountains of the Lake District, where Scaw Fell (3,210 ft.), Skiddaw, and Helvellyn are the highest summits. They extend into N. chief lakes are Winder mere, Ullswater, and Thirl mere. (2) The Welsh or Cam brian mountains. (3) The 8.W. mountains, comprising (a) the high tablelands of Exmoor and Dartmoor in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, with chief heights (2,050 ft.), and Brown Willy (1,370 ft.); (o) the Mendip Hills, Somerset; (c) the Malvern Hills, Worcesters hire, rising to 1,395 ft. at Worcester Beacon; (d) the Clee Hills and Wrekin, Shropshire. The newer S. E. portion of England may be divided into the Chalk Ridge and the Roe-Stone Ridge. The Roe-Stone Ridge commences to the S. of the Oolitic Escarpment, in the moors of Cleveland, Yorkshire, forms the Lincoln Heights, Edge Hill (War wicks hire), the Cotswolds (Gloucestershire), the Western Downs (Dorset(, and the Black down Hills (Devon). The Chalk Ridge runs 8S. from the bold chalk cliffs of Flam borough as the Wolds of the E. Riding of Yorkshire and of Lincoln shire, the E. Anglian Heights, the Chiltern Hills, the Marl borough Downs, and ends with the tableland of Salisbury Plains, from which the North and South Downs extend E. to Dover Cliffs and Beachy Head respectively, and form district known as the Weald. The highest point of this 8. E. moiety of England, which belongs geologically to the Great Plain of Europe, is 1,489 ft., in N. E. Yorkshire. A system of plains unites all parts of E., and has enabled roads, railways, and canals to be readily constructed. The chief plains are the Midland Plain, which divides the older from the newer rocks, the Plain of Lancashire and Cheshire, the Vale of York, and the Eastern Plain. The Fens are a marshy district round the Wash; many of its towns, like Ely, were islands in Saxon times. Above the chalk there stretches from Thames along EH. coast to N. of Norfolk a tract of clay known as the London Basin, and round Portsmouth another tract known as the Hampshire Basin. From the Pennine Range the Tyne, Wear, Tees, Ouse, most of its tributaries, Trent and With am, flow from E. slopes of Pennines into North Sea; the Lune, Ribble, and Mersey from W. slopes into Irish Sea. The two longest rivers of England are the Severn (200 m.), which receives the Teme, Avon, and Wye, and flows into the Bristol Channel, and the Thames (210 m.), which rises in the Cotswolds and flows E. to the North Sea, receiving (left) the Cher well, Thame, Colne, Lea, and Roding, and (right) the Kennet, Wey, Mole, Darent, and Medway. The streams which enter the Eng. Channel from the 8. coast are all short. Climate-—The climate of England is of the most favourable type. It is not so mild and genial as to put a premium on idlene , nor is it so severe as to prevent out-of-door work at any season. The winters are exceptionally mild, and navigation is seldom impeded by ice. Rainfall is abundant, and provides ample water for crops and a plentiful supply of good water for the needs of large cities. Westerly winds with their warmth and moisture and the physical aspect of the country cause the western portions to have a higher (and le extreme) temperature and greater humidity than the eastern parts. Counties.—The forty old counties of England are: 1. (N.) North umber land, Yorkshire, Lancashire; 2. (Midland) Derby shire, North amp tons hire, Notting3. (W.) Cheshire, Shropshire, Here ford4. (E.) Lincoln shire, Norfolk, Cama E ex; 5. (8. E.) Kent, Su ex, Surrey, Berks hire, Hampshire; 6. (8. W.) Dor sets hire, Devons hire, Cornwall, Wilts hire, Somersets hire. Under the Local Government Act of 1888, the number of the “Administrative Counties’ was raised to 50. Com mun tea i ions.—The total of railways in Engiand and Wales exceeds} 16,000. The chief lines are the London and North-Western, the Midland, and the Great Northen, which run from London to Scotland; other lines include the Great Eastern, Great Western, Great Central, London, Brighton, and South Coast, South-Eastern, Chas am, and Dover. London has an elaborate system of underground railways. There are 3,461 m. of canals. There are about 151,000 m. of principal roads in England and Wales, kept in repair and improved partly by profit on motor spirit duties, to the laying down of many miles of aabeay covered with a bituminous preparation calculated better to withstand wear and tear. Resources and Industries ——England Owes its pre-eminence in Europe, only dating from middle of 18th cent., to coal, which has enormously facilitated the working of its other mineral treasures (chiefiy iron and stone), and its manufactures. The coalfields, except for two,small outbreaks in the Midland Plain, ‘Delong to the geological system of the IN. and W. That of North umber land and Durham, at the mouth of the Tyne, which has made Newcastle, Gates head, Sunder land, Hartlepool, etc., busy commercial centres, was already worked in the 13th cent_; in this district, fron, steel, chemicals,,| exports coal and limestone, produces iron and steel, and carries on shipbuilding at ape beatae ~~ — ee eee ee est Riding o: orkshire have become thickly populated, thriving manufacturing towns; weaving always flourished in this grazing district, and now the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway brings further wool, linen, and cotton material from Liverpool. The chief towns are Leeds, which po e es and cloth, iron, and mathing towns of apres Halifax. HuddersKent and Su ex, and their ‘Five | Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Stokes, are chief seat of Eng. earthenware industry. The Black Country, in the heart of the Midlands, has both coal and iron ore. Its chief towns are Birmingham, which manufactures hardware of all kinds for all parts of the world, Wednesbury Dudley (nails), Redditch (needles), Coventry (bicycles and motor cars). The coalfields of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and of Bristol have decayed in importance since working of richest Brit. field, that of S. Wales; and the ancient port of Bristol has “been superseded to a large extent by Newport and Cardiff, on opposite bank of Severn. After coal, iron is the most important mineral product; it is often found near the coal, but besides N. Lancashire and N. Staff ords hire it is largely obtained in the Cleveland district of Yorkshire, and in Lincoln shire, North amp tons hire, the discovery of the peculiarly valuable iron ore of Cleveland (c. 1840), has developed from a fishing village into a town of over 119,000 inhabitants, nearly all maintained by industries connected with the great iron and steel works which crowd the district with furnaces. Lincoln shire, North amp tons hire, and Leicestershire are le important for iron; Leicester itself has hosiery as principal industry; North amp ton, boots and shoes. Lincoln shire, besides its cathedral city, once a Roman town, on the Wytham, po e es Boston, on the Wash, formerly an important port but now silted up, and the large fishing centre of Grimsby on the Humber. Other important minerals are tin (Cornwall), lead (Durham, Derby, and Shropshire), copper (Cornwall and Devon), gypsum (Cumber land, Nottingham shire, Staff ords hire, Su ex, and Derby), stone (worked in most parts of the country). Besides the hilly grazing grounds of the country there remain considerable tracis for agriculture. Lincoln, Leicester, and the N. and 8. Downs are famous for sheep, Yorkshire and E. | horses; wheat is chiefly gro counties, barley in E. and Midlands, oats in N., N. Midlands, W., and 8. W.. rye in inferior ground ‘everywhere. Hops gtow in S., especially Kent, and also in Here ford shire. Fruit, grown widely, abounds in Kent, Here ford shire, and S.W. generally; cider is made in Somerset, Devon, etc. The old towns of the E. coast, Tyne and Harwich all prospered either on wool trade with Netherlands or on the fisheries; herring and other fish used to visit this coast in far greater shoals than at present, and the fisher folk cruise out along the Dogger Bank (86 m. from Flam borough Head) in the summer for the cod fishery. Mackerel and pilchards are caught on 8. and W. coasts. Fishing employs about 40,000 men and boys. London has from prehistoric times enjoyed international trade, and is the commercial centre of the world. Population.—In 1921 the population of England was 35,678,530; previous 1901; 24,614,001, 1881; 16,921,972, 1851; 11,281,957, 1821. By the 1921 census it was shown that in England and Wales there were 19,803,022 females and 18,082,220 males. For local Government, see art. under that head. History.—A skeleton found at Galley Hill, near North fleet, Kent in 1895, has been ascribed to a man of Central Asian race of the Early Stone Age, and stone implements of the remote EKolithic, Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods are abundantly found throughout England. The Neolithic period is held to have merged into the Bronze Age about 2,000 to 1500 B.C., and a date between these years has been given to. Stone henge. Stone henge (10 m. N. of Salisbury, Wilts hire) consists of two circles of menhirs (the largest monolith being 2214 feet in height), only 16 remaining in position in the outer circle, while two of the five triple sets are still in position in the inner circle. The use for which the temple or monument was erected is the subject of many conjectures. In the latter part of the Bronze Age the Goidels, a people of Celtic race, and in the tron Age another Celtic race of Brythons, invaded the country and brought with them Celtic civilization and dialects, place names in England bearing witne to the spread of the invasion over the whole kingdom. ~ Julius Caesar raided Britain in 55 B.C. and 54.B.C., and in 43 A.D. the conquest of the country was undertaken by the Roman Emperor Claudius, who sent army of 40,000 men, and himself visited nium. The British leader from 48-51 A.D. was Caractacus (strictly Caratacus), who was finally captured and sent to Rome. By 70 A.D. the conquest of South Britain was completed, a great revolt under Boadicea (strictly Boudicca), Queen of the Iceni (Norfolk), beiug crushed in 61 A.D. In 122 A.D. the Emperor Hadrian visited Britain and built a continuous rampart, known as Hadrian's Wall, from Wallsend to Bowne (Tyne to Solway), remains of which are still traceable. The Romans administered Britain as a Province under a Governor, with a well defined system of local government, each Roman municipality ruling itself and the surrounding territory. Col chester, Lincoln, York, Gloucester and St. Albans stand on the sites of five Roman municipalities, while London was the centre of the road system and the seat of the financial officials of the Province of Britain. A well preserved Roman town of about 100 acres was first uncovered in the 18th century at Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), 10 miles S. of Reading, and since 1890 the whole site has been investigated. Four main groups of roads radiated from London, and a fifth (the Fo e) ran obliquely from Ermine Street (at Lincoln), through Leicester, Cirencester and Bath to Exeter. Of the four groups radiating from London one ran S8.E. to Canterbury and the coast of Kent, a second to Silchester and thence to parts of Western Britain and South Wales, a third (now known as Watling Street) ran through Verulamium (St. Albans) to Chester, with various branches and the fourth reached Col chester, Lincoln, York and the eastern counties. Christianity reached the Roman Province of Britain from Gaul in the 3rd century (or po ibly earlier), the Bishops of Londinium, Eboracum (York), and Lindum (Lincoln) attending the Council of Arles in 314. The Roman garrison of Britain was much hara ed in the 4th century by Saxon pirates, who invaded the eastern counties from the Wash to Spithead, while about 350 A.D. incursions in the north of Irish (Scoti) and Picts became most formidable, and towards the end of the century many troops were removed from Britain for service in other parts of the Roman Empire. Early in the 5th century Gaul was taken from the Romans by Teutonic — invaders, and Britain was cut off from Rome; officials were no longer sent to the island, the garrison was left to defend itself, and appears to have been driven inland by the Northern and Saxon invaders, and to have been conquered and absorbed by the Celtic inhabitants, whose language and customs re-emerged. The Celtic Britons appear to have called in the Saxons to resist the raids of the Picts and Scots and eventually the English. (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) drove the Britons into the mountain fastne es of the West (Strathclyde, Wales and Cornwall), the name of Welch (old English Waelisc— Foreign) being given to the islanders by the invaders from the continent. The area thus conquered was divided into several kingdoms, of which the chief were North- (Middle Angles), and We ex. The heathen Angli (whose gods Ti, Woden, Thunor and Frigg are commemorated in Friday’) were converted to Christianity by a mi ion under Augustine (dispatched by Pope Gregory in 597), which established Archbishoprics at Canterbury and York, and the whole of England appears to have been converted by the end of the 7th century. In the 8th century Offa, King of Mercia, is stated to have built a wall and rampart, afterwards known as Offs’a Dike, from the mouth of the Dee to that of the Wye, as a protection against the Welch. The greatest of the English kingdoms was We ex, with its capital at Winchester, and the greatest of the We ex kings was Alfred the Great (871-901, who resisted the incursions of the North men (Danes) and fixed a limit to their advance by the Treaty of Wed more 878. In the 10th century the Kings of We ex recovered the whole of England from theDanes, but subsequent rulers were unable to resist the invaders, and England paid tribute (Danegelt) for many years, and was ruled by Danish Kings from 1016 to 1042, when Edward the Confe or was recalled from exile. In 1066 Harold (brother-inlaw of Edward and s. of Earl Godwin of, We ex) was chosen King of England, but after defeating a Northumbrian revolt under his brother Tostig (aided by an invading army of Harold Hadraada of Norway) at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire (Sept. 25), he was himself defeated at the Batile of Hastings (or Sautlache) on Oct. 14, 1066 and the Norman Conquest secured the throne of England for Duke William of Normandy. Since the Norman Conquest all attempts to invade England have been defeated. The Norman Conquest was the beginning of the final proce in the welding of the English nation into one compact body. The end was still a long way off. William brought in his train numberle Normans, all of whom had to be rewarded by the king with Saxon lands. The Saxons, therefore, sank to the bottom of the social scale, and for long there was no attempt made at the fusion of the races. William was occupied for long with the completion of the conquest of England, and when this had been done he turned his attention to the government of the country. He ruled with a hand of iron, but the heavine of his hand was felt by Norman noble and Saxon serf alike. The fusion of Norman and Saxon would have come at a much earlier period had it not been for the po e ion of Normandy by the English kings. This naturally retarded the proce . When William died a dispute arose concerning the succe ion, but Normandy had been left to Robert (the eldest son), and England to William Rufus. Constant quarrelling took place, and finally Robert handed over Normandy to William as a pledge for a sufficient sum of money to go on crusade, and a promise that whichever of the two died first the survivor should succeed to both dominions (England and Normandy). Unfortunately, during Robert’s absence, William died, and the throne was seized by Henry I. 1100. In 1101 Robert returned from crusading and invaded England, but was repulsed, and in 1106 Henry cro ed over to Normandy and defeated and took prisoner Robert at the battle of Tenchebrai. During the rest of his life Robert remained the forced guest of his brother. Henry I. was the first of the Norman kings to encourage the fusion of the races, he himself married to ensure the popularity of his house. He ruled sternly but wisely, and the wisdom of his policy was seen in the help which he received from his Saxon subjects in putting down the revolt of the barons of the W. In 1120 his only son William was drowned in the wreck of the White Ship, and the greater part of the rest of Henry’s life was taken up in the attempt to get his daughter Maud recognised as the heir to the throne. Previous to his death in 1135, Henry coerced the barons into promises to recognise Maud, but the barons disliked the idea of being ruled by a woman, and further dreaded the power which such recognition would give to the husband of Maud, Goeffrey of Anjou. Finally, when Henry did die the barons elected as king Stephen of Blois, whose only claims to the throne were that he was the grandson of William I., and that he was a brave but complaisant and easily pleased warrior. With the acce ion of Stephen, in 1135, we get the beginning of the Civil War, which waged practically during the whole of his reign, and which was to the barons a period during which they were able to exercise their power unchecked. The people, crushed between the forces of the king and of Queen Maud, also found themselves crushed by the barons even more _ terribly. Finally, in 1153, the Treaty of Walling ford was signed by Stephen and Henry FitzEmpre of Anjou. By the terms of this treaty, Stephen was to reign until his death, when he was to be succeeded by Henry II. Henry II. was one of the greatest kings who ever occupied the throne of England. He ruled not only England, but Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Aquitaine. He was acknowledged overlord of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; he practically ruled Britt any—in fact his dominions may be regarded as stretching from the Pyrenees to the Orkneys. He crushed the power of the baronage, and he determined to concentrate in the central authority, 1.e. the crown, all power. He broke down the power of the barons, by judicious reforms he obtained the support of the people, but he failed when he attacked the Church. The point at which he had been aiming, the subordination of ecclesiastical law to the crown, failed when it had practically succeeded, by the murder of Becket in 1170. During his reign, Strong bow cro ed over into Ireland and began the conquest of that country, although Henry himself had, at the beginning of his reign, determined on that course. The latter part of Henry II.’s reign was a failure, owing to hls constant quarrels with his son. His eldest son had died practically fighting against him; Richard was a source of constant trouble, whilst John, the darling of his old age, was untrustworthy and Judas-like. The latter days of the king were pa ed in one long struggle with his arch enemy, Philip August us, and his sons, and in 1189, after being compelled to give in, he died with the words ‘Shame on a conquered king’ on his lips. He was succeeded by his son Richard, who, however, spent the greater part of his time out of England, either on crusade or in France. During the greater part of his reign his brother John plotted against him, attempting, finally, to keep Richard in captivity in Austria. TEZven when the treachery of John was obvious to Richard, it was forgiven. In 1199 Richard died, and was succeeded by his brother John. That the succe ion question was still in a state of chaos is obvious from an examination of the succe ions during the Norman and early Angevin dynasties. In only one instance had the heir by right of primogeniture succeeded. John now succeeded to. the throne which would have been occupied by Arthur. He was e entially a clever king; he has been described as the cleverest of all the Angevins, but his vices far outmatched his virtues. He had energy which he did not use, ability which he perverted, and intelligence which he used wrongly, The early years of his reitn were occupied in a struggle for the French po e ions. For a long time it had been the unhidden ambition of Philip August us to win back those portions of France which were still held by the English. He had struggled against Henry II. and Richard I., but his omportunity came when John, unpopular throughout the whole of his dominions, succeeded. In 1204 the Chateau Gaillard was lost, and Normandy pa ed into the hands of the French.. John by no means gave up hope, and struggled constantly against the French, forming league after league. He, however, soon found himself in difficulties enough at home. In 1205 the barons refused to fight for the recovery of Normandy; in the following year, in spite of the violent opposition of John, Stephen Langton was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. John refused to recognize him, and in 1208 England was laid under an interdict and later the king excommunicated. During this period John had alienated the sympathies of the barons and of the people. Gradually he saw himself beset on every side by dangers; France threatened, the barons negotiated, the Church thundered. He turned for support to the strongest power, and became the va al of the pope. England was to be held in fee from the papacy. This was the final blow to the barons. Led by the Church, they banded themselves together under Stephen Langton, and resolved to force the king to i ue a charter which would safeguard their liberties. After a great struggle John found that he must surrender, and at Runnymede, in 1215, he signed the Great Charter, intending to keep it as he had kept most other oaths. He attempted to punish the northern barons who had been chiefly responsible for the Charter, and they in turn invited the Dauphin to England as king. War was still raging in 1216 when John died, leaving the throne to his son, Henry III., aged nine. During the early part of the reign the chief difficulty was the Civil War. Through this dangerous period Henry was guided by William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, The charters were confirmed, the baronage reconciled, and Louis, the Dauphin, finally left the country 1217. From 1217-32 the country was ruled well by William Marshall, and on his death by Hubert de Burgh. In 1223, began the personal rule of Henry IIi., a period which is noted for the domination of foreign favourites. Henry was a pious weakling, who had but little mind of his own, bur who could on occasion be extremely obstinate. In the same year 1264 civil war broke out between the barons, led by Simon de Montfort, and the Royalists, whose principal leader was the Prince Edward. The Royalists were defeated at the battle of Lewes, and the king and prince became prisoner The Mise of Lewes followed, and in 1265 was held the famous parliament of Simon de Montfort, to which the Commons were summoned. Later in the year Prince Edward escaped, defeated the barons’ army, now much weakened by desertion, and killed Simon de Montfort. The death of Simon, however, did not interfere with his policy, since this was > carried out by the Prince Edward. The remainder of the reign of Henry II. pa ed quietly away, the chief power up to 1270 being in the hands of Prince Edward, who in that year departed to the East on crusade. In 1272 Henry III. d. and although it was two years before Edward I. returned, yet there was no disputed succe or and everything worked quietly whilst Edward was out of the country. The early part of his reign was occupied with the conquest of Wales, and the belittling of the power of the baronage and Church. Part of his great aim was to construct a united Great Britain, and the Socttish war which raged practically from 12941307 was a result of the attempt to carry out this policy. The barons also insisted upon a re-i ue of the Charter, and it is of importance to notice that even from as strong a king as Edward I. it was po ible to wring reforms. In 1295 the Model Parliament met, framed on the same plan as Simon de Montfort’s parliament. Edward attempted to deal with the Scots as he had done with the Welsh, but found the task harder than he had expected. He d. in 1307, with the Scots still in open rebellion against him, and just after Robert Bruce had been crowned king. With his dying breath he implored his son to continue the struggle against them. Edward II. succeeded his father, but his rule was influenced through ous by his favourites, Gaveston and the Despensers. In 1314 he gathered the largest army which had ever been sent into Scotland, and proceeded to attempt to relieve Stirling, then besieged by Bruce. He fought the battle of Bannock burn and met with the ro defeat ever inflicted upon the nglish by the Scots. In 1327 the conspiracy of the queen and her lover, Mortimer, caused him to be deposed, _ and in the following year he was cruelly murdered in Berkeley Castle. He was succeeded by his son Edward IIL, of England’s warrior kings. At the beginning of the reign the independence of Scotland was recognised, and the reins of government pa ed for a short time into the hands of the queen-mother and Mortimer. In 1330, however, Edward Ili. a erted his position and became sole ruler. The early part of his reign was taken up with a Scottish war, and then finally, in 1337, Edward claimed the throne of France in right of his mother. The claim was obiously but @ pretence, since Edward had previously recognised the King of France and done homage to him for Guienne. In 1346 he won the battle of Crecy, and in the foloO year besieged and captured Calais. In 1346 also Neville’s Cro had been won, and the Scottish king taken prisoner. The French war ceased in 1349 owing to the outbreak of the Black Death, a plague which helped very largely in the social revolution which followed. The condition of the serfs and peasantry of England was helped very largely by the devastation caused by that plague. In 1356 the Black Prince won the battle of Poitiers. This was the last great victory of Edward's reign. He d. in 1377, preceded by his son the Black Prince. He was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II. Richard had a certain amount of ability, which, how~ ever, was not always employed in the right direction. He was certainly fearle , and to a certain extent popular, but the period of his personal rule was tyrannical, and Bolingbroke, returning from exile in 1399, was easily able to depose him. He was imprisoned and finally murdered in Pontefract Castle. With him ended the Plantage net line of kings. Henry IV., who succeeded Richard II., was the eldest s. of John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III. He claimed the throne, not by conquest, but by parliamentary election, and was the founder of the House of Lancaster. He ruied the country wisely and prudently, he was never personally popular, but he kept the country at peace. In 1403 Hotspur rebelled against him, and was supported by Owen Glyndwr, both of whom were overthrown by Henry IV. at the battle of Shrews bury. Henry also persecuted the Lollards, a name given to that section of the early Protestant Church who followed the teachings of Wyclif. After a long and painful illne Henry IV. d. in 1413. He was succeeded by his s. Henry VY. concerning whom so many stories are told of the wildne of his youth. He, however, proved himself a strong and capable king, but did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his triumphs. He also persecuted the Lollards, and renewed the war with France. In 1415 he achieved a notable victory at Agin court. France was at this time divided into factions, and taking advantage of this fact, by judicious alliances Henry succeeded, in 1420, in forcing the French king to sign the Treaty of Troyes, which gave Henry the French king’s daughter’s hand in marriage, the regency of thd country, and the ultimate succe ion to the throne of France. In 1422, just after the birth of an heir to him, he died. He was succeeded to the thrones of both France and England by his young son, Henry VI., for whom the regents, Bedford and Gloucester, administered the country. During the early part of the reign the English still continued to win victories, but finally the French settled the differences amonst themselves, and after the appearance of the Maid of Orleans went from victory to victory, finally, in 1454, driving the English out of everywhere save Calais. At home the war expenses and the constant stream of returning soldiers made social conditions bad, and this found expre ion in the revolt of Cade in 1450. Meanwhile, the king had had lapses from sanity, and the Yorkists began to claim the throne; alleging, and correctly, that their candidate, Richard, Duke of York, was the more direct descendant of Edward III. The argument was answerable in only one way, and that was that the Lancastrians were on the throne by right of election by arliament. In 1455 war definitely roke out, and lasted up to 1471. The Yorkists were at first succe ful at St. Albans, and the king fell a prisoner into their hands. In 1460 York was defeated and slain at Wake field by Margaret of Anjou, but the Earl of March, coming up from the W., entered London, was proclaimed king, and marching up northward defeated Margaret at Towton. For some time the country remained more or le at peace; the kingmaker dictated the policy of the country. But the king flouted the great earl on two occasions, and drove him to the camp of the Lancastrians. Warwick landed from France and forced Edward into exile, proclaiming Henry VI. again. Edward, however, returned unexpectedly from exile, defeated and slew Warwick at Barnet, crushed the last hope of the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury, and again established himself firmly as king. Edward d. in 1483. His son, Edward V., succeeded him, only to be murdered in the Tower, after a two months’ reign, by his uncle, Richard of Gloucester, who on the death of the prince and his brother caused himself to be proclaimed as Richard III. He was a brave prince and a prince who had good ideas and ability to carry them out, but he was unpopular, and gradually the story of the murder of the princes increased this unpopularity. A conspiracy was made against him by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who landed in the country from France, met Richard at Bosworth Field, and there defeated and slew him, Owing principally to the wholesale desertions of Richard by the nobles. Henry was crowned on the battlefield. Henry Tudor was descended on his father’s side from the Tudors, on his mother’s (illegitimately) from John of Gaunt, and was therefore hailed, by the Lancastrians as the representative of their line. He claimed the throne by descent and by election, and finally put an end to the rival claims by marrying Elizabeth of York, the d. of Edward IV., thus uniting the two lines. He crushed the remaining power of the baronage, he overthrew what little power remained to the clergy, he ruled despotically, but he restored the industries of the country and raised England again to the rank of a European power. He was miserly, but to him the po e ion of money meant the po e ion of power. The attempts of Simnel and Warbeck were defeated, and Henry’s position was strengthened by the marriage of his s. to Catherine of Aragon. and his d. to James IV. of Scotland, both marriages of vital importance to England. He d. in 1509, leaving Henry VIII. with a secure hold on the throne and the affection of the people. The reign of Henry is notable chiefly for the separation of the English Church from Rome. At the beginning of his reign there was some slight troubles with France and Scotland, the Scottish war being ended in 1513 by the battle of Flodden. Woisey, Henry’s chief minister during the early part of his reign, remained firm to the policy of preserving the Balance of Power. The Emperor Charles V. and the French constantly bidding one against the other for the friendship of England, Henry’s attitude towards the doctrines of the Church may be judged from the fact that he published a book against the doctrines of Luther, and received in gratitude from the papacy the title ‘Defender of the Faith,’ By 1526, however, he had grown tired of his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and began to have religious scruples as to the validity of the marriage. He demanded, through Wolsey, a di olution of the marriage and a decree of nullity, and would probably have obtained it had it not been for the fact that the troops of Charles V. (Catherine’s nephew) had just captured Rome, and the pope was in their hands. Finally, the pope appointed two legates, Wolsey and Campeggio, to try the case, but Campeggio received orders that it was to be adjourned to Rome. In the meantime, Henry was becoming more and more angry; he desired to marry Anne Boleyn, and he thought that Wolsey’ was putting unnece ary obstacles in the way. When the trial was adjourned to Rome he disgraced Wolsey, and taking the advice of Cranmer and Cromwell, he broke away from Rome and forced the English Church to obey him as supreme head of the Church. There was no change in doctrine save in a few minor points. The Six Acts forced the doctrines of the Church of Rome on the English Church, but Henry was now head of the Church and not the pope. In order to obtain full control over the churches, the monasteries were di olved. In 1536 the smaller j ones went; in 1539 the larger monasteries: suffered also. Their lands enriched the king and the nobility. During the later years of the reign a tendency towards Protestant ism became more apparent in the country. In his old age Henry became merely a brutal tyrant; he d. in 1547, having married six times. He had been given authority to settle the succe ion for himself. By his will he had left the throne to Edward VI., to be followed, if he died without children, by Mary, d. of Catherine of Aragon; she in turn to be followed by Elizabeth, d. of Anne Boleyn. Edward VI. was only nine years of age when he succeeded; the country was ruled for him by the protectors, Somerset and North umber land. During this reign Protestant ism first gained a secure footing in the country. The churches were stripped of images, the Catholic service was stopped, and the first English Prayer Book was i ued. In many parts of the country this attempt to oust the Catholic religion was deeply resented, but in spite of this Protestant ism spread. In 1553 Edward VI. d. He also left a will which set aside that of his father, and gave the throne to the Lady Jane Grey. This plot was due to the influences of North umber land, who knew that hls power was at an end the moment that Mary succeeded to the throne. Mary, however. found no difficulty in obtaining recognition, and North umber land, Dudley, his son, and the Lady Jane Grey were committed to the Tower, and later beheaded. Mary had always been a fervent Catholic; she now restored the Catholic religion, and for a time England rev to the papacy. She married Philip II., King of Spain, and this, together with the religious persecutions which took place, did much to make her unpopular. Mary d. in 1553; she was disliked by her subjects, but she was perfectly sincere in her convictions. She did not persecute viciously, but from a sincere belief that that which she did was right. From her childhood upwards she lived a dreary and unloved life; it is not very strange then that she should have been somewhat of a fanatic. She was Succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth, who found little difficulty in obtaining the throne, and was from her acce ion regarded by the majority of her subjects with affection. Her great danger, litically, lay in Scotland and Spain. rance could, for the time being, be disregarded, since internal affairs kept her busy and desirous of peace. Scotland was disturbed by the religious uarrels, and, finally, Mary Queen of cots, Elizabeth’s greatest rival, was driven a fugitive into England, where she remained a prisoner until her execution in 1587. The following year came the great Armada, the blow Elizabeth had long expected, but which had been delayed whilst both sides tried what diplomacy could do. English seamanship and the elements combined to wreck the hopes of Spain, and the shattered Armada returned home defeated. This was the crowning victory of Elizabeth's reign; no longer need she dread the power of Spain; England was at last one of the great powers. But the point to be notic most during Hlizabeth’s reign is that series of events which may best be described as the English Renai ance. The sea rovers plundered the Spanish Main, discovered new lands, and made 2 name for themselves throughout the world. Elizabeth d. in 1603. She was succeeded by James VI. of Scotland and I. of England. Thus the united Great Britain of Edward I. was accomplished owing to the marriage schemes of Henry VII. The early events of the reign were the attempts to reconcile Puritanism and Anglicanism, which failed, and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. During this reign we find all the e ential causes of the civil war which broke out during the next reign ready at hand; the mistaken foreign policy, the unpopularity of the king, the unjust taxation, and the desire to rule despotically, this time by right divine. The Stuarts tried to carry on the old policy of the Tudors, and to be despotic monarchs. The e ential difference between these two dynasties was that whereas the Tudors were personally popular, the Stuarts were not, whereas the Tudors ruled despotically only because the people supported them, the Stuarts failed because they attempted to rule by divine right and in spite of the people. It must be remembered that from this period onward, towards the end of the century, Puritanism played a great part, and Puritanism meant not only a desire for liberty of worship, but also political liberty as well. It was in the struggle against Puritanism that divine right and pa ive obedience were overthrown, During the reign of James, the Thirty Years’ War broke out in Europe, and the king tried to pose for a time as the arbiter of Europe. 5 schemes failed, and he d. in 1625 with the reputation of being the wisest fool in Christen dom. Charles I. succeeded. His reign may best be described as one long series of blunders. Parliament attacked his favourites, refused him supabe and, finally, in 1627, forced the etition of Rights upon him. From 1629 to 1640 he ruled without a parliament. During this period occurred the famous ship-money cases, and continual breaches of the law. Finally, it was on the rock of the Church in Scotland that Charle foundered. His attempts to imitate his father and force Episcopacy on the Scot roused anger in Scotland, the introduction of the Prayer Book of Laud led to open rebellion, and the first Bishops’ War broke out (see Scorzanp). The Short Parliament 1640 was summoned and di olved within three weeks. Then followed the Long Parliament, which undid the work of the eleven years’ tyranny, but which at the same time did much that was unconstitutional. Stafford was executed; Laud met with the same fate later. Ship-money was declared illegal, the Star Chamber abolished, and finally the king was forced to consent to the reading of the Grand Remonstrance. He then made his fatal mistake; he attempted to arrest five members, and_ failing, left London. He went N. and tried to enter Hull, but was refused admi ion, and finally, on Aug. 22, 1642, he raised his standard at Nottingham. At first the Royalists were succe ful, but this was due chiefly to the fact that the Royalists were more accustomed to arms than the Round heads; but finally came the formation of the New Model Army, and the defeats at Marston Moor and Naseby. The king surrendered to the Scots, and was finally handed over to the English, by whom, after prolonged negotiations and the outbreak of the second Civil War, he was executed Jan. 1649. For the next eleven years England was a commonwealth—for the first four years a republic, for the remaining seven a pie tec to rate. The execution of the king roused horror throughout Europe; ScotJand and Ireland rose in revolt, and Charles II. was crowned in Scotland, but Dunbar and Worcester settled the Scots, whilst Wexford and Drogheda performed @ similar mi ion for Ireland. For a short time England, Scotland, and Ireland were united. In 1653 Cromwell became protector. In 1658 Cromwell d., and chaos reigned for a time in England. Richard Cromwell was inefiicient, and finally Monk, marching down from Scotland with the army, declared in favour of a free parliament which restored Charles II. The reign of Charles is one of the most sordid in English history. It was a period of national disaster and shame; the of the Dutch were heard on the Thames from the city of London. In 1665 broke out the Great Plague, and in the following year the Great Fire destroyed London. The Popish Plot led to the introduction of the Exclusion Bill, and the Petitioners and Abhorrers formed the nucleus of the Whigs and Tories of the following century, The country was inflamed by religious quarrels, and through it all Charles worked quietly for the restoration of the Catholic faith. Towards the end of his reign, when everything seemed blackest, he appealed to his people, and the latter years of his reign were years of triumph. He d. in 1685, witty and cynical to the end. James, Duke of York, who succeeded him, inherited far more of the attributes of his father, Charles I. His obstinacy led him into difficulties which his brother would have avoided, and his open avowal of the Catholic faith, whilst it did not at first alienate his subjects, prepared the way for the Revolution. James openly attempted to restore the Catholic faith. An heir was 6. to James, and this made a speedy. action nece ary, Hitherto the next heir to the throne had been Mary, the d. of James II., a Protestant, and the wife of William of Orange. Now it was certain that the heir would be educated in the Catholic faith. Me engers were despatched to William of Orange. Louis XIV., filled with anger at the treatment he was receiving at the hands of James II., invaded the Palatinate, and William was free to enter England. On Nov. 5 he landed at Brixton; before the end of the year he was in London, and by that time James had fled, had been recaptured and permitted to escape again. William and Mary signed the Declaration of Right and were declared joint sovereigns, whilst Catholics or any who should marry a Catholic were barred from succe ion to the English throne. The Revolution had been bloodle . The Revolution settlement was moderate, owing principally to the wisdom of William Il. ebellions broke out in Scotland and Ireland, but were speedily crushed. ln 1692 the Ma acre of Glencoe took piece. and Ireland, after the Treaty of imerick, gave no more trouble until the end of the century. That the Irish had right on their side when they spoke of betrayal there can be no doubt, England in the meantime engaged with Holland in the war of the Protestant Succe ion against Louis XIV., and although William was not a succe ful general, still, in 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick made Louis acknowledge for the first time that he had not been altogether succe ful. Both sides, however, now prepared for the greater steng ie which they saw must come. The question of the Spanish Succe ion must soon be settled, and both William and Louis were interested in that settlement (see Spain— History). The Partition Treaties were drawn up and agreed to, but finally Louis accepted the will of the Spanish king which left Spain to the French king’s grandson, and England and France again prepared for war. But even now the English were not prepared to go to war on the point of the Spa Succe ion—only when Louis made the second of his great blunders, James II. d., and he acknowledged the Old tender as James Ili. England immedi-| ately clamoured for war, and during the| preparations William III. d. 1702.|seas He had already been preceded by Mary, | who d. 1694, and since they had no| children, was succeeded by Anne, the|by second d. of James Il. The war of the| Spanish Succe ion broke ous at the} beginning of the reign. The war was] fought in order to preserve the Balance | of Power in Europe and prevent France| from dominating the whole of the Con-| tinent. Marl borough, the English com-|and mander, won the victories of Blenheim | 1704, Ramillies 1706, Maiplaquet 1705, | Oudenarde 1709. Gibraltar was cap-| tured by the allies and Louis was forced | to acknowledge defeat, but the allies| pre ed terms too heavily upon him and | he made another desperate effort to|the free himself, succeeding certainly in| lightening the terms imposed on him.| Meanwhile at home the Tories had be-| come powerful and were desirous of | peace, and so in 1713 was signed the Treaty of Utrecht, which gave us the! beginning of our colonial empire which ought to have given us more.| The English further deserted their allies| and made terms only for themselves. | In 1707 the Act of Union between Eng-| land and Scotland had been pa ed and | had come into force (see Scortanp— | History), and towards the end of reign the question of succe ion had to} be settled. The last child of Anne had | d. in 1700, and the Act of Settlement] had vested the crown on the nearest| Hanover, and her descendants. But the} Tory ministers, St. Johns and Harley,| plotted the restoration of the Stuarts, | and it was well known that the queen | favoured the restoration of her half-|land ‘brother, but the sudden death of the| in queen and the swift measures adopted | in by the Whigs prevented any serious| steps from being taken, and in 1714, on| the death of Anne, George I. was pro-| claimed without difficulty. The Acts of}a Union of 1707 had made England and} Scotland one under the name of Great | Britain. The chief events of the reign] A of George I. were Jacobite risings, the| divorce of the Queen, and the South] Sea Bubble. He was succeeded in 1727| by George II., whose reign was unevent-| was ful, except for the rebellion under Charles | Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender. | George III. became king in 1760. His reign saw the expansion of the Empire|he by the inclusion of India, and its lo by] the succe ful revolt.of the American] any colonies. The legislative union of Great | any Britain and Ireland was effected during |star his E end England in the 19th and 20th Centuries. | Pre-|—Three features especially distinguish the 19th cent. in England: (a) the industrial revolution; (6) the wide overexpansion; and (c) the democratic extension of political power. At the beginning of the 18th cent. England was no means conspicuous as a manufacturing and commercial country, but by its close Lancashire and Yorkshire were fast becoming the seats of the cotand Yorkshire had established themselves as pottery and hardware centres; Durham and North umber land were specializing in mining industry. Suddenly, with the new cent. came a remarkable development of manufacturing machinery driven by steam. The application of these new methods to the vast wealth of Great Britain in coal and iron, and command of raw materials secured by her maritime supremacy, rapidly converted her into the ‘workshop of the world,’ and made her an industrial instead of an agricultural nation. The industrial revolution coincided with a remarkable increase in England’s but|imperial responsibilities. The Amer. War, which had lost England the Uniiud States, roused English men to a fuller realization of their duties to their colonies and dependencies. Numerous India Bills, a more enlightened view with regard to Ireland, and a tendency towards the|reforms, financial, political, and social, represent the principal effects of the Amer. War upon home politics. To keep the peace of Europe as far as po ible, and to restore England’s prestige, ive 1788, formed ‘with Pru ia Holland the triple alliance. The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 checked Pitt’s reforming and peace policy, and in 1793 France forced Eng in to war. Till the Peace of Amiens 1802 hostilities with France continued all parts of the world. At sea, and in India and Egypt, England was succe ful, but she could do little to aid her ally Austria on land. At home Pitt enacted number of repre ive measures to check revolutionary feeling, while _his financial schemes proved very effective. rebellion in Ireland in 1798 led to the union of England and Ireland in 1800. The following year Pitt resigned. In 1803 war between England and France renewed, Napoleon being determined to gain command of the sea, and and to ruin Eng. commercial and colonial preauerity: Unable to invade England, endeavoured by his Continental System to prevent the importation into part of the continent of Europe of English goods. Till 1810 Napoleon’s was in the ascendant, but at the of that year Ru ia’s adhesion to the Continental System was modified, while in Spain the French were unable to crush the national resistance or to drive the English out of Portugal. The failure of the Moscow expedition was followed by the defeat at Leipzig and the invasion of France by the allies. _Though Napoleon’s imprisonment in Elba, his escape and subsequent defeat at Waterloo 1815, disturbed the allies for a time, his exile to St. Helena enabled the Great Powers a embled at Vienna to effect the settlement of Europe. England came out of the war with increased prestige and her po e ions enlarged. Reform of Parliament and Catholic emancipation were again mooted, and measures for the benefit of trade were adopted. Canning, while opposing the reactionary schemes of Ru ia, Pru ia, and Austria in Europe, and favouring the grant of independence to Greece, was opposed to parliamentary reform. Shortly after his death the Test and Corporation Acts were repealed, and Catholic emancipation was carried: It only remained for the acce ion of the liberal-minded William IV. and for the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1830 to ensure the pa ing of the great Reform Bill of 1832. By it the power of the aristocracy was broken, and was transferred to the middle cla es. The bill was a nece ary result of the Revolution of 1688, and, like that revolution, was a Whig triumph. Many-beneficent measures followed, and at the same time a, Church revival coincided with the political movement. Both politics and religion were stirred by a new spirit, which was apparent at the time of the acce ion of Queen Victoria in 1837. The Victorian age, which produced able ministers such as Peel, Ru ell, Salisbury, saw a remarkable development in every department of national life. Railways, the telegraph and telephone systems and electricity revolutionized commerce, and brought all parts of the U.K. into close communication. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 cheapened food, and the parliamentary suffrage was, some twenty years later, extended. During Victoria’s long reign the government of Ireland was improved, the Brit. po e ions in India, China, and Africa were considerably extended, and many wars were engaged in. The Crime an War was, however, the only great European war in which England was directly concerned. The Indian Mutiny strengthened our hold upon India; in 1879 a rising of the Zulus resulted in the conquest of Zululand; and in 1899 the invasion of Natal by the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State provoked a war which dragged on during the remainder of Victoria’s ENGLAND > reign. The growth of what is called Imperialism dates from the last decades of the 19th cent., and was due to a variety of causes. The anti-British attitude of Bismarck led to prohibitive tariffs, and forced Britain to find new markets for her goods. A strong navy thus became a nece ity, and close relations with our colonies a matter of the first importance. In 1901 Queen Victoria d., and Edward VII. ascended the throne. The nine years of his reign were constitutionally very important. Peace was signed with the Boers in 1902. In the same year Mr. Balfour became prime minister, and carried his Education Act, which gave rate aid to voluntary schools, abolished school boards, and placed education under the control of county councils. In 1903 the king attended a great coronation durbar at Delhi. Chamberlain’s Tariff Reform campaign had now begun and was dividing the cabinet. The year 1904 saw a departure from traditional foreign policy in the alliance with Japan, the Anglo-French agreement and the entente with our Gallic neighbours. Mr. Balfour’s government resigned in 1905, and the Liberals came into power with a vast majority. In 1907 self-government was granted to the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, and the Territorial Army, afterwards to be the basis of the national armies raised during the Great War, was established. Mr. Asquith succeeded to the premiership on the death of Sir Henry Campbell Banner man in 1908, and in the same year old age pensions were inaugurated. The closing years of Edward VII.’s reign were marked by extraordinary political excitement consequent on the rejection of the Finance Bill by the Lords, who objected to certain land taxes therein incorporated. The constitutional question involved roused the country, and a general election in 1910 supported the government, which thereupon introduced a Parliament Bill limiting the veto of the House of Lords. Amidst much national excitement the Lords, “swearing they would ne’er consent,’ consented, and pa ed the Finance Bill. In _ 1909 the Union of S. Africa was completed, and in the following year King Edward d. May 6. Grave suffragist outrages took place towards the close of the year, in which a general election once more placed a Liberal government in power. In 1911 the Parliament Bill pa ed the Commons, but was drastically amended by the Lords. Threatened with the creation of sufficient peers to carry the bill, the Lords accepted the measure. In the same year the Agadir incident foreshadowed the growing aggre ivene of Germany. In 1912 National © Health Insurance came into force, Vee payment of members of Parliament began, and a Home Rule Bill for Ireland was introduced. <A violent anti-Home Rule campaign was begun in Ulster, a covenant was signed, and in the following year the Ulster volunteers threatened armed resistance. The Lords threw out both the Irish Home Rule Bill and the Welsh Disestablishment Bill, and in the early months of 1914 Mr. Asquith a umed the post of war minister. There was gun running in Ulster and the raising of a large force of Nationalist volunteers. The Home Rule Bill and Welsh Disestablishment Bill were pa ed under the Parliament Act; but by this time the country had become involved in the Great War, and both Acts were suspended until the termination of hostilities. A conference called by the king at Bucking ham Palace between Ulster and Nationalist representatives proved abortive. For the events leading up to ageddon, see Tum Worip War, and for the making of peace and settlement of Europe, see Pracn ConFERENCES. A Coalition Government was formed in May, 1915, for the purpose of carrying out the war, and in Feb. 1916 the first Military Service Act was pa ed, providing for compulsory military service. During the following Easter week a rebellion broke out in Dublin. In Dec. of the same year Mr. Asquith resigned, and Mr. Lloyd George formed the second Coalition, which continued in being until Oct. 1922. On July 25, 1917, a convention of representative Irish men ‘to submit to the Brit. Government and Parliament a constitution for the future government of Ireland within the empire’ held its first meeting, and elected Sir Horace Plunkett as chairman. The _ convention continued its sittings for ‘nearly nine months, but did not arrive at any practicable measure of agreement on the main points. In the Feb. of 1918 the Representation of the People Act was pa ed, which gave votes to women of thirty years of age, in other ways largely extended the suffrage, and was accompanied by Redistribution. The years following the end of the World War were marked in England by pens for reconstruction, by disturbances Treland, and by participation in the conferences on the continent carried on in order to bring about po ible economic. and political equilibrium. The affairs of Ireland are discu ed under IreLanp. Bape refused to take an active part with France in the occupation of the Ruhr district of Germany, in Jan. and Feb. 1923. The government declared {ts neutrality. Actual conflict with Turkey was barely averted in 1923 by threats of the Turkish Nationalist Army, under Mustapha Kemal, to forcibly take po e ion of Constantinople, which was protected by a small detachment of British troops. At the conference of Lausanne, the British commi ioners opposed several of the propositions advanced by the Turks but in the main gave way to the Turkish demands. See Turxny; LausaANNE CONFERENCE. The Coalition Ministry of Lloyd George remained in power until Oct. 1922, when largely as a result of the Premier’s aggre ive attitude toward Turkey the Conservatives won a decisive victory and won a substantial majority in the House of Commons. A notable feature of the election was the large proportion of Labor members elected. These numbered 142. The matter of the war debt owed by Great Britain to the United States was a matter of discu ion in both countries in 1922-23, and was finally settled at a conference between delegates from both countries at Was hint on, in Feb. 1923. See Desrs, WaR. The economic condition of England was much sounder than that of any other country in Kurope, and trade rapidly increased. The burden of taxation, however, rested heavily on all cla es, and specially the wealthier people and those po e ing large estates. The taxes levied made it nece ary for many large land owners to sell their property, as the rate of taxation made its continued ownership prohibitive.