P. York Powell, 

 British historian 



POWDER 



Powder. Any material in a very 

 fine state of division, as when re- 

 duced to dust. Early gunpowder, 

 the first real explosive, was probably 

 dusty, and hence the use of the 

 term powder to designate it, but 

 the substance soon came to be used 

 in large grains and later as prisms, 

 while modern smokeless powders 

 are either granular, in distinct 

 flakes, cords, or tubes. See Cordite ; 

 Explosives ; Gunpowder ; Smoke- 

 less Powder, etc. 



Powell, FREDERICK YORK (1850- 

 1904). British historian. Born in 

 London, Jan. 14, 1850, and educated 

 at Rugby and 

 Christ Church, 

 Oxford, he 

 was called to 

 the bar in 

 1874 and 

 passed the 

 earlier part of 

 his career as 

 lecturer in law 

 at Christ 

 Church. He 

 wrote one or 



two historical works, and soon 

 after 1869 began to work with Vig- 

 fusson on Scandinavian records, 

 the subject on which his reputa- 

 tion rests, editing and translating 

 two volumes of ancient northern 

 poetry, and with Vigfusson pre- 

 paring the Records of Iceland. 

 Powell helped to found the English 

 Historical Review, wrote a History 

 of England, and in 1894 was made 

 professor of modern history at 

 Oxford, where he died, May 8, 

 1904. A Radical in politics and a 

 free-thinker in religion, he com- 

 bined both with much practical 

 assistance to the poor. See Life 

 and Letters, ed. O. Elton, 1906. 



Power (Fr. pouvoir, from late 

 Lat. potere, to be able). Ability to 

 act, energy, or strength. By ana- 

 logy it is used as a synonym for a 

 country, e.g. the Great Powers. See 

 Nationality. 



Power. In English law, an 

 authority conferred by the owner of 

 property upon some other person 

 to deal with that property. Many 

 powers are conferred by statute. 

 Thus, the Conveyancing Act, 1881, 

 confers on mortgagees the power of 

 appointing a receiver of the pro- 

 perty when the interest is in arrear, 

 or if the principal is not paid when 

 notice has been given ; also the 

 power of making ordinary leases on 

 ordinary terms ; also a power of 

 sale when the mortgagor makes 

 default. The Settled Land Acts 

 confer wide powers on the tenant 

 for life, of selling, mortgaging, 

 leasing, exchanging, and otherwise 

 dealing with the property. Speak- 

 ing generally, when a person who 

 is not the owner of the property 



63O5 



has the right to deal with it wholly 

 or partially as if he were the owner, 

 he does it under a power. 



In English law, power of appoint- 

 ment is an authority, given by deed 

 or will, for the donee of the power 

 to dispose of property. Thus, the 

 father of a family may make a will 

 leaving his property in trust for 

 his wife for life, and after her death 

 for such of their children in such 

 shares as she shall appoint. A 

 power to appoint amongst a class, 

 as in the instance given, is called a 

 special power. Sometimes the 

 power is wider, and allows the 

 donee of the power the right to 

 appoint to whomsoever he pleases. 

 It is then called a general power ; 

 and under it the donee can appoint 

 to himself if he chooses. 



Power of attorney or letters of 

 attorney is the authority given by 

 one person to another to act on his 

 behalf. In all English-speaking 

 countries it is common, when a 

 man is going abroad, for him to 

 execute a formal deed, appointing 

 someone to act as his attorney, or 

 agent, in his absence, to manage 

 his affairs generally, or certain 

 classes of his affairs, e.g. his busi- 

 ness. A power of attorney may 

 be very general, or it may con- 

 tain limitations of the agent's 

 authority. 



Power Factor. In electricity, 

 the ratio of the electric power in 

 watts to the apparent power in 

 volt-amperes, in an alternating 

 current circuit or apparatus. See 

 Electricity. 



Powerful. British protected 

 cruiser. The Powerful and the 

 Terrible were built as replies to 

 the Russian Rurik and Rossia. In 

 the South African War the Power- 

 ful came into prominence through 

 the work done bv her men and guns 

 at Ladysmith/ 1899-1900. She 

 was 520 ft. long, 71 ft. in beam, and 

 displaced 14,400 tons. She had 

 engines of 25,000 h.p., giving a 

 speed of 22 knots. As armament 

 she carried two 9'2-inch, twelve 



Hiram Foweis, 

 American sculptor 



H.M.S. Powerful, the protected cruiser, whose men gained 

 distinction in the South African War 



Crilib. Southtea 



POWIS 



6-inch, and 24 smaller guns, and 

 four torpedo tubes, but was very 

 lightly protected. The Powerful 

 afterwards became Impregnable 

 No. 1, part of the training estab- 

 lisljment at Devonport. See Battle 

 Cruiser. 



Power Plant. Term used for 

 the machinery and buildings which 

 supply power to subsidiary con- 

 cerns. The term is more commonly 

 used of electrical central power 

 stations, which supply power and 

 light to districts under their 

 control. See Electric Power. 



Powers, HIRAM (1805-73). 

 American sculptor. Born at Ver- 

 mont, U.S.A., June 29, 1805, he 

 studied at Cin- 

 cinnati, and in 

 1837 settled at 

 Florence. His 

 masterpiece, 

 The Greek 

 Slave, and 

 other works 

 have been 

 extensively re- 

 peated. He ex- 

 ecuted statues 

 of Washington, Franklin, and Web- 

 ster, and busts of many other distin- 

 guished Americans. His style fol- 

 lowed the antique faithfully and 

 rather mechanically He died June 

 27, 1873. 



Powerscourt. Parish of co. 

 Wicklow, Ireland. It stands on the 

 Dargle, 3 rn. from Bray. From it 

 the family of Wingfield takes the 

 title of viscount, a creation of 1743. 

 The viscount's residence, Powers- 

 court Castle, is a fine granite build- 

 ing standing in a large park and 

 surrounded by magnificent moun- 

 tain scenery. It contains some 

 pictures of unusual value. 



Powis, EARL OF. British title 

 borne since 1804 by the family of 

 Clive, later Herbert. The earls are 

 descended from Robert Clive (q.v. ), 

 whose son Edward was created 

 Baron Powis, and in 1804 was 

 raised to the rank of an earl. His 

 son Edward, the 2nd earl, took the 

 name of Herbert 

 instead of Clive, 

 and from him the 

 present earl is 

 descended. He, 

 the 4th earl, lost 

 his eldest son, 

 Percy, Viscount 

 Clive(1892-1916), 

 in the Great War. 

 His estates are 

 mainly in the 

 counties of Shrop- 

 shire and Mont- 

 gomery, and his 

 chief residence is 

 Powis Castle, 

 Welshpool. Pron. 

 Po-is. 



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