MORTAR 



MORTIMER 



32] 



angle of 45 or thereabouts, so that the projectile 

 may strike the object aimed at in a direction more 

 or less vertical. The range is regulated by the 

 amount of powder used, which, l>eing placed in a 

 chamber completely closed by the projectile, pro- 

 duces its maximum effect. Mortars are particu- 

 larly useful at sieges, as their ' high-angle ' h're 

 enables them to search out the interior of the 

 works, and against ships whose decks offer a vul- 

 nerable target to such fire. The common type of 

 mortar is a muzzle-loading smooth bore of 5i, 8, 

 10, or 13 inch calibre, firing a spherical shell ; but 

 rilled mortars and elongated shells were used by 

 the Germans at the siege of Strasburg in 1870. The 

 12-inch breech-loading rifled mortar of the United 

 States (see figure) is a very powerful and accurate 

 weapon ; witn 50 Ib. of smokeless powder and 45 



elevation, it will project a 1000-lb. shell a distance 

 of SJmiles. The Russian artillery have a so-called 

 field-mortar, which, being fitted with elevating 

 gear, is best classed as a howitzer. It is 3 feet long, 

 breech-loading, weighs only 9 cwt., and is as mobile 

 as an ordinary field-gun. It throws a 6- inch 46-lb. 

 shell, with an effective range to 4000 yards. Very 

 large mortars have IMTII tried at times, as at the 

 siege of Antwerp citadel in 1832, when the French 

 i:-> 'I oneof 24-inch calibre. This monster, owing to 

 its nnwieldini.-s and other causes, was a failure. 

 Larger still is Mallet's 36-inch mortar, constructed 

 in I <.>.-), of iron part* welded together, mid now in 

 Woolwich Arsenal. Only two or three rounds have 

 been fired from this weapon, as it showed signs of 

 cracking after being discharged. 



Mortar. See CEMENTS. 



Mortara, EIKJAR, a Jewish boy who, on 23d 

 June 1858, was forcibly carried off from his parents 

 by the orders of the Archbishop of Bologna, on the 

 plea that he had, when an infant, been baptised 

 into Christianity by a Roman Catholic maid- 

 servant. The manner of the lioy's abduction, and 

 the refusal of the Human Catholic authorities to 

 give him np to his parents, becoming known 

 throughout Europe, excited great indignation, 

 more particularly in England. But the Ixty 

 remained in the hands of the Roman Catholic 

 Church, and became an Augnstinian monk. 



Mortar-Vessel, a class of gunboat for mount- 

 ing sea-service mortars. Mortar-boats were a 

 smaller kind. The most ancient form of mortar- 

 vessel was the 'bomb-ketch,' convenient because of 

 the length of deck without a mast. In the Britjsh 

 naval service these several kinds of bomb-ships 

 have ceased to exist. 



Mortgage, in English law, is a contract where- 

 by property is transferred to a creditor by way of 



security for money advanced. A mortgage of land 

 is, in form, an absolute conveyance, subject to a 

 proviso that, if the money lent is repaid within a 

 certain time, the mortgagee shall reconvey the land 

 to the mortgager or borrower. Even when the time 

 fixed has expired, equity will permit the mortgager 

 to redeem his property on payment of his debt : if 

 he proves unaole to do so, the mortgagee may 

 apply to the court for a sale of the property, or for 

 foreclosure i.e. for a decree which deprives the 

 mortgager of his right to redeem and transfers the 

 property absolutely to the mortgagee. A mort- 

 gagee may also, as a general rule, enter into 

 possession of the land and draw the rents and 

 profits ; or he may sue the mortgager for payment 

 of the money due. Further rights may be given 

 him by agreement, and it was formerly usual to 

 stipulate for large powers over the property. The 

 Conveyancing Act of 1881 now regulates the powers 

 exercised by mortgager and mortgagee respectively, 

 unless in so far as its provisions are excluded by 

 express agreement. An equitable mortgage is 

 effected when an owner of property binds himself 

 by memorandum or otherwise to execute a formal 

 mortgage. A person who deposits the title-deeds 

 of his land with a l>anker, as a security for money 

 advanced, is an equitable mortgager. Mortgage 

 deeds do not, with certain exceptions, require 

 Registration (q.v. ). An owner who has mort- 

 gaged not nnfrequently obtains further advances 

 on the security of a second or third mortgage 

 of the same property. A third mortgagee who 

 buys up the first and gets possession of the title- 

 deeds is permitted to tack the first and third mort- 

 gages together : both will have to be paid off 

 before the second. There are also cases in which 

 a mortgagee is permitted to consolidate claims 

 against different properties of the same debtor, 

 requiring him to pay off all or none. No trustee 

 is justified in advancing money on security of any 

 but a first mortgage ; and in every case a trustee 

 is bound to see that the value of the property i* 

 amply sufficient to secure the amount advanced. 

 See on this point the Trustee Act, 1888. 



A mortgage of goods is made by means of the 

 deed known as a Bill of Sale ( q. v. ). 'Shares, policies 

 of insurance, and even debts, may be mortgaged 

 by using the appropriate forms of transfer. In all 

 cases, whatever the nature of the property, the 

 Conveyancing Act enables the mortgagee to obtain 

 a sale of the property, if the mortgager is unable 

 to pay principal and interest. See Coote's Law of 

 Mortgage (5th ed. 2 vols. 1884). 



In Scotland mortgages are effected by means of 

 a Hond and Disposition in Security (see BOND). 

 Mortgages are a higher and better form of security 

 than in England, localise of the system of registra- 

 tion of deeds affecting land (see SASIXE); and 

 trustees have power to invest in mortgage securi- 

 ties, which are considered as safe as government 

 stock, and less liable to fluctuations of interest. 

 In Scotland it is not the practice to mortgage 

 lands by mere deposit of title-deeds. 



In the I'nited States the form and incidents of a 

 mortgage are regulated by the laws of each state. 

 Except in Louisiana, the English law seems to 

 have been accepted on the basis of American legis- 

 lation. The Homestead Laws (q^.v. ) enacted by 

 several states have an important influence on the 

 law of mortgage. See L. A. Jones, Law of Mort- 

 gage* (3d ed. Boston, 1888). 



Mortification, in Scotch law, is a term used 

 to denote lands given for charitable or public uses. 



Mortification, in Medicine. See GANGRENE, 

 INFLAMMATION. 

 Mortimer. See EDWARD II. and III. ; and 



for Mortimer's Cross, see HEREFORDSHIRE. 



