- 



CHAM^EROPS 



CHAMBERLAIN 



i|i|p-.'.l medicinal virtues. See Ll/AltD; 



Mu\lf\ s Anntiiini/ of the Vertebrates; St George 



Mi\ art in Nature, vol. xxiv. ; Krukenberg's /'/ 



//</ I'/ii/.-iin/. Stmlit-.n, i. .'J (1880), for colour 



< liaiiia* ro|s. a genus of palms remarkable 



r its wide range into northern climates through- 

 i i In- world, and of which one species, C. humilis, 

 tin- only palm truly indigenous to Europe. This 

 (it--, the common Fun-palm, is widely distributed 

 li Southern Europe, extending us far north 

 !. This palm is so tolerant of a cold 

 climate, that a specimen has lived in the open air 

 : - tht Botanic Garden of Edinburgh for more than 

 x \ears, with the protection of matting in very 

 f if \\inters. It forms dense furze-like thickets 

 in t h<- suckers which arise from its creeping roots, 

 t when these are not allowed to grow, its stem 

 ay reach a height of 20 feet or more. In Algeria 

 it is troublesome to agriculturists, but its growth 

 i- increasingly becoming of profit on account of the 

 excellent fibre yielded by its stem. This the Arabs 

 mix with camel's hair and make into hut-covers, 

 Ac'. ; cordage and sailcloth, paper and pasteboard, 

 are also prepared from it, and it also finds many 

 uses under the title of vegetable or African horse- 

 hair. The leaves are also used in paper-making, 

 an 1 furnish a convenient thatching material. This 

 species is sometimes called palmetto in Europe. 

 Tin- true Palmetto (q.v.) is C. (Sabal) palmetto of 

 Florida and Carolina (see also BRAZILIAN GRASS). 

 In China and Japan C. excelsa and C. Fortuni are 

 cially prominent ; both can be grown in the 

 m air in the south of England. 



< hainalari. a peak (23,944 feet) of the Hima- 

 yas, between Tibet and Bhutan, 140 miles E. of 



on nt Everest. 



< li a III ha. one of the Punjab Hill States, imme- 

 liately SE. of Cashmere, with an estimated area 

 of ;*180 so. m. Pop. (1891) 124,032, nearly all 

 Hindus. It is shut in on nearly all sides by lofty 

 hills, and traversed by two ranges of snowy peaks 

 Jim! glaciers, with fertile valleys to the south and 

 "it. The banks of the Ravi and Chenab, two of 



five great Punjab rivers, are clothed with 

 ..ity forests, leased to the British government, 

 \\hich takes 10,000 to 20,000 worth of timber 

 1 1 cm them every year. Agriculture and grazing 

 are the leading industries ; iron, copper, and slate 

 are plentiful ; and the mountains teem with game. 

 The principality came into the hands of the British 

 in 1846, who in 1847 assigned it to the present 

 line of rajahs ; an annual tribute is paid, reduced, 

 since the establishment of a British sanatorium 



!and two cantonments among the hills, to 500. 

 Chaillbal, a principal tributary of the Jumna 

 River, rises in the Vindhya Range, 2019 feet above 

 sea-level, flows in a north-easterly direction, and 

 *ter a course of 650 miles falls 'into the Jumna 

 miles below the town of Etawah. In heavy 

 its volume is greater than that of the Jumna. 

 Chamber, of a firearm, is the name given to 

 t part of the bore which contains the powder, 

 en its diameter is not the same as the Calibre 

 ( <i- v. ) of the gun. Formerly, chambers were always 

 smaller in diameter than the bore, to prevent any 

 aii space behind the projectile, but now that much 

 heavier charges are fired, they are made larger. 

 I ney tend to weaken the gun, but enable a shorter 

 cartridge to be used, and so prevent the dangerous 

 wave action which would be set up in a long one. 

 See CANNON and (under Rifles) RIFLED ARMS. 



Chamberlain, an officer appointed by a king 

 or nobleman, or by a corj>oration, to perform 

 domestic and ceremonial duties. The LORD 

 CHAMBERLAIN has been one of the principal officers 



of state from at least the Kith century, and in 1406 

 parliament declared that he should always lie a 

 member of the council , .r i,J)i,-i,,. Thoogfa lie ha* 

 long ceased to have any share in the rehponm- 

 bilities of government, the Chamlierlain w still 

 an officer of very high standing in the royal 

 household. He has control over all the officer* 

 and servants 'alx>ve stairs,' except those of the 

 bedchamber, over the establishment attached to 

 the Chapel Royal, the physicians, surgeons, and 

 apothecaries of the household. The chain Iwrlain 

 has further the oversight of the royal musicians, 

 comedians, trumpeters, HMHmgCM, fte, When the 

 office of Keeper of the Great Ward ml*; was 

 abolished in 1782, the duties of providing the state 

 robes of the royal family, the, household, and 

 officers of state, devolved on the Lord Chaml>erlain. 

 All theatres in towns in which a royal palace is 

 situated require to be licensed l>\ the Lord 

 Chamberlain, and no new play can be performed 

 anywhere without his license. His duties as 

 licenser of theatres for the exhibition of plays (see 

 PLAYS) are defined by acts passed in 1751 and 

 1843. All persons desiring to be presented at 

 levees or drawing-rooms require to send their cards 

 to the Lord Chamberlain, and it is his duty to see 

 that the persons thus applying are entitled by 

 station and character to be presented to the sove- 

 reign. The Chamberlain also issues invitations 

 to royal balls, parties, and receptions. In accord- 

 ance with ancient custom the Lord Chamberlain 

 is still a member of the Privy-council. His salary 

 is 2000 a year, but his tenure of office depends 

 on that of the political party to which he belongs. 



The Vice-chamberlain is the deputy and assistant 

 of the Lord Chamberlain, and in his absence 

 exercises the full authority which belongs to his 

 principal. His office existed in the time of Richard 

 II. He is also dependent on the administration, 

 and is usually a member of the Privy -council. His 

 salary is 924 per annum. 



Chamberlain, THE LORD GREAT, is a heredi- 

 tary officer of great antiquity, and formerly of 

 great importance. He has the government of the 

 palace at Westminster, and upon solemn occasions 

 the keys of Westminster Hall and of the Court of 

 Requests are delivered to him. At these times the 

 Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, the Yeoman 

 Usher, and the door-keepers are under his orders. 

 At coronations, state trials, banquets, and the like, 

 the fitting-up of the Hall devolves on him. When 

 the King goes to parliament, the Lord Great 

 Chamberlain delivers the sword of state to any 

 member of the administration whom he choose.-, 

 to be borne before His Majesty, he himself walk- 

 ing on his right hand. During the sitting of 

 parliament he has charge of the House of Lords. 

 and issues tickets of admission on the open- 

 ing or prorogation of parliament. Some fees and 

 perquisites belong to him. This office was con- 

 ferred by Henry I. in 1101 on Alberic de \ ere. 

 Mary, daughter of John de Vere, sixteenth Karl 

 of Oxford, married Peregrine Bertie, the ' brave 

 Lord Willoughby' (1555-1601); and on the death 

 of their last male descendant in 1779, the honour, 

 after much litigation, was adjudged to belong con- 

 jointly to his sisters and co-heiresses e.g. the Lady 

 WUloughby de Eresby and the Marchioness of 

 Cholmondeley, by whose descendants or their 

 deputies its duties have since been discharged 

 alternately. 



Chamberlain, THE RIGHT HON. JOSEPH, M. P. , 

 is the eldest son of the late Mr Joseph Chamberlain, 

 and was born in London in July 1836. He was 

 educated at University College School, and entered 

 his father's screw factory at Birmingham (the 

 name of the linn being Isettlefold), from which. 



