[1] Treviranus, _Biologie oder Philosophie der lebenden Natur_, vol.
ii. cap. 4, Sec. 2 (Goettingen, 1803).
[2] F. Tiedemann, _Anatomie und Naturgeschichte der Voegel_, vol. ii
Sec.Sec. 127-255 (Heidelberg, 1814).
[3] L.K. Schmarda, _Die geographische Verbreitung der Thiere_ (Wien,
1853).
[4] P.L. Sclater on the general geographical distribution of the
members of the class "Aves," 2. _Linn. Soc._ ii. pp. 130-145, 1858.
[5] A.R. Wallace, _The Geographical Distribution of Animals, with a
study of the Relations of Living and Extinct Faunas as elucidating
the Past Changes of the Earth's Surface_, 2 vols. (London, 1876).
[6] T.H. Huxley, "On the Classification and Distribution of the
Alectoromorphae," _P.Z.S._, 1868, pp. 313-319.
[7] The following old-fashioned rough computation may serve as an
indication of the relative size of the orders and suborders of recent
birds:--
Ratitae 20 Charadriiformes 650 (incl. Columbae
Colymbiformes 20 350)
Sphenisciformes 15 Cuculiformes 600 (incl. Psittaci
Procellariiformes 90 400)
Ciconiiformes 150 Coraciiformes 1600 (incl. Trochili
Anseriformes 150 and Pici)
Falconiformes 360 Passeres Clamatores 1000
Tinamiformes 40 Passeres Oscines 5000
Galliformes 370 ------
Gruiformes 250 Total about 10,300 species
BIRD-LOUSE, any small flat degenerate wingless neuropterous insect of
the group Mallophaga, parasitic upon birds and mammals and feeding upon
dermal excretions or upon the softer parts of hair and feathers. The
term "biting-lice" is sometimes given to these parasites, in allusion to
the mandibulate character of their mouth-parts, which serves to
distinguish them at once from the true lice of the order Rhynchota in
which the jaws are haustellate.
BIRD'S-EYE, a name applied to various small bright flowers, especially
those which have a small spot or "eye" in the centre. The primula is
thus spoken of, on account of its yellow centre, also the adonis, or
"pheasant's eye," and the blue veronica, or germander speedwell. The
word is also applied to a sort of tobacco, in which the stalks (of a
mottled colour) are cut up together with the leaves. From a similar
sense comes the phrase "bird's-eye maple," a speckled variety of
maple-wood, or the "bird's-eye handkerchief" mentioned in Thackeray's
novels.
BIRDSNESTING, a general term for the pursuit of collecting and
preserving birds' eggs, with or without the nests themselves. The nests
and eggs of wild birds are nowadays protected by local laws almost
everywhere in both Great Britain and the United States. By law they may
be taken for scientific purposes only, by special licence. In order not
to interfere seriously with breeding it is customary to take but one egg
from a nest, and, if the nest itself be taken, to wait until the young
birds have left it. Every egg, unless "hard-set," should be blown as
soon as removed from the nest. This is done by opening a small hole in
its side by means of a drill with a conical head, manufactured for the
purpose, a minute hole for the insertion of the drill-head having first
been made in the shell with a needle, which is then used to stir up the
contents, so that they shall flow easily. A blow-pipe with a curved
mouth is then inserted, the egg is held hole downwards, and the contents
blown out. The old-fashioned method of making two holes in the egg is
thus superseded. Should the egg be "hard-set" a somewhat larger hole is
made and its edges reinforced with layers of paper pasted round them.
Minute forceps are then introduced and the embryo cut into pieces small
enough to pass through the hole. The inside of the egg is then rinsed
out with clean water, and also before being placed in the cabinet, with
a solution of corrosive sublimate, which prevents decay and consequent
discoloration of the inner membrane. Finally the egg is placed with the
hole downwards upon a sheet of white blotting-paper to dry. The
authentication of the eggs is the most important duty of an
egg-collector, next to identifying the specimens. According to some the
best method is to mark with a fine pen on the egg itself the variety,
scientific name, locality of nest, date of taking and the initials of
the collector, as well as a reference to his note-book or catalogue.
Others advocate keeping the authentication separate with only a numbered
reference on the egg itself. Eggs should not be transported in bran or
sawdust, but in strong wool-lined boxes. The best cabinets are fitted
with drawers, pulled out to inspect the eggs, but at other times closed
to preserve them from the light, which is injurious to their delicate
colouring. When an entire nest is taken it should be disinfected with
hyposulphite of soda or insect-powder.
See _Birdnesting and Bird-Skinning_, by E. Newman (London, 1888);
_The Young Collector's Handbook of British Birds' Nests and Eggs_, by
W.H. Bath (London, 1888); _Birds' Nests, Eggs and Egg-Collecting_, by
R. Kearton (London, 1890); _British Birds' Eggs and Nests_, by J.C.
Atkinson (London, 1898); _Nests and Eggs of North American Birds_, by
Ernest Ingersoll (1880-1881).
BIRDS OF PARADISE, a group of passerine birds inhabiting New Guinea and
the adjacent islands, so named by the Dutch voyagers in allusion to the
brilliancy of their plumage, and to the current belief that, possessing
neither wings nor feet, they passed their lives in the air, sustained on
their ample plumes, resting only at long intervals suspended from the
branches of lofty trees by the wire-like feathers of the tail, and
drawing their food "from the dews of heaven and the nectar of flowers."
Such stories obtained credence from the fact that so late as the year
1760, when Linnaeus named the principal species _apoda_, or "footless,"
no perfect specimen had been seen in Europe, the natives who sold the
skins to coast traders invariably depriving them of feet and wings. The
birds now usually included under this name belong to the family
_Paradiseidae_, closely allied to the crows. The largest is the great
emerald bird (_Paradisea apoda_), about the size of the common jay. Its
head and neck are covered with short thick-set feathers, resembling
velvet pile, of a bright straw colour above, and a brilliant emerald
green beneath. From under the shoulders on each side springs a dense
tuft of golden-orange plumes, about 2 ft. in length, which the bird can
raise at pleasure, so as to enclose the greater part of its body. The
two centre tail feathers attain a length of 34 in., and, being
destitute of webs, have a thin wire-like appearance. This splendid
plumage, however, belongs only to the adult males, the females being
exceedingly plain birds of a nearly uniform dusky brown colour, and
possessing neither plumes nor lengthened tail feathers. The young males
at first resemble the females, and it is only after the fourth moulting,
according to A.R. Wallace, who has studied those birds in their native
haunts, that they assume the perfect plumage of their sex, which,
however, they retain permanently afterwards, and not during the breeding
season only as was formerly supposed. At that season the males assemble,
in numbers varying from twelve to twenty, on certain trees, and there
disport themselves, so as to display their magnificent plumes in
presence of the females. Wallace in his _Malay Archipelago_, vol. ii.,
thus describes the attitude of the male birds at one of those
"sacaleli," or dancing parties, as the natives call them; "their wings,"
he says, "are raised vertically over the back, the head is bent down and
stretched out, and the long plumes are raised up and expanded till they
form two magnificent golden fans striped with deep red at the base, and
fading off into the pale brown tint of the finely-divided and
softly-waving points; the whole bird is then overshadowed by them, the
crouching body, yellow head, and emerald green throat, forming but the
foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above." It is at
this season that those birds are chiefly captured. The bird-catcher
having found a tree thus selected for a "dancing party," builds a hut
among the lower branches in which to conceal himself. As soon as the
male birds have begun their graceful antics, he shoots them, one after
the other, with blunt arrows, for the purpose of stunning and bringing
them to the ground without drawing blood, which would injure their
plumage; and so eager are those birds in their courtship that almost all
the males are thus brought down before the danger is perceived. The
natives in preparing the skins remove both feet and wings, so as to give
more prominence to the commercially valuable tuft of plumes. They also
remove the skull, and the skin is then dried in a smoky hut. The great
emerald bird, so far as yet known, is only found in the Aru Islands. The
lesser bird of paradise (_Paradisea minor_), though smaller in size and
somewhat less brilliant in plumage, in other respects closely resembles
the preceding species. It is also more common, and much more widely
distributed, being found throughout New Guinea and the neighbouring
islands. Its plumes are those most generally used as ornaments for
ladies' head-dresses. Both species are omnivorous, feeding voraciously
on fruits and insects. They are strong, active birds, and are believed
to be polygamous. The king bird of paradise (_Cicinnurus regius_) is one
of the smallest and most brilliant of the group, and is specially
distinguished by its two middle tail feathers, the ends of which alone
are webbed, and coiled into a beautiful spiral disk of a lovely emerald
green. In the red bird of paradise (_Paradisea rubra_) the same feathers
are greatly elongated and destitute of webs, but differ from those in
the other species, in being flattened out like ribbons. They are only
found in the small island of Waigiu off the coast of New Guinea. Of the
long-billed paradise birds the most remarkable is that known as the
"twelve-wired" (_Seleucides alba_), its delicate yellow plumes, twelve
of which are transformed into wire-like bristles nearly a foot long,
affording a striking contrast to the dark metallic tints of the rest of
its plumage. (A. N.)
[Illustration: Standard Wing Bird of Paradise (_Semioptera wallacei_).]
BIRDWOOD, SIR GEORGE CHRISTOPHER MOLESWORTH (1832- ), Anglo-Indian
official and writer, son of General Christopher Birdwood, was born at
Belgaum, in the Bombay presidency, on the 8th of December 1832. He was
educated at Plymouth grammar-school and Edinburgh University, where he
took his M.D. degree. Entering the Bombay Medical Service in 1854, he
served in the Persian War of 1856-57, and subsequently became professor
at the Grant Medical College, registrar of the university, curator of
the museum, and sheriff at Bombay, besides acting as secretary of the
Asiatic and Horticultural societies. His work on the _Economic Vegetable
Products of the Bombay Presidency_ reached its twelfth edition in 1868.
He interested himself prominently also in the municipal life of the
city, where he acquired great influence and popularity. He was obliged
by ill-health in 1868 to return to England, where he entered the revenue
and statistics department of the India Office (1871-1902). Whilst
engaged there he published important volumes on the industrial arts of
India, the ancient records of the India Office, and the first
letter-book of the East India Company. He devoted much time and energy
to the encouragement of Indian art, on various aspects of which he wrote
valuable monographs, and his name was identified with the representation
of India at all the principal international exhibitions from 1857 to
1901. (See _Journal of Indian Art_, vol. viii. "The Life and Work of Sir
George Birdwood.") His researches on the subject of incense (_Trans.
Linn. Soc._ xxvii., 1871; _Ency. Brit._ 9th ed., "Incense," 1881;
revised for the present edition by him), a good example of his mastery
of detail, have made his historical and botanical account of this
subject a classic. Nor can his lifelong association with journalism of
the best sort be overlooked. From boyhood he was a diligent contributor
of special information to magazines and newspapers; in India he helped
to convert the _Standard_ into the _Times of India_, and edited the
Bombay _Saturday Review_; and after his return to London he wrote for
the _Pall Mall, Athenaeum, Academy_, and _Times_; and with Chenery, the
editor of _The Times_, and others he took the initiative (1882) in
celebrating the anniversary of Lord Beaconsfield's death as "Primrose
Day" (April 19). He kept up his connexion with India by constant
contributions to the Indian press; and his long friendships with Indian
princes and the leading educated native Indians made his intimate
knowledge of the country of peculiar value in the handling of the
problems of the Indian empire. In 1887 he was created a K.C.I.E.; and,
besides being given his LL.D. degree by Cambridge, he was also made an
officer of the Legion of Honour and a laureate of the French Academy.
BIREJIK (Arab. _Bir_; classical, _Apamea-Zeugma_), a town of North-West
Mesopotamia, in the Aleppo vilayet, altitude 1170 ft., built on a
limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left bank of the Euphrates. Pop.
about 10,000, three-quarters Moslem. It is situated at one of the most
important crossings of the Euphrates, where there was, in ancient times,
a bridge of boats, and is now a ferry on the road from Aleppo to Urfa,
Diarbekr and Mosul. Birejik corresponds actually to Apamea, which lay
opposite Zeugma, and commanded the bridge with its strong castle (Kala
Beda) now much ruined. The place seems to have had a pre-Seleucid
existence as _Birtha_, a name which revived under Roman rule (we hear of
the emperor Julian resting there on his march into Mesopotamia, A.D.
363), and is preserved to this day. The ferry over an unusually deep and
narrow part of the Euphrates has been used from time immemorial in the
passage from North Syria to Haran (Charrae), Edessa and North
Mesopotamia, and was second in importance only to that at Thapsacus, by
which crossed the route to Babylon and South Mesopotamia. Birejik was
the scene of an unusually cruel massacre and persecution of Armenians in
1895.
BIREN (or BUeHREN), ERNST JOHANN (1690-1772), duke of Courland, was the
grandson of a groom in the service of Duke Jacob III. of Courland, who
bestowed upon him a small estate, which Biren's father inherited and
where Biren himself was born. He received what little education he had
at the academy of Koenigsberg, from which he was expelled for riotous
conduct. In 1714 he set out to seek his fortune in Russia, and
unsuccessfully solicited a place at the shabby court of the princess
Sophia Charlotte, the consort of the tsarevich Alexius. Returning to
Mittau, he succeeded in gaining a footing at court there through one of
his sisters, who was the fancy of the ruling minister, Peter Bestuzhev,
whose established mistress was no less a person than the young duchess
Anne Ivanovna. During his patron's absence, Biren, a handsome,
insinuating fellow, succeeded in supplanting him in the favour of Anne,
and procuring the disgrace and banishment of Bestuzhev and his family.
From henceforth to the end of her life Biren's influence over the
duchess was paramount. On the elevation of Anne to the Russian throne in
1740, Biren, who had in the meantime married a Fraeulein von Treiden,
came to Moscow, and honours and riches were heaped upon him. At the
coronation (19th May) he was made grand-chamberlain, a count of the
empire, on which occasion he is said to have adopted the arms of the
French ducal house of Biron, and was presented with an estate at Wenden
with 50,000 crowns a year. He soon made himself cordially detested by
Russians of every class. He was not indeed the monster of iniquity he is
popularly supposed to have been. His vices were rather of the sordid
than of the satanic order. He had insinuating manners and could make
himself very agreeable if he chose; but he was mean, treacherous,
rapacious, suspicious and horribly vindictive. During the latter years
of Anne's reign, Biren increased enormously in power and riches. His
apartments in the palace adjoined those of the empress, and his
liveries, furnitures and equipages were scarcely less costly than hers.
Half the bribes intended for the Russian court passed through his
coffers. He had landed estates everywhere. A special department of state
looked after his brood mares and stallions. The magnificence of his
plate astonished the French ambassador, and the diamonds of his duchess
were the envy of princes. The climax of this wondrous elevation was
reached when, on the extinction of the line of Kettler, the estates of
Courland, in June 1737, elected him their reigning duke. He was almost
as much loathed in Courland as in Russia; but the will of the empress
was the law of the land, and large sums of money, smuggled into Courland
in the shape of bills payable in Amsterdam to bearer, speedily convinced
the electors. On her death-bed Anne, very unwillingly and only at his
urgent entreaty, appointed him regent during the minority of the baby
emperor, Ivan VI. Her common-sense told her that the only way she could
save the man she loved from the vengeance of his enemies after her death
was to facilitate in time his descent from his untenable position.
Finally, on the 26th of October 1740, a so-called "positive declaration"
signed by 194 dignitaries, in the name of the Russian nation, conferred
the regency on Biren.
Biren's regency lasted exactly three weeks. At midnight of the 19th of
November 1740 he was seized in his bedroom by his ancient rival, Field
Marshal Muennich. The commission appointed to try his case condemned him
(11th of April 1741) to death by quartering, but this sentence was
commuted by the clemency of the new regent, Anna Leopoldovna, the mother
of Ivan VI., to banishment for life at Pelin in Siberia. All Biren's
vast property was confiscated, including his diamonds, worth L600,000.
For twenty-two years the ex-regent disappeared from the high places of
history. He re-emerges for a brief moment in 1762, when the philo-German
Peter III. summoned him to court. He was now too old to be in any one's
way, and that, no doubt, was the reason why Catherine II. re-established
him (1763) in his duchy, which he bequeathed to his son Peter.
Misfortune had chastened him, and the last years of his rule were just
and even benevolent, if somewhat autocratic. He died at Mittau, his
capital, on the 28th of December 1772.
See Robert Nisbet Bain, _The Pupils of Peter the Great_ (London,
1897); Christoph Hermann von Manstein, _Memoirs_ (Eng. ed., London,
1856); Claudius Rondeau, _Diplomatic Dispatches from Russia_ (St
Petersburg, 1889-1892). (R. N. B.)
BIRETTA (Ital. _berretta_, Med. Lat. _biretum, birettum_, dim. of
_birrus_, "a hooded cloak"; from the Fr. form _barrette_ is derived the
Eng. "barret-cap"), a cap worn by the Catholic clergy. It is square and
stiff, being made of a framework of cardboard covered with cloth or
silk; on the top, along the sutures of the stuff, are three or four
raised, board-like, arched ridges, at the junction of which in the
centre is a knob or tassel (_floccus_). Its colour varies with the rank
of the wearer, that of the pope being white, of the cardinals red, of
bishops purple, and of the lower clergy black. It is not in the
strictest sense a liturgical head-dress, its use not being confined to
liturgical functions. In these functions, moreover, its use is strictly
limited; e.g. it is worn at low masses by the priest only when he goes
to and from the altar, at high masses also when the celebrant sits
during the singing of the _Kyrie, Gloria_ and Creed, and at processions
when these take place outside the church and are not sacramental, and so
on.
Though the form of the biretta, devised in the 17th century, is peculiar
to the Roman Church, it is but a variant of the original _biretum_,
which developed in various countries into head-coverings of different
shapes and significance. At the outset there was little to distinguish
the _biretum_ from the _pileus_ or _pileolus_ (skull-cap), a
non-liturgical cap worn by dignitaries of the Church under the mitre and
even under the biretta. When the word _biretum_ first appears in the
13th century, it practically means no more than "cap," and is used as a
synonym of _pileus_. As an ecclesiastical vestment the cap can be
traced, under the name of _pileus_, to the 12th century; under that of
_infula_, to the end of the 10th. It would seem to have been worn by the
cantors as a protection against cold. The same utilitarian reason led to
its introduction among the clergy generally. Thus in 1243 Pope Innocent
IV. granted leave to the Benedictines of St Augustine's at Canterbury,
and to those of Winchester, to wear the _pileus_ in choir. With the
extension of its use, too, the custom grew up (c. 1300) of investing
clerks with the _biretum_ as the symbol of the transfer of a benefice, a
custom which survives, in Roman Catholic countries, in the solemn
delivery of the red biretta by the head of the state to newly created
cardinals, who afterwards go to Rome to receive the red hat. This red
biretta is called the _zucchetto_.
This use of the _biretum_ as a symbol of office or dignity was not
confined to the clergy. With various modifications of form it was worn
by all persons of standing, e.g. barons, judges, and doctors and masters
of the universities. The _biretum_ was also used in the investiture of
laymen with office, e.g. a duke or the prefect of the city of Rome (Du
Cange, _Gloss._ s.v. _birretum_). The "cap of maintenance" or "cap of
estate," still borne before the British sovereign on state occasions, is
a barret-cap of the type of the 14th and 15th centuries; it is of
crimson velvet, turned up with ermine. By the 16th century the
barret-cap had become the common head-gear of all people of substance,
men and women. It was flat, square or round, sometimes with edges that
could be turned up or down according to convenience, and was often
elaborately decorated. By the 17th century it had given place in
ordinary civil life to the brimmed hat; but in various shapes it still
survives as official head-gear in many European countries: the _Barett_,
worn in church by the Lutheran clergy, in the courts by German lawyers,
and by the deans and rectors of the universities, the _barrette_ of
French judges and barristers, the "black cap" of the English judge, and
the "college cap" familiar in English and American universities, and
vulgarly known as the "mortar-board."
Meanwhile the ecclesiastical developments of the _biretum_ are not
without interest and significance. Originally this had been a round cap,
low or moderately high, slightly bulging out at the top, and ornamented
with a round knob. By the 16th century, both in England and on the
continent, a tendency had begun to emphasize the ridges of the sutures
and thus produce a square shape. Henceforth the evolution followed
different lines. In England, in the 17th century, the square flat top
began to be enlarged, forming a rim of thick stuff projecting beyond
the close-fitting cap. This was the "square cap" so virulently denounced
by the Puritans as a symbol of High Church Erastianism. With the triumph
of High Church principles at the Restoration it was natural that a loyal
clergy should desire to emphasize this squareness, and the consequent
exaggeration of the square top of the cap necessitated a further
stiffening. In the 18th century, accordingly, the top began to be made
of a board of wood or card covered with cloth, the close-fitting cap
proper retired farther from the edges, the knob developed into a long
tassel, and the evolution of the modern "college cap" was complete (see
fig. 1).
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
a, _Pileus_ of Archbishop Warham (d. 1532).
b, Square cap of Archbishop Cranmer (d. 1556).
c, Square cap of Archbishop Parker (d. 1575).
d, Square cap of Archbishop Whitgift (d. 1583).
e, Square cap of Archbishop Laud (d. 1645).
All these are from portraits at Lambeth.
f, Square cap of George Morley, bishop of Winchester (d. 1684).
g, Modern college cap.]
On the continent, meanwhile, in the Roman Catholic Church, the _biretum_
had also developed into its present characteristic form, and by a very
similar process. By the end of the 16th century the square shape was
everywhere prevalent; at the beginning of the 17th century cardboard was
introduced to stiffen the sides and emphasize the squareness, and the
actual form of the biretta, as described above, had become fixed (see
fig. 2). Only in Spain has the biretta continued to be worn without the
raised ridges.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Illustrations of the _biretum_ from monuments in
the cathedrals of--
a, Brandenburg (1281). e, Wuerzburg (1521).
b, Augsburg (1342). f, Regensburg (1564).
c, Bamberg (1483). g, ib. (1605 ?).
d, Regensburg (1550). h, Bamberg (1626).
(Redrawn from Braun's _Liturgische Gewandung_.)]
The use of the Roman biretta has been introduced by a certain number of
the clergy into the Anglican Church. It is clear that there is no
historical justification for this; for though both college cap and
biretta are developed from the same "square cap," the biretta in its
actual shape is strictly associated with the post-Reformation Roman
Church, and its actual ceremonial use is of late growth. Braun
(_Liturgische Gewandung_, p. 513) thinks that the symbolism of the cross
may have had some influence in fixing and propagating the square shape,
and he quotes a decree of the synod of Aix (1585) ordering the clergy to
wear a biretta sewn in the form of a cross (_biretum in modum crucis
consutum, ut ecclesiasticos homines decet_). So far as the legality of
the use of the biretta in the Church of England is concerned, this was
pronounced by Sir R. Phillimore in the Court of Arches (_Elphinstone_ v.
_Purchas_, 1870) to be legal "as a protection to the head when needed,"
but this decision was reversed on appeal by the judicial committee of
the privy council (_Hebbert_ v. _Purchas_, 1871). Of late years the old
square cap of soft padded cloth or velvet has been revived in the
Anglican Church by some dignitaries.
See J. Braun, S.J., _Die liturgische Gewandung_ (Freiburg-i-B., 1907);
_Hierurgica Anglicana_, part ii. (London, 1903); H. Druitt, _Costume
on Brasses_ (London, 1906). (W. A. P.)
BIRGER (?-1266), Swedish statesman, nephew of Birger Brosa, and the most
famous member of the ancient noble family of the Folkungeaetten, which
had so much to say for itself in early Swedish history, was created jarl
of Bjaelbo by King Erik Eriksson in 1248 and married the king's sister.
On Erik's death (1250) Birger's son Valdemar was elected king while his
father acted as regent. During the sixteen years of his sway Sweden
advanced greatly in fame and prosperity. In 1249 he led an expedition to
Finland, built the fortress of Tavastehus, and thus laid the foundations
of Sweden's oversea empire. He also built Stockholm, and enriched it by
making it the chief mart for the trade of Luebeck, with which city he
concluded a commercial treaty. As a lawgiver also Birger laboured
strenuously in the interests of civilization. In his old age he married
the daughter of King Abel. There is a fine statue of the great jarl in
the Riddarholm church at Stockholm, erected by Fogelberg at the expense
of the Stockholm magistracy in 1884. He is also the central figure of
Fr. Hedberg's drama _Brollopet pa Ulfasa_ (1865).
See _Sveriges Historia_, vol. i. (Stockholm, 1879-1883).
BIRIBI, or CAVAGNOLE, a French game of chance, prohibited by law since
1837. It is played on a board on which the numbers 1 to 70 are marked.
The players put their stakes on the numbers they wish to back. The
banker is provided with a bag from which he draws a case containing a
ticket, the tickets corresponding with the numbers on the board. The
banker calls out the number, and the player who has backed it receives
sixty-four times his stake; the other stakes go to the banker. In the
French army "to be sent to Biribi" is a cant term for being sent to the
disciplinary battalion in Algeria.
BIRJEND, the capital of Kain, a sub-province of Khorasan in Persia, in
32 deg. 53' N. 59 deg. 10' E., and at an elevation of 4550 ft. Pop. about
25,000. It is situated 328 m. from Meshed by the direct road, in a
fertile valley running east and west, of which the southern boundary is
a lofty range of barren hills known as Kuh i Bakeran. Through the valley
runs the Khusp river, which loses itself in the desert towards the west;
it is, however, generally dry. The water-supply of the town and of the
70 or 80 villages under its jurisdiction is very scanty. On the east of
the town at the foot of a hill stands a dilapidated fort. Birjend has
six good caravanserais, a college and some mosques; post and telegraph
offices were established there in 1902.
BIRKBECK, GEORGE (1776-1841), English physician and philanthropist, was
born at Settle in Yorkshire on the 10th of January 1776. He early
evinced a strong predilection for scientific pursuits; and in 1799,
after graduating as doctor of medicine, he was appointed to the chair of
natural philosophy at the Andersonian Institution of Glasgow. In the
following year he delivered, for the benefit of the working-classes, a
gratuitous course of scientific lectures, which were continued during
the two following years and proved eminently successful. He removed to
London in 1804, and there he endeavoured to prosecute his philanthropic
schemes, at first without much encouragement, but ultimately with marked
success. In 1823 he contributed to found the Mechanics' Institute, the
name of which was afterwards changed to Birkbeck Institution or College,
in honour of its founder. He was appointed director of the institute,
which he had originally endowed with the sum of L3700, and held the
office till his death on the 1st of December 1841. The sphere of
usefulness of the institution was gradually enlarged, and an enlargement
of the buildings was carried out in 1883-1885. The college now holds day
and evening classes in many of the sciences, in literature, languages
and art.
BIRKENFELD, a town of Germany, capital of the principality of the same
name, on the Zimmerbach, 25 m. S.E. of Trier and on the main line of
railway from Bingerbrueck to Neunkirchen. Pop. 2500. Close by, on an
eminence, lie the ruins of the castle of Birkenfeld, dating from the
14th century, once the residence of the counts palatine of Zweibruecken.
The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a grand-ducal
high school and a hospital. Besides brewing and tanning, its industries
include the manufacture of tobacco and chicory. There is also a
considerable trade in cattle.
The PRINCIPALITY OF BIRKENFELD is hilly and well-forested; agriculture
prospers on the cleared lands, and fruit is grown in the valley of the
Nahe, the principal stream. Ironstone and roofing slates are quarried,
and there is some industry in agate-polishing and the manufacture of
trinkets. The principality has an area of 312 sq. m. and a population
(1900) of 43,409, chiefly Protestants. It is formed out of the former
lordships of Dachstuhl and Oberstein, of part of the ancient countship of
Sponheim, and sections of the duchy of Juelich, which were granted to the
grand-duke of Oldenburg by the congress of Vienna in 1815. It is entirely
an _enclave_ in Prussian territory, and though it is represented in the
Oldenburg diet, it is governed by a separate _Regierungskollegium_,
consisting of a president and two members, who are responsible to the
Oldenburg ministry.
BIRKENHEAD, a municipal, county and parliamentary borough, and seaport
of Cheshire, England, on the river Mersey, 195 m. N.W. of London. Pop.
(1901) 110,915. It lies opposite Liverpool, on the east shore of the
peninsula of Wirral, and is served by the Birkenhead (London &
North-Western and Great Western joint) and the Wirral railways. It is
wholly of modern growth, although the name of Byrkhed is traced to the
forest which is believed to have extended between the mouths of the Dee
and the Ribble in Lancashire. A Benedictine monastery was founded (c.
1150) by Hamon de Mascy, third baron of Dunham Massey, and dedicated to
St Mary and St James. It drew its main revenues from tolls levied at the
Mersey ferry; and its prior sat in the parliament of the earls of
Chester, enjoying all the dignities and privileges of a Palatinate
baron. A fine crypt, along with remains of the prior's lodging,
refectory and chapel, may still be viewed, as the priory was purchased
by private subscription and handed over to the municipality in 1896.
The rise of Birkenhead, from a hamlet of some 50 inhabitants in 1818 to
its present importance, was due in the first place to the foresight and
enterprise of William Laird, who purchased in 1824 a few acres of land
on the banks of a marshy stream, known as Wallasey Pool, which flowed
into the Mersey about 2 m. west of the village. Among other engineers,
Telford and Stephenson favoured the project of converting Wallasey Pool
into a great basin for shipping; but, largely owing to the fears of
Liverpool lest a formidable rival should thus be created, it was not
until 1843 that parliamentary powers were obtained, and the work
entrusted to James Rendel, who finished it in less than five years. The
docks, which covered an area of 7 acres, were opened in 1847, and after
thrice changing hands were made over in 1858 to the Mersey Docks and
Harbour Board, a body created by act of 1857, to control the harbourage
on both sides of the river.
Meanwhile, the town itself grew rapidly. In 1833 an act was passed for
paving, watching, cleansing and improving the streets; as well as for
the regulation of police, and the establishment of a market. The
Improvement Commissioners constituted by this act included the mayor,
bailiffs and four aldermen of Liverpool, under whose care the main
streets were laid out on a regular plan, intersecting one another at
right angles; and the first iron tramway in England was laid down.
Electricity was subsequently applied to the tramway system. Noteworthy
public buildings are St Aidan's College, a large brick building in Tudor
style, for the use of Anglican students in theology; the market hall
(1843); town hall, a free library with branches, borough hospital, built
at the cost of Sir John Laird; and many schools both public and private,
including the industrial schools built as a memorial to Albert, prince
consort, at the cost of Sir W. Jackson, and the school of art, given by
Sir John Laird. There are many handsome modern churches, all built since
1821. Roman Catholics are especially numerous, owing to the presence of
a large Irish population. The town is well furnished with open spaces.
Birkenhead Park was opened in 1847, Mersey Park in 1885; while a tract
of moorland 6 m. distant in the township of Thurstaston, was allotted to
the borough of Birkenhead in 1887; and Meols Common, comprising over 50
acres of pastureland on the shores of Liverpool Bay, was made over to
the corporation in 1900.
The increase of railway accommodation has been swift. In 1878 the old
Monks Ferry station on the Great Western system was superseded by the
opening of the Woodside passenger station, and a few years later the
Birkenhead town station was opened. In 1886 the Mersey tunnel,
connecting Birkenhead with Liverpool, was opened by the prince of Wales.
The system extends from Rock Ferry and Park stations on the Cheshire
side to the low-level at Central Station in Liverpool, and has
connexions on the Cheshire side with the Great Western, North-Western,
Wirral and various local lines. The Wrexham, Mold & Connah's Quay
railway, which was taken over by the Great Central company in 1905,
helped to bring the mineral wealth of Flint and North Wales generally
into the Birkenhead docks.
Woodside Ferry may still be regarded as the principal entrance to
Birkenhead and the Wirral from Liverpool. The exclusive right of
ferryage was granted to the priory in 1332. In 1842 the Birkenhead
Commissioners purchased it, under an act of parliament, from the lord of
the manor, Mr F.R. Price. In 1897 the corporation further acquired the
rights over the Rock Ferry and the New Ferry at the southern end of the
town. Despite competition from the Mersey tunnel, these ferries continue
to transport millions of passengers annually, and have a considerable
share in the heavy goods traffic.
Though at the outset a mere commercial offshoot of Liverpool, Birkenhead
has acquired a large export trade in coal and manufactured articles,
importing guano, grain and cattle in return. Iron foundries, breweries,
oil-cake and seed mills also exist side by side with such immense
engineering and shipbuilding works as the Britannia Works, Canada Works,
and, above all, Laird's shipbuilding works, where several early iron
vessels were built, and many cruisers and battleships have been
launched. Huge warehouses and sheds have been erected along the quays
for the storage of freight. In 1847 the Birkenhead Dock Warehousing
Company opened its first warehouse, capable of holding 80,000 tons of
goods. A line called the Dock Extension railway was carried round the
whole, and the company erected, for their workmen, the Dock Cottages.
This entire property is now under the authority of the Mersey Docks and
Harbour Board. The pile of buildings known as the corn warehouses are
traversed by a canal which gives access to its several departments, and
are provided with mechanical grain-elevators. There are also extensive
lairages for live-stock, and cold storage for dead meat. On the north
and north-east, and partly on the east, Birkenhead is bounded by its
docks, which extend, for a distance exceeding 2 m., from the
landing-stage at Woodside Ferry to the Wallasey Bridge. Of these the
principal are the Egerton, Morpeth, Morpeth Branch and Wallasey Docks;
while the Alfred Dock, with its three entrances, nineteen pairs of
lock-gates, 8 acres of water, and 460 lin. yds. of quay-space, fulfils
the part of an entrance-lock to the whole system. The great Float, now
occupying the site of Wallasey Pool, separates Birkenhead from
Poulton-cum-Seacombe in the parish of Wallasey. It forms an immense dock
of 120 acres, with a quay-space of about 5 m.; and communicates on the
E. with a low-water basin of about 14 acres and with the Alfred Dock; on
the S.E. with the Morpeth, Morpeth Branch and Egerton Docks. The Morpeth
Dock (about 11 acres, quay-space 1299 lin. yds.) is in communication
with the Morpeth Branch Dock (about 31/2 acres, quay-space 600 lin. yds.);
both being set apart for the use of steamers. The total water-space of
these docks amounts to 165 acres, and the lineal quay-space is about 91/2
m. The entrances to the Birkenhead Docks are capable of docking the
largest class of steamers afloat. The massive iron bridges across the
dock entrances are opened and closed by hydraulic power, which is
likewise applied to the cranes, coal-hoists, warehouse-lifts and other
machinery about the docks. At the extreme western end of the West Float
are three large graving docks, two about 750 ft. in length, and 130 and
80 ft. respectively in width; while the largest measures about 900 ft.
in length and 130 ft. in width.
In 1861 Birkenhead was created a parliamentary borough, returning one
member. In 1877 it received a municipal charter, the boundaries of the
borough including the suburban townships of Tranmere, Claughton, Oxton
and part of Higher Bebington. The borough is under a mayor, 14 aldermen
and 42 councillors. Area, 3848 acres.
BIRMINGHAM, a city and the county-seat of Jefferson county, Alabama,
U.S.A., in the north-central part of the state, 96 m. N.W. of
Montgomery, at an altitude of 600 ft. It is served by the Southern, the
Louisville & Nashville, the Seaboard Air Line, the Central of Georgia,
the Alabama Great Southern (of the Queen & Crescent Route), the Illinois
Central, the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic, the Birmingham Southern
(for freight only), and the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham (Frisco
system) railways. Pop. (1890) 26,178; (1900) 38,415, of whom 16,575 were
of negro descent, and 1776 were foreign-born; (1910) 132,685. Birmingham
is situated in Jones Valley, between two mountains which lie south-east
and north-west of the city. Its streets are wide and well constructed,
and there are sixteen public parks, three of which, East Lake, Lakeview
and Capitol, are particularly attractive. Among the principal buildings
are the First National bank, the immense Union station and the Saint
Vincent hospital; besides several fine office and school buildings
(including the beautiful manual training high school) and churches.
Although the state constitution restricts municipal investments, a
Waring or "Separate" sewage system has been established. The most
important educational institutions are the Birmingham medical college
and college of pharmacy; the Birmingham dental college; a school of art
and a conservatory of music. At East Lake station, in the north-east of
the city, is Howard College (Baptist; founded at Marion, Perry county,
in 1841 as an academy; granted first collegiate degrees in 1848; opened
in East Lake in 1887); and 2 m. west of the city is the North Alabama
Conference College (Methodist Episcopal South), opened in 1897.
Birmingham, situated in an immensely rich iron, coal and limestone
region, is the principal manufacturing centre in the state, and the most
important centre for the production and manufacture of iron in the
southern states. In the decade 1890-1900 the value of the products of
Birmingham's manufactories increased 78.9% from $7,064,248 to
$12,581,066; in 1900 establishments under the "factory system" produced
goods valued at $8,599,418, in 1905 at $7,592,958, a decrease of 11.7%.
Immediately outside the city limits in 1905 there were many large
manufactories, including the repair shops of the Southern railroad; iron
and steel, car wheels and cotton-oil were among the products of the
suburban factories. In Jefferson county there were in 1900 more than 300
mining and manufacturing establishments, engaged, chiefly, in the
production of iron, coal and coke, and a majority of these are in
Birmingham and its suburban towns. A short distance south of the city is
Red Mountain, 25 m. long and about 225 ft. high, rich in hematite iron
ore; valuable limestone deposits are found some 30 m. distant, and in
the vicinity are three great coalfields, the Warrior, the Coosa and the
Cahaba. These natural advantages make possible the production of pig
iron at an unusually low cost. In 1900 the Birmingham district produced
six-sevenths of the total pig iron exported from the United States, and
in 1902 nine-tenths of Alabama's coal, coke and pig iron; in 1905
Jefferson county produced 67.5% of the total iron and steel product of
the state, and 62.5% of the pig iron produced by the state. The first
steel plant in the southern states was established at Birmingham in
1897; in 1902, at Ensley, one of the suburbs, there were 10 furnaces
controlled by one company. The city has also a large trade in cotton,
the annual receipts averaging about 100,000 bales. Among the
manufactures are cotton goods, cotton-seed oil, yarn, furniture and
machinery. Birmingham also has important lumber interests.
The city is a product of the industrial transformation in the southern
states since the Civil War. In 1870 the site was a cotton field, where
two railways, the South & North, and the Alabama & Chattanooga, now part
respectively of the Louisville & Nashville and the Southern System, met,
2 m. from Elyton. In 1871 a land company, promoted by railway officials,
founded Birmingham. Within four months the population was 1200; by 1873
it was 2500; in 1880 it was 3086; and in 1890 it had reached 26,178.
BIRMINGHAM, a city and a municipal, county, and parliamentary borough,
the metropolis of one of the greatest industrial districts in England.
Pop. (1901) 522,204. It lies in the north-west of Warwickshire, but its
suburbs extend into Staffordshire on the north and west, and into
Worcestershire on the south. It is 113 m. north-west from London by the
London & North-Western railway, lying on the loop line between Rugby and
Stafford; it is also served by the northern line of the Great Western,
and by the north and west (Derby-Bristol) line of the Midland railway.
_Site._--Birmingham, built upon the New Red Sandstone, is situated in
the valleys of the Rea and other small feeders of the river Tame, near
their sources, and upon the rising ground between these valleys. The
site is, therefore, boldly undulating, varying from 200 to 600 ft. above
sea-level, steadily rising towards the north and west, while the
well-marked line of the Lickey hills skirts the site on the south-west,
extending thence south-eastward. From the high ground to the south-east
Birmingham thus presents the appearance of a vast semicircular
amphitheatre, the masses of houses broken by innumerable
factory-chimneys; the whole scene conveying a remarkable impression of a
community of untiring industrial activity. The area of the town is
nearly 20 sq. m., the greatest length from north to south 7 m., and the
greatest breadth about 4 m. Yet Birmingham is a fraction only of an
industrial district, of which it forms the south-eastern extremity,
which itself resembles one vast city, and embraces such famous
manufacturing towns as Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Wednesbury and
many others. This is the district commonly known as the "Black Country,"
which forms part of the South Staffordshire industrial district.
Birmingham, however, does not lie actually within the "Black Country"
properly so-called.
_Streets and Buildings._--The plan of the town, as dictated by the site,
is irregular; the streets are mostly winding, and often somewhat narrow.
In the centre are several fine thoroughfares, containing nearly all the
most important buildings. New Street, Corporation Street and Colmore Row
are the chief of these. At the western end of New Street is a fine group
of buildings, including the council house and art gallery, the town hall
and post office. The council house and art gallery, begun in 1874 and
completed in 1881, is in Renaissance style, and the material is Darley
Dale, Spinkwell and Wrexham stone. The entrance is surmounted with a
pediment filled with groups of excellent sculpture. The erection of that
part which forms the art gallery was the work of the gas committee, to
whom the council granted the site on condition that they would build
such a gallery over their own office, the council having no powers at
the time to raise the required funds. The art gallery contains a fine
collection of modern paintings, including masterpieces of David Cox,
Millais, Hunt, Henry Moore, Albert Moore, Briton-Riviere and
Burne-Jones. In the industrial hall are rich stores of Oriental metal
work, Limoges enamel, English and foreign glass and Japanese ceramics.
In the side galleries are various textiles, and Persian, Rhodian, Gres
de Flandres and other pottery. There is a remarkable collection of
Wedgwood. Notable also is the collection of arms, which is probably the
most complete in existence. The purchase of pictures has been made from
time to time by means of an art gallery purchase fund of L12,000,
privately contributed and placed under the control of the corporation.
Many valuable works of art are the gift of individuals. In 1906 plans
were obtained for additional municipal offices and another art gallery
on a site on the opposite side of Edmund Street from the council house.
The town hall, completed in 1850, is severely classic, modelled upon a
Greek temple. The lower stage consists of a plinth or basement, 23 ft.
high, upon which is reared a facade of peripteral character, with eight
Corinthian columns (36 ft. high) at the two principal fronts, and
thirteen columns on each side. These columns (imitated from those of the
temple of Jupiter Stator at Rome) support a bold and enriched cornice,
finished at each end with a lofty pediment and entablature. The exterior
of the hall is built of Anglesea marble. The interior consists chiefly
of a regularly-built room, designed specially for meetings and
concerts, with an orchestra containing a fine organ. The hall seats
upwards of 2000 persons, but when cleared of benches, as is the case at
great political meetings, over 5000 may find standing room. The Midland
Institute, adjacent to the town hall on the west, has a fine lecture
theatre. To the south lie the post office, the inland revenue office and
Queen's College. To the north is the Gothic building of Mason College,
an institution merged in the university. The Central free library,
adjoining the Midland Institute, was rebuilt in 1879, after a fire which
destroyed the fine Shakespeare library, the Cervantes collection, and a
large series of books on, and antiquities of, Warwickshire, known as the
Staunton collection. The Shakespeare series was as far as possible
replaced, and the whole forms one of the largest reference and lending
libraries in England. Edmund Street and Colmore Row are fine
thoroughfares running parallel in a north-easterly direction from either
side of the council house; in the first the principal building is the
school of art, in the second are several noteworthy private buildings.
Both terminate at Snow Hill station, that of the Great Western railway.
New Street station, that of the London & North Western and Midland
railways, lies close to the street of that name, fronted by the Queen's
hotel. The station is nearly a quarter of a mile in length. The roof of
the older portion consists of a vast arch of glass and iron, carried on
pillars on each side, and measuring 1100 ft. in length, 80 ft. in
height, and 212 ft. in width in a single span. The building of the Royal
Society of Artists fronts New Street itself with a fine classic portico;
here are also the exchange (Gothic) and the grammar school of King
Edward VI., a Perpendicular building dating from 1840, designed by Sir
Charles Barry. Corporation Street was the outcome of a great
"Improvement scheme" initiated in 1875, with the object of clearing away
a mass of insanitary property from the centre of the town and of
constructing a main thoroughfare from the centre to the north-eastern
outlet, starting from New Street, near the railway station to Bull
Street, and thence continuing to the Aston Road. The scheme received
parliamentary sanction in 1876, and was finished in 1882 at a cost of
L1,520,657. This led to an almost total extinction of the residential
quarter in the centre of the town. The finest building in this handsome
street is the Victoria assize courts. The foundation stone was laid by
Queen Victoria in 1887, after Birmingham had been created an assize
district; the building was completed in 1891. There is a handsome
entrance, and within is a great hall, 80 ft. by 40, with a series of
stained-glass windows. The exterior is red, and highly ornamented in the
style of the Renaissance.
Among other noteworthy buildings are the county court, education offices
and military drill hall. Among a fine series of statues and monuments
may be mentioned the statue of Nelson by Richard Westmacott, in the Bull
Ring; those of Joseph Sturge, at the Five Ways, and of Thomas Attwood,
the founder of the Political Union, in Stephenson Place, both by J.E.
Thomas; James Watt, a singularly beautiful work, in Ratcliff Place, by
Alexander Munro; Sir Robert Peel, in New Street, by Peter Hollins;
Albert, prince consort, in the council house, by J.H. Foley; and Queen
Victoria, by Thomas Woolner; Sir Rowland Hill, in the hall of the post
office, by Matthew Noble; and Dr Priestley, in New Street, by F.J.
Williamson. There is also a fountain behind the town hall, commemorative
of the mayoralty of Mr Joseph Chamberlain, and flanked by statues of Sir
Josiah Mason, and George Dawson, who took active part in the municipal
reform movement previous to Mr Chamberlain's years of office. Sir
Francis Chantrey's famous statue of James Watt is in a special chapel at
Handsworth church.
_Suburbs._--The principal streets radiating from central Birmingham to
the suburbs are served by electric tramways worked by the corporation,
and also by motor omnibuses. The principal suburbs are as follows.
Edgbaston and Harborne lie south-west of the centre of the city, being
approached by Broad Street. These form a residential district
principally inhabited by the richer classes, and owing to the
enforcement of strict rules by the ground landlord, retain a remarkable
semi-rural character, almost every house having a garden. Here,
moreover, are Calthorpe Park, the botanical gardens, and the large
private grounds attached to Edgbaston Hall, also the Warwickshire county
cricket ground. To the south of Edgbaston, however, are the growing
manufacturing districts of Selly Oak and Bourneville, and south of
these, Northfield and King's Norton, in Worcestershire. The districts to
the east of central Birmingham are Balsall Heath, Sparkbrook, Small
Heath and Saltley. On the south-east is the residential suburb of
Moseley, and on the east that of Yardley. Between Moseley and King's
Heath to the south, is Highbury, the seat of Mr Joseph Chamberlain,
whose active interest in the affairs of the town, both during his
mayoralty (1873-1876) and at other times, was a principal factor in such
works as the municipalization of the gas and water supply, the
Corporation Street improvement, and the foundation of Birmingham
University. On the east side the transition from town to country is
clearly marked. This, however, is not the case on the west side, where
the borough of Smethwick adjoins Birmingham, and the roads through West
Bromwich and towards Oldbury and Dudley have the character of continuous
streets. On this side are Soho and Handsworth, which gives name to a
parliamentary division of Staffordshire. To the north lies Aston Manor,
a municipal borough of itself, with Perry Bar beyond. To the north-east
a populous district extends towards the town of Sutton Coldfield. Aston
Hall is a fine Jacobean mansion standing in an extensive park. Aston
Lower Grounds is an adjacent pleasure-ground. Besides these and the
Edgbaston grounds the chief parks are Summersfield Park, towards
Smethwick; Soho Park; Victoria Park, Handsworth; Adderley Park, towards
Saltley; and Victoria Park, Small Heath. There is a race-course at
Castle Bromwich, 3 m. east of the town.
_Churches and Religion._--Birmingham is not rich in ecclesiastical
architecture. It became a bishopric under the Bishoprics of Southwark
and Birmingham Act 1904, including the archdeaconry of Birmingham and
the rural deanery of Handsworth, previously in the diocese of Worcester.
Before 1821 it was in the diocese of Lichfield. There were formerly a
religious house, the priory of St Thomas the Apostle, and a Gild of the
Holy Cross, an association partly religious and partly charitable,
having a chantry in the parish church. The possessions of the priory
went to the crown at the dissolution, and the building was destroyed
before the close of the 16th century. The lands of the Gild of the Holy
Cross were granted by Edward VI. to trustees for the support of the free
grammar school. Until 1715 there was but one parish church, St Martin's,
a rectory, having the tithes of the entire parish of Birmingham. St
Martin's was erected about the middle of the 13th century, but in the
course of ages was so disfigured, internally and externally, as to
present no traces, except in the tower and spire, of its former
character. In 1853 the tower was found to be in a dangerous condition,
and together with the spire was rebuilt. In 1873 the remaining part of
the old church was removed without disturbing the monuments, and a
larger edifice was erected in its place. St. Philip's, a stately Italian
structure, designed by Archer, a pupil of Wren, was the next church
erected. It was consecrated in 1715, enlarged in 1884, and became the
pro-cathedral on the foundation of the diocese. It contains a rich
series of stained-glass windows by Burne-Jones. Then followed St
Bartholomew's in 1749, St Mary's in 1774, St Paul's in 1779, St James's,
Ashted, in 1791, and others. St Alban's is a good example of J.L.
Pearson's work, and Edgbaston church is a picturesque Perpendicular
structure.
Under the Commonwealth Birmingham was a stronghold of Puritanism.
Clarendon speaks of it and the neighbourhood as "the most eminently
corrupted of any in England." Baxter, on the other hand, commending the
garrison of Coventry, says it contained "the most religious men of the
parts round about, especially from Birmingham." The traditional
reputation for Nonconformity is maintained by the town, all varieties of
dissenters being numerous and influential. The Unitarians, the oldest
body established here, have among their chapels a handsome structure in
Bristol Road, the Old Meeting, which in 1885 replaced the building in
which the congregation was formed on the Presbyterian model by a number
of ministers ejected under the Act of Uniformity. Another chapel, the
New Meeting, in Moor Street, is memorable as having been the place of Dr
Joseph Priestley's ministerial labours from 1780 onwards. In 1862 the
Unitarians removed from this place to a new Gothic edifice, called the
church of the Messiah, in Broad Street, where they preserve a monument
of Priestley, with a medallion portrait in profile, and an inscription
written by Priestley's friend, Dr Parr. The first meeting-house of the
Society of Friends dates from about 1690. Among Independent chapels,
that of Carr's Lane had John Angell James and Robert William Dale as
ministers. The Baptists first erected a chapel in Cannon Street in 1738.
The Wesleyan Methodists were established in Birmingham by John Wesley
himself in 1745, when he was roughly handled while preaching on Gosta
Green. In 1903 a very fine central hall, with lofty tower, was opened by
this body, in the style of the Renaissance, fronting upon Corporation,
Ryder and Dalton streets. The Presbyterians have also places of worship,
and the Jews have a synagogue. From the revolution of 1688 until 1789
the Roman Catholics had no place of worship here; but Birmingham is now
a Roman Catholic bishopric. The cathedral of St Chad was built from the
designs of A.W. Pugin. At Erdington, towards Sutton Coldfield, is a
large Benedictine Abbey (1897) of the Beuron congregation, founded as a
monastery in 1876; and in the vicinity, at Oscott, is St Mary's College,
where the chapel is a fine example of Pugin's work. Cardinal Newman was
superior of the Oratory of St Philip Neri from its foundation in 1851.
_Administration._--The government of the town resided originally in the
high and low bailiffs, both officers chosen at the court of the lord of
the manor, and acting as his deputies. The system was a loose one, but
by degrees it became somewhat organized, and crown writs were addressed
to the bailiffs. In 1832, when the town was enfranchised, they were made
the returning officers. About the beginning of the 19th century,
however, a more regular system was instituted, by an act creating a body
of street commissioners, who acted for the parish of Birmingham, the
hamlets outside its boundaries having similar boards of their own. The
annoyance and difficulty caused by these bodies, thirteen in number, led
to a demand for the incorporation of Birmingham as a borough; and a
charter was accordingly granted by the crown in 1838, vesting the
general government in a mayor, sixteen aldermen and forty-seven
councillors. The powers of this body were, however, unusually
restricted, the other local governing bodies remaining in existence. It
was not until 1851 that an act of parliament was obtained, abolishing
all governing authorities excepting the town council, and transferring
all powers to this body. Another local act was obtained in 1862, and in
1883 these various acts were combined into the Birmingham Corporation
Consolidation Act. In 1889 Birmingham was created a city, and a grant
made of an official coat of arms carrying supporters. The title of lord
mayor was conferred on the chief magistrate in 1897. The city council
consists of eighteen aldermen and fifty-four councillors, selected from
eighteen wards; it is divided into seventeen committees, most of which
consist of eight members. The corporation is the largest employer of
labour in the borough, and is also a large landowner.