ELECTION LAWS. 



411 



the oaths to government, and against bribery, and pro- 

 ceed to elect t!u> representative. Minutes of the pro- 

 ceedings are prepared and sign d by the preses and 

 clerk. The latter must return the person elected to the 

 sheriff, under the penalty uf .5(10, and six months im- 

 prisonment ; and the sheriff subjoins the return to the 

 writ, and transmits both to the clerk of the crown. 



Bribery, when it can be discovered in a candidate, 

 vacates his election. With the view of removing every 



appearance of restraint on the freedom of election, it is 

 enacted, that all soldiers quartered in any city, borough, 

 &e. excepting the royal residence and garrisons, must, 

 whin an election is to take place, be removed to the dis- 

 tance of two miles one day at least before the day of elec- 

 tion, and shall not approach nearer until the day after the 

 election. See the several treatises ot' Mr Wight and 

 Mr Bell on the election laws ; and die article PAHLIA- 

 MESJT in this work, (z) 



Election 

 Laws. 



ELECTRICITY. 



Buiiution. 



Plan of 

 the article. 



Hittery. 

 Thle, 



Thenpliras- 

 ti, 

 A.C. 300. 



, from the Greek word ^ir.r^ti, ambrr, 

 properly signifies the science which treats of the phe- 

 nomena of attraction and repulsion, produced by the 

 friction of amber. As similar and analogous appearan- 

 ces, however, wire afterwards observed during the fric- 

 tion of sealing-wax, glass, and a vast number of other 

 bodies, and were developed by various other means, 

 and under various circumstances, the term Electricity 

 ha- been extended to embrace the numerous and diver- 

 sified phenomena which appear to have the same origin 

 m those of excited amber or glass As we are not yet 

 entitled to include the Galvanic phenomena as a branch 

 of electricity we shall reserve for the article C!AL\ AX- 

 ISM, the consideration of that interesting subject. 



In the present treatise, we pro(xse to give a full and 

 popular view i>f the various steps by which electricity 

 hsa advanced to its pre.-ent importance among the sci- 

 ences ; to describe the numerous phenomena which it 

 comprehends; to explain the various theories which 

 have been brought forward to account for them ; and 

 to describe the most improved machines and instru- 

 ments which liave been employed in advanci..^ the 

 progress of the science, in exhibiting it i phe- 



nomena, or in applying its tremendous energy to the 

 useful purposes of life. 



We shall, therefore, divide the article into three 

 Parts. I. DEKBipTim ELBCTBICITT, or an account 



of all electrical phenomena, whether they are produced 

 by natural or artificial means ; II. I'HACTH M. 1 

 TIUCITV, or a description of electrical in.-trumcnts, 

 and the method of constructing and using them ; and 

 III. TiiE'iirETU'AL ELECTRICITY, or an account of the 

 various theories which have been proposed to explain 

 the phenomena. 



HISTORY. 



THE property exhibited by amber in attracting light 

 n known in the very infancy 

 lo'ophy ; and Th.ilcs of Miletus, the founder of 

 the Ionian school, endeavoured to explain this remark- 

 able effect, by ascribing to this fossil the functions of an 

 animated being. 



The attractive power of amber was afterwards noti- 

 ced by Tlu'ophra-du.s, who describes ,;,;/;-, and the 

 / -riwt. ( suppo.-.ed to l>e the 't'uiirinaHn,') as pi. 

 Hug the same property of attracting light bodies ^IA*M 

 yat ui-rtf >i*T{) ; and he remarks, on the authority of 

 Diodes, tiiat tlie> attracted not only straws and small 

 of wood, but also thin pieces of copper an I iron. 

 In the Gcopoiiic Eclogues, amber is said to po-stss the 



more general faculty of attracting to itself all strawy J* ^, 

 and light bodies, except Ocymum. * 



Several detached but unsatisfactory notices respect- p j. 

 ing amber occur in the writings of Pliny; but the an- 

 cients seem to have been acquainted with nothing more 

 than the meagre fact which was known in the time of 

 Thales. 



Although the electrical property of amber was noti- 

 ced by several modern writers, such as Gassendi, Ke- 

 ntlni Digby, and Sir Thomas Brown, yet no experi- 

 ments seem to have been made upon the subject till G jn )ert 8 

 the time of Dr Gilbert of Colchester. This eminent discoveries, 

 philosopher, whose name will appear with still greater A. D. 1600. 

 splendour in the Hi&tory of Magnetism, may be justly 

 regarded as the founder of the science of electricity. 

 He discovered that the power of attracting light sub- 

 stances was possessed by many other bodies besides am- 

 ber, particularly by 



Beryl, 



Crystal, 



Gla-s, 



(. less of antimony, 



Sparry substances, 



lit-lcmnites, 



Sulphur, 



Mastic, 

 Sealing-wax, made 



of gum lac, 

 I lard rusin, 

 Sal Gem, 

 Talc, 

 Alum. 



Diamond, 

 Sapphire, 



Carbuncle, 

 Iris, 



Amethyst, 

 Opal, " 

 Vincentina, 

 Bristol stone, 



These various substances attracted not only light bo 

 dies, but aUo metals, wood, stones, earth, water, oil, thick, 

 smoke, and all solids and fluids, with the exception of 

 air, flame, ignited bodies, and matter extremely rare. 

 The MibsUiiuv.-. were in general suspended in long and 

 thin pieces, so as to move freely about their centres, 

 and tin- electrical body, when excited by a light and 

 quick friction was presented to one of their extremi- 

 ties. With a large and smooth piece of amber, he was 

 able to attract substances without any previous excita- 

 tion. After having thus determined the substances 

 which were capable of affording electrical phenomena, 

 Dr Gilbert endeavoured to observe what circumstances 

 wi re most favourable to their production. When the 

 wind was in the north and east, and when the air was 

 dry, the attractive power was exhibited in about ten 

 minutes alter the friction commenced; but when the 

 air was charged with moisture, and the wind blew from 

 ath, the electric energy was mast materially im- 

 paired, and in some ca>es almost entirely exthij>uis:.i d. 

 Win a the body was excited, the attractive virtue was 

 greatly enfeebled by breathing upon the body, or by 

 sprinkling it with brandy or alco'iol, and was w o y 

 obstructed by the interposition of several substance s. 



; biltf, r,n <rtv%iitf, ncrrcc TX *%v?u*ti xxi X4v?x l/xfi T{O; txvrtt ir\r,i ux.iu.ei. Belog. Giojion. lib. xv. cap. 1. 

 The t*ifnt of the ancients has been supposed by some author*, to be 6i<,-(-Ai<il. Beckmann has controverted this opinion, without 

 being able to tubstitute any thing precise in iti place. He suppose* it to have been a sweet-smelling plant, called by later writers basilicum. 

 See Jfht. vf Invent, voL u. p. 219. 



