unconditional, complete and in conformity with the laws of the countries concerned.

By article 56 of the Declaration transfers made after the outbreak of war were declared to be void unless it was proved that they were not made to evade the consequences of capture. Certain absolute and irrebuttable presumptions of invalidity were laid down, such as where the transfer was made in a blockaded port or during the course of a voyage or where the right to repurchase the vessel was reserved by the vendor. Unlike the rule governing transfers before the outbreak of war, the rule as to transfers made during the war is based on the presumption that the transfer is void and the onus of proving the contrary is on the owner rather than on the captor.

The Declaration of London, however, never having been ratified, its rules relating to transfers were not legally binding on the belligerents during the World War. There being no general rule as to the right of transfer from belligerent to neutral flags, each belligerent was free to apply its own rule.

The question of the validity of transfers made during the World War was raised in the case of the Dacia in 1915. This vessel was a Hamburg-American liner which, while lying in an American port, after the outbreak of the war, was purchased by an American citizen and admitted to American registry in pursuance of a recent act of Congress authorizing the admission to American registry of foreignbuilt ships. Subsequently while on a voyage from New York to Rotterdam the Dacia was captured by a French cruiser and placed in the custody of a prize court which condemned it and ordered it to be sold. The prize court applied the old French rule which denies the legality of transfers made during war. might, however, have treated the Declaration of London as binding and then condemned the ship on the ground that the transfer was made with a view to evading the consequences of capture. Had the Dacia been captured by a British cruiser the British prize court could hardly have condemned it without departing from the precedents set by Lord Stowell and Dr. Lushington in the earlier cases. It was doubtless owing to this fact that the Dacia was by prearrangement between the British and French authorities captured by a French cruiser and sent to a French prize court for trial, thus ensuring it certain condemnation.

It

The Administration Ship Purchase Bill which was before Congress in 1915 raised the question whether the purchase after the outbreak of the war of belligerent merchant vessels by a corporation, a majority of the stock of which was owned by a neutral government, would be an unneutral act and whether the opposing belligerent would be bound to recognize the validity of such transfers. It was the avowed intention of the supporters of the bill that in case it became law purchases of German merchant vessels then laid up in American ports should be made and the vessels so purchased should be admitted to American registry.

The view was expressed by Mr. Lansing, then counsellor of the Department of State, and by Senators Lodge, Root, McCumber, Burton and others that such transfers would not have been in accord with the principles of neutrality since neutral governments are forbidden to do

many acts which it is permissible for neutral individuals to do. It was unofficially announced in England and France that the British and French governments would not recognize the validity of such transfers and that in case any enemy merchant vessel were purchased by the proposed corporation and appeared on the high seas under the American flag they would be captured and put into a prize court for the purpose of testing the validity of the transfers. The failure of the bill to become law removed what would doubtless have become a source of controversy between the United States and Great Britain and France. Tested by the rules of strict neutrality the proposed purchase by a corporation, controlled by the government, of enemy ships which had been driven from the high seas to take refuge in neutral ports to avoid capture and the sending of those vessels on the high seas under the protection of a neutral flag would undoubtedly have been an unneutral act against which injured belligerents could justly have complained.

Bibliography. Bentwich, The Declaration of London' (Chap. 5); Cohen, 'The Declaration of London' (pp. 133-138); 'International Law Situations) (Naval War College Publications, 1910, pp. 108-128); Garner, in American Law Review, May-June 1915, pp. 321-348.

JAMES W. GARNER.

MERCIA, mer'shi-ą, England, the largest kingdom of the Saxon heptarchy, now comprised in the Midland counties on both sides of the Trent from the North Sea to Wales. Mercia was founded by Crida in 585. Like the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms it had a stormy history, being almost continually at war with some of its neighbors. In 827 it was conquered by Egbert, who united the different kingdoms of England into one. As its frontiers extended to those of the other kingdoms, as well as to Wales, it derived its name from that circumstance (Anglo-Saxon mearc, march or boundary. See ENGLAND, Geographical History.

was

MERCIE, Antonin, an-to-năn měr-sẽ-a, French sculptor and painter: b. Toulouse, 30 Oct. 1845. He studied under Jouffroy and Falguière; won the first Prix de Rome in 1868; and in 1872 obtained a medal of the first class for his bronze statue of the young David, now in the Luxembourg. His masterpiece 'Gloria victis' (1874), followed by a nude throned Juno (1877); a marble statue of 'Painting) (1890); William Tell, now in Lausanne; monuments to Thiers, Meissonnier (in front of the Louvre), and Jules Ferry, and 'Napoleon' on the Vendôme Column. He painted a Venus, now in the Luxembourg. In 1891 he was elected an Academician.

MERCIER, Desiré Joseph, Belgian cardinal, archbishop of Malines and primate of Belgium: b. 21 Nov. 1851 at Braine-l'Alleud, province of Brabant. Educated at Louvain, Paris and Leipzig, he was ordained priest in 1874 and became professor of philosophy at the University of Louvain. Here he organized the Institute Supérieure de Philosophie, based on the teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas and founded under the auspices of Pope Leo XIII As a distinguished lecturer Professor Mercier -as he then was earned a high reputation. for literary and scientific abilities, united with

zeal, leadership and exalted purpose. He wrote several volumes of note, e.g., 'Les Origines de la Psychologie Contemporaine) (1897), Métaphysique Générale' and 'Critériologie, which passed through numerous editions, as well as others of a less didactic character. He was also the founder of the Revue Neo-Scholastique when officiating as head of the school of neoscholastic philosophy. On 8 Feb. 1906 it was announced that "Dr. Mercier, president of the Institute of Advanced Philosophy at Louvain," had been appointed archbishop of Malines. Though at first a general surprise, the appropriateness of selecting him to the episcopal bench soon became apparent. With energy and amiability he devoted himself to the administration of his diocese, and on 15 April 1907 was created and proclaimed cardinal and primate of Belgium. The German conquest of Belgium in the early stages of the European War brought him into world-wide prominence by the fearless and determined attitude he adopted toward the ravagers of his country. In the papal conclave of September 1914, after the death of Pope Pius X, a number of the assembled cardinals decided to give Mercier their vote in the election for a new pope as a demonstration of sympathy with Catholic Belgium. He was supported by the French and English cardinals, while the Germans and Austrians protested against what they called undue interference of politics in the highest spiritual functions of the Church, and Cardinal Della Chiesa was ultimately elected. Cardinal Mercier arrived in London 12 Sept. 1914, and on the following day (Sunday), accompanied by the late Duke of Norfolk, was received in audience by the king and queen. In the afternoon he witnessed a remarkable and enthusiastic demonstration in Westminster, organized by Irish members of Parliament and attended by many thousands of people. He returned to Belgium the same night and exerted himself during the long period of the German occupation to ameliorate the sufferings of his compatriots. He came into frequent collision with the German authorities, notably von Bissing (q.v.). The cardinal's pastoral letters, collected and published by Burns and Oates (London 1918), form a series of earnest exhortations to the practice of Christian fortitude and hope amid the horrors and afflictions of war.

MERCIER, Honoré, Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician: b. Iberville, Quebec, 15 Oct. 1840; d. Montreal, 30 Oct. 1894. He was educated at Saint Mary's (Jesuit) College in Montreal and afterward studied law at Saint Hyacinthe, being admitted to the bar in 1865. During his legal studies (1862-64) he was editor of the Courier de Saint Hyacinthe, the Conservative organ of the district; but as a journalist he was among those who opposed Canadian Confederation. This led him to abandon his editorship and to sever his connection with the Conservative party. During the years immediately following the confederation of 1867 Mercier devoted himself to his profession, but in 1871 he reappeared in politics as the leader of the National party (also called the Parti noir), whose leading aim was to curtail the power of the Dominion government in favor of provincial rights. On this platform he was elected to the federal Parliament for Rouville in 1872, but did not stand for re-election to

667

the Parliament of 1873. After some four years devoted to the successful practice of law at Saint Hyacinthe, Mercier was elected (1879) to the legislative assembly of Quebec, being appointed solicitor-general of the province in the ministry of M. Joly. On the defeat of the Joly administration in the same year, Mercier passed into the opposition, of which he presently became leader. In 1881 he left Saint Hyacinthe to practise law in Montreal. In 1885 the French Canadian population was thrown into a ferment by the trial and execution of Louis Riel, the leader of the North West Rebellion (q.v.). Mercier, heading the agitation thus occasioned, declared Riel to have been a "victim of the fanaticism of Sir John A. Macdonald." On the strength of the feeling thus aroused, the Conservative party was defeated in the provincial elections of 1886 and Mercier found himself at the head of the administration. In this capacity he carried through the legislature the famous Jesuit Estates Act, a measure intended to compensate the Jesuits for the property confiscated by the Crown at the time of the papal dissolution of the order. In spite of the agitation throughout Canada against the act the Mercier government was upheld in the election of 1890. In the same year grave charges of peculation were brought against the Premier and his colleagues on the ground that a subsidy of $100,000, intended for the Baie des Chaleurs Railway, had been diverted to political uses. Investigation resulted in the dismissal of the ministry (15 Dec. 1891), action which was ratified by the overwhelming defeat of the Mercier party in the election which ensued. The criminal charges brought against Mercier, as a result of this and a second official investigation, ended in a verdict of not guilty. Mercier remained a member of the assembly but with diminished influence and shattered health.

MERCUR, mèr'ker, James, American soldier: b. Towanda, Pa., 25 Nov. 1842; d. West Point, N. Y., 22 April 1896. He was graduated from West Point in 1866 and commissioned in the engineering corps. He was engaged in surveys made under the government and in 186772 was assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy at West Point, after which he was in command of an engineering corps and in 1876-81 assisted in clearing the New York harbor of the obstructions at Hell Gate. He was professor of civil and military engineering at West Point from 1884 until his death. He published a revised edition of Mahan's 'Permanent Fortification) (1887) and the original works, 'Elements of the Art of War (1888); and Military Mines, Blasting and Demolitions) (1892).

MERCURIC CHLORIDE. See CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.

MERCURIC CYANIDE. See HYDROCYANIC ACID.

MERCURY, mèr'ku-ri, the Roman god Mercurius who presided over commerce and gain. See HERMES.

MERCURY, the planet of the solar system which is nearest to the sun. Owing to the position of its orbit, far inside of that of the earth, it is never seen by us at any great distance from the sun, but seems to swing back and forth, first on one side of the central lumi

nary and then to the other. (See SOLAR SYSTEM). Its time of revolution is a little less than three months and therefore less than onefourth that of the earth. When, starting from a point between the earth and the sun, it has completed a revolution, the earth has moved forward in its orbit, and, in consequence, nearly 30 days more are required to catch up with the earth and again come into conjunction with it. Consequently the time of one synodic or apparent revolution is nearly four months. It follows that its greatest elongations from the sun occur at intervals of nearly 60 days, alternately to the east and to the west. When near its greatest eastern elongations it may be seen in the west toward the close of twilight. When west of the sun it may be seen in the morning before daybreak. To the naked eye it seems to shine as a star of the first magnitude. But as it is never seen in a perfectly dark sky except when very near the horizon, it is not readily observable in high northern latitudes. It is said, in fact, that Copernicus died without ever seeing this planet.

With the aid of a telescope, Mercury may be seen the greater part of the time-in the afternoon when it is east of the sun; in the morning when it is west of it. But it is never seen fully illuminated unless near the farther part of its orbit, beyond the sun, when it may be lost in the effulgence of the sun's rays. When it approaches nearest to us, only a small portion of the hemisphere presented to us is illuminated. Owing to these unfavorable conditions observations on it are extremely difficult, and it cannot be said that anything is certainly known of its physical constitution. The difficulty is increased by its being much the smallest of all the major planets. The result is that nothing is positively known as to the time of the rotation on its axis. About 1800, Schroeter, a celebrated observer of the planets, thought it rotated in a little more than 24 hours. But Herschel found no foundation for this belief, and could see no evidence whatever of a rotation. About 1889 Schiaparelli, the celebrated Italian astronomer, making a very careful study of the planet, under the favoring sky of Milan, was led to the conclusion that, like the moon, Mercury's time of rotation was the same as its time of revolution in its orbit, so that it always presented the same face to the sun. A similar conclusion was reached by Lowell at the Flagstaff Observatory. But the difficulty of seeing any well-defined features on the planet is such that conservative astronomers are still in doubt on the subject, and regard the time of rotation as still unknown and not likely soon to be determined.

The most remarkable feature presented by the motion of Mercury is that the perihelion of its orbit is found to move forward considerably faster than it ought to by virtue of the attraction of the known bodies of the solar system. The cause of this motion has perplexed astronomers for half a century; it was at first supposed by Leverrier to be due to the attraction of one or more unknown planets between Mercury and the sun. Another explanation was sought in the assumption that the sun's gravitation diminishes somewhat more rapidly than it would according to the law of the inverse square. If this were so, the perihelion of all the other planets

ought to be effected by a similar motion, and in particular there should result disturbances in the motion of our moon which, now that the extremely abstruse mathematical theory of that body (based upon the law of gravitation), has been so perfected, it is certain do not exist. Similar discrepancies have been detected in the motions of some of the other planets, notably in the node of Venus and in the perihelion of Mars. When the disturbing pull of the exceedingly tenuous, lens-shaped, cloud of particles known as the Zodiacal Light is computed and allowed for, it is found that not only these, but also the historic discrepancy in the motion of the perihelion of Mercury, disappear. It is very probable that the true explanation of them is to be found in this

source.

At varying intervals the motion of Mercury in its orbit causes the planet to pass between the earth and the sun; it is then seen as an intensely black, round dot crossing the sun's disc. The next four transits will occur on 7 May 1924, 8 Nov. 1927, 10 May 1937 and 12 Nov. 1940. None of these will be visible, however, from the United States. The first transit which will be completely visible here will occur on 13 Nov. 1953 and 6 Nov. 1960. But little use is made of transits of Mercury. Attempts have been made to detect traces of an atmospheric ring about the planet during the transit, as may be done during a transit of Venus (q.v.), but these have not been certainly successful. Newcomb subjected 21 transits from 1677 to 1881 to a critical discussion to ascertain whether there might be found from them any indication that the time of rotation of the earth on its axis,- the unit of time throughout astronomy,- had changed during this interval. There was found no conclusive evidence in any appreciable change in the length of the day. It has certainly not increased or diminished by so much as 0.01 second in the course of the past 2,000 years.

ERIC DOOLITTLE, Director Flower Astronomical Observatory, University of Pennsylvania. MERCURY, Fulminate of. See FULMI

NATES.

MERCURY, or MARKERY, a perennial herb (Chenopodium bonus-henricus) ́ of the natural order Chenopodiaceœ. Like other members of its genus, it has mealy foliage and inconspicuous greenish flowers. The tender shoots which appear in early spring are valued as a substitute for spinach, for which purpose the plant is frequently cultivated. In Europe it is better known as Good King Henry. It will grow in any garden soil with practically no attention.

Mercury

MERCURY, Medical Uses of. uncombined is used only for its bulk. As it is without medicinal effect, at one time as much as two pounds of uncombined mercury would be given for the purpose of mechanically dislodging some obstruction in the intestines. Triturated with some other substance it is valuable medicinally and produces specific mercurial effects, local and constitutional. Such compounds are "blue mass" (blue pill), mercury with chalk (gray powder), mercurial ointment and mercurial plaster. All mercurial compounds entering the circulation have a peculiar influence