668 CONSTRUCTION-CONSULATE. re-examined in any court of the U. S. than according to the of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the rules of the common law. equal protection of the laws. ARTICLE VIII. Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians imposed, nor cruel nor unusual punishments inflicted. not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-President of the officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature U. S., representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being 21 yrs. of age, and citizens of the U. S., or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 21 yrs. of age in such State. Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the U. S., or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the U. S., or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the U. S., shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability. Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the U. S., authorand bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. Eut neither the U. S. nor any other State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the U. S., or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave, but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. Sec. 5. That Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT-1870. ARTICLE XV. Sec. 1. The right of citizens of the U. S. to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the U. S., or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with them-ized by law, including debts incurred by payment of pensions, selves. They shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government of the U. S., directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no such person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be Vice-President if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the VicePresident; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the U. S. THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT-1865. ARTICLE XIII. Sec. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the U. S., or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT-1868. ARTICLE XIV. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Construc'tion, the act of putting together; in Arch., the practical execution of the artist's design; in Grammar, the connection and arrangement of words and sentences. Consue'gra, old town of Spain, in the prov. of Toledo; pop. 6,870. Consuetu'dinary Law is that law which derives its binding character, not from the expressed, but from the tacit, consent of the general will of the community. As it is generally transmitted from age to age by oral tradition and universal custom, and it is rarely embodied in any positive enactment, C. L. is often spoken of as unwritten law. The customary laws of Normandy, Brittany, and some other provinces of France, however, were reduced to writing; and with us much of the common law rests on statute, as well as on custom and usage. Even in modern practice usage is often resorted to as the best interpreter of law. Of this a familiar example is the important part assigned to mercantile usage in construing the law-merchant. In this case the custom must generally be established by evidence, in place of being taken for granted, as are the laws of primogeniture, legitim, terce, courtesy, and the like. Con'sul, the title of the two highest ordinary magistrates in the Roman republic. The etymology of the word cannot be precisely determined; thus much, however, seems clear, that it implies that there were more than one-that there were colleagues. The idea of two supreme magistrates, or joint presidents of the State, seems to have been interwoven with the earliest conceptions of political organization in Rome. Con'sulate, (Lat. consulatus, "consulship,") in France. This supreme magistracy of the French republic was established after the revolution of the 18th Brumaire, and lasted to the coronation of Napoleon. On the sudden overthrow of the Directory with the constitution of the Year III., the mem Sec. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the U. S., and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the U. S. and of the State in which they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or im-bers of the Council of the Ancients and the Five Hundred ap. munities of citizens of the U. S.; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process pointed three consuls-Sièyes, Bonaparte, and Roger Ducros. This approach to a monarchical government was confirmed CONSUL, MERCANTILE-CONSUMPTION. 669 Dec. 13, 1799, by the constitution of the Year VIII., by which Bonaparte was made First Consul, with Cambacérès and Lebrun as second and third; each was elected for 10 yrs., and was re-eligible. The powers of the First Consul were made almost absolute. He promulgated the laws, appointed or dismissed ministers, embassadors, members of the council of state, military and naval officers, and all civil and criminal judges, except justices of the peace and members of the Court of Cassation. His income was fixed at 500,000 francs, and that of his inferior colleagues at 150,000 francs each. Bonaparte took up his residence at the Tuileries, and held a splen-ger is that these symptoms, being overlooked or neglected, did court. By resolutions of the Senate, in May, 1802, Bonaparte was re-elected for 10 additional yrs., and in Aug. of the same yr. was made First Consul for life. In the appeal made to the nation, out of 3,577,259 votes, 3,568,885 were in favor of Bonaparte. The adulation of the Senate and people now knew no limit. Nothing but the imperial name and insignia were wanting to complete the picture of absolutism, and these were supplied May 18, 1804, when Napoleon was made emperor. day and from hour to hour; when shiverings are complained of, or even a sense of too great chilliness, alternated by flushings and an oppressive warmth, or too copious perspiration; when with these symptoms there is cough, however slight, or pains between the shoulders and about the shoulder-blades, or below the collar-bones; when there is an occasional tendency to spit up small quantities of blood from the chest, place the patient under medical advice. In some instances the alarm may appear groundless, and health may rapidly return under appropriate treatment; but a far greater danmay prove only the precursors of a more apparently serious attack of disease, and that the first suspicion of C. may arise only after irreparable mischief has taken place. In general terms it may be said that during the period of adolescencei. e., before the body has assumed its full development in regard to strength and weight-no considerable check to its advance in these respects ought to pass unnoticed, more especially if attended with habitual feverishness, cough, or other symptom of impaired health. Attempts have been made to show that a peculiar habit of body or physical conformation, apart from disordered health, is to be regarded as predisposing to C., but little or no dependence can be placed on any such indications, for this disease unquestionably occurs with nearly equal frequency in all the physiological varieties of the human race, when exposed to its exciting and predisposing causes. The degree to which C. is curable has been a fruitful subject of discussion of late yrs. In France, where morbid anatomy was extensively cultivated in the beginning of the present c., the incurability of the tubercular form of C. was a general doctrine of the schools till the time of Laennec, who, by multiplied instances and careful observations on the dead body, showed beyond all question the occasional arrest even of advanced C., and the frequent cure of it in the early stages. The treatment of C. is a very complicated subject, and one much misunderstood. It is, however, now well ascertained that the greater part of the cure consists in hygienic measures-i. e., the regulation of the mode of living, the occupation, the diet, the clothing, the food, the hours of repose, etc., of the consumptive, and treatment by drugs is usually regarded as subordinate. A life in the open air to a considerable extent, and in a climate which admits of the enjoyment of such a life even in winter, is the best restorative in cases of incipient C.; yet too much may be sacrificed to the desire of obtaining these advantages, if a genial climate is sought at the expense of the comforts of home, or with the effect of producing anxiety of mind, or exover, to many men a regular occupation is really a necessity in more senses than one; and to break up all the associations of habit in a person debilitated by disease, and not capable of seeking new sources of excitement, is to poison the springs of enjoyment, diminish chances of recovery, and render the remainder of life a burden. Many consumptives have been sent away only to die, and in all probability to die more miserably, and at an earlier period, than if they had remained Consump'tion, (Lat. consumo, I waste,") in medical at home. On the other hand, the favoring influences of clilanguage, Phthisis, Tabes, Marasmus, and more particularly mate are by no means to be rejected when they can be obPhthisis Pulmonalis or pulmonary C., is a disease of great tained in accordance with the patient's previously formed frequency and severity, which, in the civilized nations of habits, and with due regard to his means of occupation and Europe, produces from to of the total mortality in ordi- prospects of eventual cure. A varied and wholesome, but nary times. It is uncertain whether there is any part of the light and unstimulating, diet, including abundant dairy prod world, or any race of men, exempt from C.; this exemption uce; flannel covering next the skin, and clothing which is being at different times claimed for the inhabitants of both hot warm but not oppressive; a well-ventilated sleeping-apartand cold climates, as for India, Australia, Canada, Iceland, etc., ment, with a moderate fire in cold weather; bathing in tepid but in most instances in consequence of imperfect knowledge water; the use of a respirator or of a light woolen coverof the facts. On the whole, C. appears to be one of those ing for the mouth and nose in excessively cold weather; diseases that have a tendency to increase with the increased avoidance of late hours, crowded rooms, and every kind aggregation of the human family, and with that extended of dissipation; avoidance also of draughts of cold air, and intercourse which is one of the consequences of an advanced sitting in damp clothes or with damp feet-these are the civilization. Hence it is most frequent and most fatal in principal circumstances to be kept in view in the ordinary towns, and most of all in those that are near the great centers regulation of the life of a consumptive patient. The use of of intercourse; while in remote mountain districts, in islands cod-liver oil has been very popular of late yrs. in the treatcut off by a wide ocean from the general stream of human ment of C.; but it may be reasonably doubted whether the communication, it is commonly stated to be, and probably reputation of this remedy be due to its powers as a medicine is, comparatively rare. The disease often escapes attention or simply as a fattening food. Occasional small opiates, and in its early stages; yet not so much from the absolute diffi- other medicines to arrest irritating cough and subdue feverculty of its detection as from the insidiousness of its inva-ishness, and in special cases the treatment proper to the sion, and the small alarm which its early symptoms excite in complications, such as diarrhoea and breathlessness, are genthe mind of the sufferer, and even of his friends, when much erally admitted as useful adjuncts to the means above menoccupied with the business of life, or when naturally not tioned. C. rarely occurs in horses, the health-depressing gifted with the faculty of refined observation. Whenever a influences which produce it in man and other animals inducyoung person appears to lose flesh and strength without ing in them Glanders and Farcy. It is also rare in dogs, but known cause; when the color changes much from day to is common in oxen and sheep, and still more so in pigs. It Con'sul, Mercantile, the name given to those officers whom the state maintains in foreign countries for the protection of its trade and the vindication of the rights of its merchants, and to whom the further duty is assigned of keeping the home government informed of all facts bearing on the commercial interests of the country. The practice of appointing such officers originated among the trading communities of Italy about the middle of the 12th c., and gradually extended itself; and in the 16th c. had been adopted by all the countries of Europe. In addition to their commercial duties, others of a more strictly political kind were frequently confided to consuls in places in which there was no embassador or political agent. In almost all the countries of Europe consuls are divided into consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, and consular agents. The consul's first duty on his arrival is to exhibit his commission to the authorities of the country to which he is accredited, in order that he may obtain their sanction to his appointment. This sanction is communicated to him in a document called an exequatur, which secures to him the enjoyment of such "privileges, immunities, and exemptions" as have been enjoyed by his predecessors, and as are usually granted to consuls in the country in which he is to reside. As regards the privileges and immunities of a consul, it is doubtful whether he is in any case exempt from the civil jurisdiction of the state to which he is accredited; and in the case of a trading consul it is at any rate plain that he is not. But a consul not engaged in trade has always been exempted from the taxes of the country in which he resides. He is gener-haustion of body by a long and fatiguing journey. Moreally permitted to call in a guard when he requires it for his own safety or the preservation of discipline. A consul can perform all the acts of a notary public, deeds executed by him being acknowledged as valid by courts of law. The fiction is that the consulate is the territory of the country from which the consul is sent, and, consequently, that deeds and acts done within it, or under the consul's seal, are done in that country. 670 CONTAGION-CONTRABAND OF WAR. of the court or disturbing its deliberations by any unseemly conduct. It is punishable by fine, summary imprisonment, etc. Con'ti, (ARMAND DE BOURBON,) first prince of Conti, and brother of the great Condé, b. in Paris 1629; took his title from the little town of Conti, situated five leagues from Amiens. Of a feeble constitution and deformed shape, he was early destined for the Church, but the fame of his brother career as the opponent of his brother, but soon entered into alliance with him. After 1657 he retired from the world, and gave himself up to devotion; he d. at Pezenas in 1666. Con'ti, (LOUIS ARMAND,) Prince de Conti, Comte de Pezenas, and peer of France, eldest son of the preceding, b. in 1661. After a short career in arms, he d. 1685. He left no children, and was succeeded by his brother, FRANÇOIS LOUIS, Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon et de Conti, b. at Paris 1664. The latter served under the Duc de Luxembourg, and took a brilliant part in the victories of Steinkirk and Neerwinder. In 1697 he narrowly escaped being made King of Poland. On his return to France he was coldly received by Louis, who, however, was at last forced by disaster to employ him. He received the command of the Army of Flanders in 1709, but died the same yr. The last member of the House of Conti was LOUIS FRANÇOIS JOSEPH, b. 1734, d. in Spain 1807. is one of the chief causes of death among the apes and other denizens of our zoological gardens. It is produced, as in man, by overcrowding, damp lodging, bad food, neglected colds, and the like debilitating causes. It is notoriously hereditary; is frequently developed by breeding from parents nearly related to each other, and mostly affects animals of faulty conformation, prevailing, for example, among cows with small, thin necks, narrow carcasses, hollow flanks, and dirty, unhealthy-inspired him with military ardor. He commenced his martial looking skins. Koch's Remedy, or Lymph Cure. This was made known to the world in an article entitled "A Further Communication on a Remedy for Tuberculosis," which appeared in the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift of Nov. 14, 1890. The operative part of the method is extremely simple, and does not differ from that of hypodermic medication, the injection being made into the skin of the back, below the shoulder-blades, a place selected on account of the comparative absence of local reaction manifested. The fluid, or lymph, is described as a "brownish, transparent liquid," which for use is diluted with distilled water. Its composition was made known by Dr. Koch, Jan. 15, 1891. It consists of a glycerine extract, derived from the pure cultivation of tubercle bacilli, and contains besides the effective matter all the other matters soluble in 50 per cent. glycerine. The original fluid keeps well, but the diluted fluid is liable to decomposition unless used at once. When the fluid is injected into a consumptive there is manifested both a general and local reaction. The general reaction shows itself within 3 or 4 hours, the symptoms being pain in the limbs, weariness, cough, labored breathing, and, later, shivering, nausea, and vomiting, with fever which lasts about 12 to 15 hours. It seems proven that the remedy does not destroy the tubercle bacilli, but rather the affected tissue. It has been tried in various tuberculous affections, including lupus, and there can now be no doubt that the fluid has a distinctly specific action on tubercular processes of all kinds. Its value as a diagnostic means has been demonstrated. It is too early to speak of lasting cure. Under some circumstances the use of the remedy may promote the tuberculous process and become injurious. Prof. Koch makes it abundantly clear that the adoption of the principles and practice which he advocates in no sense implies the neglect of other auxiliary means. On the contrary, he insists upon the necessity of combining with it all thoroughly accredited methods of treatment, including careful nursing and hygienic surroundings. See KOCH, ROBERT. Conta'gion, (Lat. con, "together," and tango, "I touch,") the communication of a disease from the sick to the healthy, either by direct contact of a part affected with the disease, or through the medium of the excretions and inhalations of the body. Some authorities have employed the term infection to designate this latter method of communication, and have correspondingly limited the meaning of the word C.; but no practical end is served by this refinement, and it has indeed led to great confusion by obscuring the fact of the communication, which is, when clearly proved by instances, the most important element in the inquiry. If of a given number of healthy persons exposed to association with the sick a much larger proportion becomes ill than can be reasonably accounted for on general principles, or than is actually observed among persons of similar habits not exposed to this cause of disease, the disease is said to be propagated by C.; and if the characters of the disease are well-marked, and nearly similar throughout the group of cases, it is said to be due to a specific C., which may be in some cases shown to be capable of reproducing the primary disease to an illimitable extent, being conveyed, either through the liquid secretions of the affected part, or (as in the case of small-pox) through the aerial exhalations. Contagious diseases are generally epidemic in their propagation, attacking large numbers of people at once, and traveling from place to place. But some epidemics are not contagious, as Influenza. Con'tinent. Geographers have generally recognized five great masses or divisions of land as Cs.-Europe, Asia, Africa, Am., and Australia. Europe, Asia, and Africa formed properly one great C., the only one known to the ancients; the second was discovered by Columbus; and the third was discovered at the antipodes in the beginning of the 17th c. The existence of an antarctic C. has not yet been determined. Continent'al, a term applied to the money and the troops of the revolting colonies during the Amer. revolution. The Congress held previously to the Declaration of Independence was called the "Continental Congress." Continent'al Sys'tem. The C. S. was the name given to Napoleon's plan of shutting England out from all connection with the continent of Europe, and thus compelling her at least to acknowledge the maritime law established at the Peace of Utrecht. This system began with Napoleon's famous "Berlin Decree" of Nov. 21, 1806, which declared the British Islands in a state of blockade, and prohibited all commerce and correspondence with them; every Englishman found in a country occupied by French troops or by their allies was declared a prisoner of war; all merchandise belong. ing to an Englishman, lawful prize; and all trade in English goods entirely prohibited. No ship coming direct from England, or from a British colony, was allowed to enter any port; and any ship seeking by false declarations to evade the regulation was confiscated as if British property. The English retaliated by the "Orders in Council," which prohibited trade with French ports, and caused great suffering in England till annulled in 1814. Contin'gent is the quota of troops furnished to the common army by each member of an alliance. The word was especially applied to the proportions contributed by the sev eral German States to the army of the confederation. Continued Fe'ver, a fever which presents no interruption in its course. C. Fs. are three in number-Typhus, Typhoid or Enteric, and Relapsing fever. Contoocook' Village, a town of N. H.; contains the library and museum of the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society, and is the seat of Contoocook Academy; pop. 1,326. Contort'ed Stra'ta are geological beds which are bent and twisted, so that in a section their edges would be seen to follow crooked and curved lines, often doubling back. Con'tra, a term in Mus., meaning opposite, lower. When a part lower than the usual bass is employed, it is called C.-basso. C. is also used in organ-building to indicate that a stop, or register of pipes, is an octave lower than the pitch. Con'traband of War (Lat. contra bannum, "against the proclamation ") is a name applied to certain commodities, or the rules relating to them, during hostilities between States which acknowledge what are called the laws of nations. One such law is that neutral nations must not carry on, for the advantage of either of the belligerent Powers, any branches of commerce from which they are excluded in times of peace. Another is that the name of C. of W. shall be given to such articles as pertain to military or naval warfare-guns, ammu. nition, and stores of all kinds. Unless there are special treat Contari'ni, the name of a noble family in Venice, one of the 12 that elected the first doge. Between 1041 and 1674 seven doges were furnished by this family, and several of its members were men of note. AMBROGIO C. was sent as embassador from Venice to Persia 1473 77. CARDINAL GASPARO C. distinguished himself as Venetian embassador at the court of Charles V., and was papal legate at the Diet of Ratisbon 1541. GIOVANNI C., b. 1549, was one of the most famous painters of his time. VINCENZO C., b. 1577, acquired, at 26, such a fame for learning that the magistrates of Padua, in order to secure him for their university, established an ex-ies, defining exactly what articles are C. of W., the inter traordinary professorship of Greek and Latin eloquence. Contempt of Court, an offense against the dignity or authority of any court of law, such as disobeying an order pretation of this law often leads to much embarrassment. Ships, according to the above rules, must not contain articles C. of W.; nor must a conterminous land frontier be crossed CONTRA-BASS-CONVERSE. by such commodities. If a merchant evades these rules, he Con'tra-Bass, or Violo'ne, the largest species of stringed 671 cept the skin, are bruised and reduced to a kind of pulp, there is no hope save in amputation. Convales'cence, (Lat. con, and valesce, "I grow well,") the time which elapses between the termination of a disease and complete restoration of strength. It may be ushered in by a crisis and become speedily established; or by lysis, and be very slow and protracted. Patients frequently require careful watching and judicious treatment while becoming convalescent, as they are apt to retard or even prevent their recovery by neglect of due precautions, especially as regards their diet. Conven'ing of Parliament. It is a branch of the royal prerogative in England that no Parliament shall be convened by its own authority or by any other authority than that of the sovereign. Convent'icle, a term of reproach applied to small meetings of non-conforming Christians, first given to Wielif's fol lowers. Severe laws existed in England for the suppression of such meetings, the most celebrated of which was passed by the British Parliament in 1664. Conven'tional, in Art, is that which is in accordance, not with the absolute principles of beauty in form and color, but with the opinions and sentiments with reference to forms and colors which chance to prevail at a particular time, in a particular country or social class. Conventionality in art holds the same relation to the beautiful that conventionality in morals does to the good, or in speculative opinion to the true. Con'tract. "A C. or agreement not under seal may be defined to be an engagement entered into between two or more persons, whereby, in consideration of something to be done by the party or parties on the one side, the party or parties on the other side promise to do, or omit to do, some act."-Chitty. If it be merely a promise by one side, without any consideration moving from the other, it is a void C., or nudum pactum, and cannot be enforced. Cs. under seal are called specialties, and although in general governed by the same rules as simple or unsealed Cs., they are regarded as of a higher and more solemn character. They are also more lasting under the Statute of Limitations. Contractions. The wish or necessity of economizing labor and parchment led the scribes of the Middle Ages to use a great many abbreviations or C. in their MSS. These C. were translated into the first printed books, and more re- Conven'tion of Roy'al Burghs, in Scotland. The cently they have been reproduced in many works, as well in burgh system of Scotland is very ancient, but it was by this country as in Europe, where it was thought desirable statute 1487, c. 111, that the royal burghs of Scotland were that the modern print should represent as nearly as possible first ordered to hold an annual meeting by commissioners, at all the peculiarities of the ancient MS. A knowledge of C., what is now the unimportant town of Inverkeithing, where therefore, is indispensable not only to readers of old writing," the welfare of merchandize, the gude rule and statutes for but to readers of the printed books of the 15th, the 16th, and the earliest part of the 17th c., and to all who desire to avail themselves of the vast stores of historical and archæological materials accumulated in the rolls and records published by the governments of Great Britain, France, and other countries. Con'trast, that which gives life, motion, and soul to an artistic composition by opposition of lines and colors. Contravalla'tion, a counter fortification interposed by besiegers between the place besieged and their camp. the common profit of burrows," should be discussed, "and which should provide for remeid upon the skaith and injuries sustained within the burrows." Conven'tions, Na'tional and State. A "National Convention" in the U. S. is an assembly of delegates chosen in all the States and Territories for the purpose of adopting a platform of party belief and principles, and nominating candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the U. S. They are composed of two delegates for each member of Congress, who represent the congressional districts, and Contrayer'va, a medicine once in much repute against two for each U. S. senator, who represent the several States low fevers, and as a mild stimulant and diaphoretic, and still at large and are called delegates-at-large. Delegates are used in some countries, consists of root-stocks (rhizomes) of chosen either in State or district conventions, called for the different species of Dorstenia, a tropical Amer, plant of the purpose, according to the local usages of political parties. natural order Morace. Dorstenia Contrayerva is a perennial A convention also appoints a national committee which has plant, with palmate leaves and somewhat quadrangular re-direct charge of the presidential campaign for its political ceptacles. Its root-stock is knotty, 1-2 in. l., and about in. party. Prior to 1831 candidates for the presidential offices thick, reddish-brown, pale within, sending out on all sides were nominated by the States. The first national political many slender fibers, (roots,) which are generally loaded with convention ever held in the U. S. met at Philadelphia 1830, small brown knots. It has a peculiar, aromatic, overpower- under the presidency of Francis Granger. The "State Coning smell, and a somewhat astringent, warm, bitterish taste.ventions" are chosen and constituted in a similar manner, It has been represented as efficacious against serpent-bites, the electing bodies being the counties, districts, or wards. and hence the name C., a "counter-poison." Converg'ing, or Converg'ent, is applied, in Geom., to straight lines that meet or tend to meet in a point; looked at in a direction from the point, they are divergent, or separating. Convergent and divergent are often used in reference to rays of light. In Algebra, the term convergent is applied, in a loose way, to any infinite series the terms of which go on diminishing; while a series is called divergent when its terms continually increase. Strictly, however, a C. series is one whose terms diminish in such a way that no number of them added together will be as great as a certain given number. Thus, however far we extend the series, 1+1+1+1, etc., the sum will never amount to 2, though always approaching near to it. But the series, 1+1+1+1+ etc., has no such limit, and is therefore not convergent in this sense. Contreras, de, (JUAN S.,) a Span. soldier, was b. 1760; Capt.-Gen. of Spain; fought in several battles, taken prisoner at Tarragona, but escaped; d. at Madrid 1826. Contribution, a law which compels several owners of property on which falls a common burden to share in relieving that burden. It applies to cases of co-sureties in insurance, to joint debtors, to joint owners of land subject to a single mortgage, etc. Contri'tion, complete sorrow for sin with the intention to sin no more, made by the R. C. Church one of the three essential parts of the sacrament of penance. Con'tumacy, a Scotch law-term, in one sense equivalent to non-appearance in England; but sometimes used in the wider sense of disobedience to a judicial order. In a criminal process, C. is punished by a sentence of fugitation; in a civil process its only consequence is that the case will be proceeded with, and decree pronounced against the contumacious defender. Conversa'no, a brisk and thriving town of Italy, in the prov. of Bari; pop. 11,006. Con'verse and Conver'sion are terms in Logic, signify. ing that one proposition is formed from another by interContu'sion, (Lat. contundo, "I bruise,") a bruise or in-changing the subject and predicate; as "Every A is B;" the jury of the soft parts of the body, without breach of surface. converse of which is, "Every B is A." This example is If the skin be broken, the injury is called a contused wound. termed a case of simple conversion; besides which, however, Treatment.-When slight, the blood stagnates in the capilla- logicians recognize two other kinds of conversion, viz., limited ries of the skin, or is effused into the surrounding tissues. conversion, and conversion by contraposition. The former Time and cold applications remove it. When the texture has may be exemplified thus: "A is B;" the limited converse of been lacerated, there is effusion of blood. Here cooling ap- which is "Some Bs are As;" and the latter thus: "Some A plications, general or local bleeding, emollients, poultices, is not B;" which, converted by contraposition, is, “Something etc., are necessary. When all the soft and solid parts, ex- that is not B is A;" "Some men are not wise; some beings 672 CONVERSION-CONVULSIONS. He that are not wise are men." Of these logical converses, the The archbishop has the sole power of summoning, presiding, second and third are necessarily true, but not the first. When and proroguing; he has also a veto upon all measures. we say, "Every A is B," the reader might at first sight con- cannot, however, summon without authority from the crown. clude that "Every B is A" also; but if, instead of these The Upper House is the proper locus synodi, where the letters, to which he probably attaches no meaning, he employ bishops have a right to sit and vote, and before the Reformaterms denoting objects with which he is familiar, he will see tion the mitered abbots had place there also. The Lower that a simple converse may be very far from the truth. Thus House consists of the lesser dignitaries, as deans and arch"Every penny is a coin," has for its simple converse "Every deacons, and the proctors sent by capitular bodies and by coin is a penny." The reason why a simple converse is not the parochial clergy. In Canterbury, the beneficed clergy necessarily true is that in such a proposition as "Every A is only elect, and they send one for each diocese; in York, all B," the subject "A" is-to speak logically-universally dis- the clergy elect, and send one proctor for each archdeaconry. If it were, the See Con'volute, in Bot., rolled together, or one part on tributed, whereas the predicate "B" is not. proposition would read as follows: "Every A is every B;" another, as sometimes seen in the leaves of plants. the simple converse of which, "Every B is every A," would LEAVES. be true. Converʼsion, in Mech., the process of changing iron or iron carbide into steel. (See STEEL.) In Law, C. means either the theoretical interchange of land and money, or an unauthorized exercise of the rights of ownership over the property of another. In Theology, C. expresses the change of purpose and nature by which men become "new creatures" or experimental Christians. Con'vex, Convex'o-con'cave, and Convex'o-con'vex are terms designating the shape of lenses and similar bodies. Convex. Convexo-con cave. Convexo-con- Conveyance, in Law, is the deed or writing by which property is conveyed or transIn this ferred from one person to another. country the drawing of Cs. is part of the ordinary work of an attorney or counselor, and may, indeed, be drawn by any party who chooses to take the risk; but in England the drawing of deeds or writings is left almost entirely to a special class, called Conveyancers. These Cs. are evidence of the title of the person possessing or claiming possession of property; and it is of the greatest importance that the person who prepares them should be possessed of a competent knowledge of the law as applicable to such deeds, and have the skill required to frame them in such form as clearly to express and attain the object intended. In the earliest stage of society there was no call for the profession of a conveyancer; property was held in right of occupancy, without any written title, and was also conveyed from one to another without writing, the new owner being usually put into possession in presence of witnesses called for the purpose, by some symbolical form, such as the delivery of earth and stone to represent the land, a wand to represent wood, grass and corn to represent tithes, and other appropriate symbols to represent mills, fishings, and other kinds of property. Con'vict (Lat.) means a person convicted of any criminal charge. The term came by custom to be applied to persons subject to punishment for the more serious class of offenses, and of late its meaning has become almost entirely restricted to the class of criminals who are sentenced to the state prisons for more or less lengthy periods. Convolvulus, a genus of plants, the type of the exogenous natural order Convolvulaceae. This order contains nearly 700 known species, herbaceous and shrubby; generally with a twining stem and milky juice; large and beautiful flowers; a 5-partite calyx; a monopetalous corolla, with regular 5-lobed and plaited limb; 5 stamens; the ovary The plants of this order are very free, with 1-4 cells and few ovules; the fruit a capsule, sometimes succulent. abundant in the tropics, but comparatively rare in cold climates. Many are cultivated as ornamental plants, particularly species of C. and Ipomaa. The acrid milky juice is often strongly purgative; and jalap and scammony are Some species, however, have large products of this order. farinaceous roots, capable of being used as food, of which the Batatas, or Sweet Potato, is the most important. Con'voy, (Fr. convoi,) is the name given to one or more ships of war appointed to protect a fleet of merchant-vessels against the attacks of an enemy or of pirates. If a merchantship part company with the C., or neglect to obey the signals, all claims of insurance are forfeited. The name is sometimes applied to the merchant-vessels so escorted. In the military service, a C. is, properly speaking, a train of wagons laden with provisions or warlike stores; the term, however, is applied also to the detachment of troops, or escort, appointed to protect such a train. Their Convul'sionaries, the name given to a fanatical sect of Jansenists who sprang up in France about 1730. meeting-place was the church-yard of St. Medardus, in a suburb of Paris, where was a tomb of a certain Francis of Paris, who d. in 1727, and was reckoned very holy by the Jansenists on account of his extravagant asceticism. Convul'sions, (Lat. con, "together," and vulsam, “I tear,") a form of disease very frequently affecting infancy, in which the body is thrown into violent spasmodic contrac tions, the sensibility and voluntary motion being for a time suspended. A fit of C. may last from a few minutes to some hours, and may readily prove fatal if not relieved within a short period. The first symptom observed is often a twitching of particular muscles or groups of muscles, and a change in the habitual expression or color of the face, with distension of the features, and turning of the globes of the eyes suddenly upward. The fingers are sometimes clenched in Convoca'tions were originally synods of the clergy or the palm, and the feet turned inward; sometimes, however, the ancient ecclesiastical councils of the archbishop, but be- C. occur absolutely without warning of this kind, even in the came incorporated into the English constitution of Church midst of apparently perfect health. Their cause is usually to C. are and State, and endued with certain parliamentary privileges. be found in some source of irritation capable of producing Some writers distinguish between councils and C.-the former fever if long continued; as, for instance, disordered dentias being for spiritual purposes, and summoned without author- tion, worms in the intestines, whooping-cough, etc. ity from the crown; the latter as being for civil purposes, greatly promoted by bad ventilation and injudicious feeding, The two, however, in process with deficient exercise; and a great part of the cure consists and by command of the crown. of time, especially after the Conquest, became gradually in discovering and removing the cause of the disease. When blended; C. made canons, and councils granted subsidies, a child is suddenly seized with C., or with a tendency to and all distinction had disappeared before the Reformation. spasms, such as twitching of the features, or contractions of The circumstances attending the famous assembly at North- the fingers and toes, it should be placed at once in a very free ampton 1282, in the reign of Edward I., helped to settle current of air, with its feet toward the fire; the extremities the form which C. have since assumed. In England, the should be kept warm, and a cold lotion may be applied to provs. of Canterbury and York have each their convocations. the head, especially if there is much flushing of the face; a Previous to the Reformation, these were sometimes con- little castor oil may be given if the bowels are confined; and vened into a national synod; but since then matters have if there is flatulence the belly may be rubbed with a warm usually been conducted in the C. of Canterbury, and trans- hand, or with some simple stimulating liniment, such as A convocation consists of camphorated oil. Not much more can be done without medmitted to York for concurrence. three elements: (1) The archbishop; (2) the bishops; (3) the ical assistance; but in the event of the case being very seri clergy of the second order. They originally met in one as-ous, and medical aid at a great distance, it might perhaps be sembly, but since the beginning of the 14th c. the clergy in the prov. of Canterbury have retired into a distinct chamber, presided over by a prolocutor, with officers and journals of their own. These two bodies are called the Upper and Lower Houses. In the convocation of York the same distinction exists, but on the rare occasions of their meeting the business has been generally conducted in one assembly. right to cause the child to inhale a little chloroform, great |