Tag: History

  • Admiralty

    History of the Admiralty The following commentary about Admiralty in the Churchill Era is produced by the Churchill College (Cambridge): Department of the Government administering the Royal Navy. Meaning of Admiralty The following is an old definition of Admiralty [1]: A court exercising […]

  • Attorney-general

    Attorney General Attorney General in the United Kingdom The office of attorney general dates from the reign (1272-1307) of King Edward I. It developed gradually until the 17th century, when the attorney general became chief legal counsel to the Crown and all departments of state and […]

  • Vagrants

    History of Vagrants The following concept of Vagrants may be usefull here:Able-bodied people who were unemployed (generally without a master). Vagrancy Acts were passed to control the unemployed. Vagrants could face criminal charges, and be pressed into military service or transported to the […]

  • Habeas Corpus

    Definition of Habeas Corpus In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Habeas Corpus : A prerogative writ used to challenge the validity of a person’s detention, either in official custody (e.g. when held pending deportation or extradition) or in private hands. […]

  • Chancellor of the Exchequer

    Definition of Chancellor of The Exchequer In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Chancellor of The Exchequer : The minister who, as political head of the Treasury, is responsible for government monetary policy, raising national revenue (particularly through […]

  • Daines Barrington

    Daines Barrington (1727-1800), English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist, was born in 1727, fourth son of the first Viscount Barrington. He was educated for the profession of the law, and after filling various posts, was appointed a Welsh judge in 1757 and afterwards second justice of […]

  • Henry Goulburn

    Life and Work Henry Goulburn, (1784-1856), English statesman, was born in London on the 19th of March 1784 and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1808 he became member of parliament for Horsham; in 1810 he was appointed under-secretary for home affairs and two and a half years […]

  • George Joachim Goschen

    Life and Work 1st Viscount George Joachim Gosche n(1831-1907), British statesman, son of William Henry Göschen, a London merchant of German extraction, was born in London on the 10th of August 1831. He was educated at Rugby under Dr Tait, and at Oriel College, Oxford, where he took a […]

  • Mary Stuart

    Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), daughter of King James V. and his wife Mary of Lorraine, was born in December 1542, a few days before the death of her father, heart-broken by the disgrace of his arms at Solway Moss, where the disaffected nobles had declined to encounter an enemy of […]

  • Knight-Service

    Definition of Knight The lowest title of dignity. Originally a man-at-arms. It is not hereditary. Knights are of the following orders: Garter, Thistle, St. Patrick, Bath, St. Michael and St. George, Star of India, Indian Empire, Royal Victorian, British Empire and lastly Knights Bachelor. […]

  • Statistics of Divorce

    Before 1910 Note: for an oveview of the history of divorce, click here. The statistics of divorce in England have for some years been regularly published in the volumes of judicial statistics published annually by the Home Office. The number of petitions for divorce (including in the term […]

  • James Elphinstone Balmerino

    James Elphinstone Balmerino, 1st Baron (c. 1553-1612), Scottish politician, was the third son of Robert, 3rd Lord Elphinstone (d. 1602). Rising to power under James VI. he became a judge and a royal secretary; he accompanied the king to London in 1603 and was made Lord Balmerino, or […]

  • Walter Bagehot

    Walter Bagehot (1826-1877), English publicist and economist, editor of the Economist newspaper from 1860 to his death, was born at Langport, Somerset, on the 3rd of February 1826, his father being a banker at that place. Bagehot was altogether a remarkable personality, his writings on […]

  • Indirect Tax

    History Note: there is some information about the history of indirect taxation here. Parallel with the evolution of direct taxation, but decidedly lagging behind, is the progress of indirect taxation. As already mentioned, the right of levying dues on goods entering or leaving English ports […]

  • Direct Tax

    History Almost at the opening of the age of parliamentary taxation one of the older sources of revenue ceased. The pressure of popular opinion forced Edward I. to decree the expulsion of the Jews (1290), though he naturally desired to retain such profitable subjects. It is, indeed, probable […]