PROVINCIAL LETTERS 



637O 



PRUDENTIUS 



Provincial Letters, THE. Fam- 

 iliar name of a series of 18 letters 

 by Blaisc Pascal, published under 

 the pseudonym of Louis de 

 Montalte, and supposed to be sent 

 by a Parisian to a friend in the 

 provinces. The letters, published 

 between Jan. 13, 1656, and Mar. 24, 

 1657, embody an ironical attack 

 on the Jesuits, rendered in singu- 

 larly clear and powerful language. 

 The standard English translation 

 is that by Thomas McCrie, 1847. 

 See Jansenism; Pascal ; Port-Royal. 



Provins. Town of France, in 

 the dept. of Seine-et-Marne. It 

 stands on the Voulzie, 59 m. S.E. 

 of Paris. The llth century Roman- 

 esque Gothic church of S. Ayoul, 

 the 12th century Transitional 

 church of S. Quiriace and its con- 

 tiguous bell-tower, the Grosse 

 Tour, the 13th century church of 

 Ste. Croix, and town hall are the 

 main historic edifices. The town is 

 noted for its rose culture. The Ro- 

 man Pruvium, and a medieval in- 

 dustrial city, with a pop. of 80,000, 

 it has declined since the Hundred 

 Years' War. Pop. 9,000. 



Provision (Lat. pro, before ; 

 videre, to see). Act of providing, 

 something done deliberately be- 

 forehand. In the plural it is a 

 synonym for food. Legally, a pro- 

 vision is a clause in a will or deed, 

 and in this sense it is used in con- 

 stitutional history, e.g. the pro- 

 visions of Oxford. The word is 

 sometimes spelled proviso. Ecclesi- 

 astically, provision refers to an 

 appointment by the pope to a bene- 

 fice, but this question is more 

 usually dealt with under the form 

 pro visor (q.v.). 



Provisional Order. In the 

 United Kingdom, an order granted 

 under statutory powers by certain 

 government departments, author- 

 ising local undertakings of public 

 usefulness, e.g. housing, harbour, 

 gas and water works, etc. Such 

 orders are subsequently confirmed 

 by statute. They obviate the 

 difficulty and expense of getting 

 private bills through Parliament. 

 See Bill ; Parliament. 



Provisions of Oxford. Plan 

 for the better government of Eng- 

 land formulated by the barons in 

 1258. In May the barons com- 

 pelled the king to agree to the ap- 

 pointment of a committee of 24 

 persons to carry out certain re- 

 forms in the government necessi- 

 tated by his extravagance. A 

 parliament therefore met at Ox- 

 ford to choose them, and Henry 

 was allowed to nominate twelve. 



The provisions drawn up by this 

 body and accepted by the king 

 provided for a standing council of 

 fifteen members to advise and con- 

 trol the king, for another council 



of twelve to consult three times a 

 year with the standing council, and 

 for a third council of 24 to make 

 grants of money. All aliens were 

 to be removed from office and ex- 

 pelled. The work of reform began 

 with the appointment of new 

 ministers and the flight of the 

 aliens. The new constitution only 

 worked until the end of 1259. By 

 that time the barons were quarrel- 

 ling amongst themselves, and in 

 1261 Henry, taking advantage of 

 the position, obtained a papal bull 

 releasing him from his obligation 

 to observe the provisions. 



Provisor. Literally, one who 

 provides. In ecclesiastical lan- 

 guage a provisor is one to whom 

 the pope has granted the right of 

 having the next vacancy in a 

 benefice. The statutes of provisors 

 were laws passed by the parlia- 

 ment of England in 1351 and 1390. 

 The first recited a statute against 

 papal aggression passed in 1307, 

 declared invalid all ecclesiastical 

 appointments secured by papal 

 provision, and ordered the im- 

 prisonment of all who accepted 

 such. The statute of 1390 re-en- 

 acted the one of 1351, but made 

 the penalties more severe. See 

 Praemunire. 



Prove. City of Utah, U.S.A., 

 the co. seat of Utah co. It stands 

 on the Provo river, 47 m. by rly. 

 S.E. of Salt Lake City, and is 

 served by the Denver and Rio 

 Grande Rly. A Mormon city, it is 

 the seat of Brigham Young 

 University, and has a Mormon 

 tabernacle. Woollen goods, tin 

 roofing,and flour are manufactured, 

 and a trade in lumber is carried on. 

 Agriculture,stock-raising, and fruit- 

 growing are important industries. 

 Provo was settled in 1849, and be- 

 came a city in 1851. Pop. 10,300. 



Provost (Lat. praepositus,])\a,ced 

 before). Chief municipal magis- 

 trate of a city or burgh in Scotland. 

 The provosts of Edinburgh, Glas- 

 gow, Aberdeen, Perth, and Dundee 

 are styled lord provosts. During 

 office, the lord provost of Edin- 

 burgh is entitled to the prefix 

 right honourable. The term is also 

 applied to the heads of certain 

 colleges, e.g. provost of Eton, 

 King's College, Cambridge, Queen's 

 College, Oxford. Pron. Prov-ost. 



Provost Marshal. Officer 

 appointed on a campaign to be 

 chief of the military police. He 

 wears a badge, "P.M.," on his left 

 arm ; he receives instructions from 

 the adjutant- general and is at- 

 tached to G.H.Q. His assistants 

 secure all persons found without 

 passes, collect stragglers, and guard 

 against spies ; they arrest military 

 offenders against the rules of the 

 service, keep records of field general 



courts- martial, and carry out the 

 sentences. In 1915 assistant pro- 

 vost marshals issued passes to 

 the inhabitants and requisitioned 

 buildings, etc., in the United King- 

 dom. Soldiers employed as military 

 police under the provost marshal 

 wear a badge marked " M.P." In 

 peace an organization called the 

 corps of military police (mounted 

 and foot) is maintained for dis- 

 ciplinary duties in camps and 

 garrisons. Pron. Pro-voh. 



Pros. Abbrev. of Lat. prox- 

 imo (men-se), in, or of, next month. 



Proxy (late Lat. procuratia, act- 

 ing for another). Term used for a 

 person who acts for another, and 

 also for the authority by which he 

 acts. It is chiefly used in connexion 

 with voting. In the United King- 

 dom company law allows the em- 

 ployment of proxies, and many 

 shareholders authorise a director 

 or someone else to use their voting 

 powers. These may be either 

 general or special, and the proxy 

 must bear a penny stamp. Proxies 

 are also used in bankruptcy pro- 

 ceedings. Proxies are not allowed 

 in political voting, but voting by 

 proxy was allowed in the House of 

 Lords until 1868. They are per- 

 mitted in convocation and in the 

 political conventions of the U.S.A. 

 See Proctor ; Vote. 



Prudential Assurance Co. 



British insurance company. Estab- 

 lished in 1848, its founders devoted 

 themselves main- 

 ly to insuring 

 members of the 

 working classes 

 for small sums, 

 collecting the 

 small premiums 

 weekly, this be- 

 ing then a new 

 field. The busi- 

 ness prospered 

 enormously, and, although new de- 

 partments were opened, insurance 

 of this kind remains the company's 

 staple. The company has in 

 force over 25,000,000 policies, 

 invested funds to the amount of 

 125,000,000, and has paid claims 

 of 185,000,000. Life, fire, acci- 

 dent, burglary, and annuity busi- 

 ness is transacted, while the com- 

 pany has a department for health 

 insurance. It has agents in every 

 town and almost every village of 

 the United Kingdom, and the 

 head offices are at Holborn Bars, 

 London, E.C. See Friendly So- 

 cieties ; Insurance. 



Prudentius (c. A.D. 348-410). 

 Christian poet, whose full name 

 was Aurelius Prudentius Clemens. 

 Born in Spain, probably at Sara- 

 gossa, he practised as an advocate, 

 held several provincial appoint- 

 ments, and lived for some time at 



Prudential Assur- 

 ance Co. arms 



