SPEAR 



5486 



SPECIE PAYMENTS 



He never speaks in his capacity as a member 

 of the body, and votes only in case of a tie. 

 The symbol of his authority is the mace, which 

 is carried before him by the sergeant-at-arms 

 whenever he enters or leaves the House. It 

 accompanies him on all state occasions, and 

 stands on his table when he is in the chair. 

 Both law and custom give the Speaker social 

 precedence over all the commoners in the king- 

 dom, and it is usual for the Crown to make a 

 retiring speaker a peer, generally with the rank 

 of viscount. His salary is 5,000 ($25,000) a 

 year. 



In Canada. See CANADA, subtitle The Do- 

 minion Government. E.D.F. 



Consult Follett's The Speaker of the House of 

 Representatives; Todd's Parliamentary Govern- 

 ment. 



SPEAR, speer, a long shaft of wood with a 

 sharp, pointed head, usually of metal. With 

 the exception of the club, the spear is the old- 

 est weapon used by man. At first it was noth- 

 ing more elaborate than a long, tough pole 



SPEARS OF VARIOUS ERAS 

 (a) Roman ; (b) German boar spear of the six- 

 teenth century; (c) Philippine islanders' spear; 

 (d) that of the North American Indian. 



sharpened at one end and hardened in the em- 

 bers of a wood fire. Presently the pole ac- 

 quired a head of stone, harder and sharper and 

 more dangerous than the wooden point. Next, 

 the spearhead was made of bronze, then of 

 iron, and finally of steel. The poison- tipped 

 dart of the Australian bushmen, the Filipino's 

 barbed and feather-tufted spear, the javelins, 

 straight and slender, that have been hurled by 

 soldiers and hunters all over the world, the 

 medieval knight's long lance, crested with col- 

 ors, the heavy and elaborately ornamented 

 boar spear carried by some royal sportsmen 

 all these are but developments of that long, 

 tough pole with which savage man attacked 

 an enemy. 



The spear was the most important weapon of 

 ancient and medieval armies, and thousands 

 were used as late as the French Revolution; 

 and, while the bay6net of the common foot 

 soldier is all that survives to-day of the twenty- 



foot pike of medieval warfare, certain regi- 

 ments of mounted European soldiers, such as 

 the English Lancers, the Russian Cossacks and 

 the German Uhlans, carry long, light spears 

 known as lances. A.C. 



SPEARMINT, speer' mint, a species of mint 

 found in temperate regions in most parts of 

 the world, which yields an oil used in the 

 preparation of perfumes and medicine and as a 

 flavoring in chewing gum, candies, julep, soup 

 and sauce. The 

 world's most im- 

 portant center of 

 spearmint distill- 

 ing is Saint Jos- 

 eph County, 

 Michigan, which 

 county also pro- 

 duces ninety per 

 cent of the pep- 

 permint of the 

 United States. 

 The plant has 

 smooth, erect 

 stems that grow 

 one or two feet 

 in height and 

 bear at the top 

 whorls of pale 

 purple or white 

 flowers. It is this 

 species of mint 

 which furnishes 

 the flavoring for 

 mint j ulep as 

 well as for the 

 sauce which 

 flavors lamb or 

 mutton. See 

 MINT. 



SPECIE, spe'shi, PAYMENTS, RESUMPTION 

 OF, is a term which indicates the beginning of 

 circulation of specie (metal coins), or "hard 

 money," as it is sometimes called, after a time 

 of suspension of its use, during which time only 

 paper money was circulated. Such suspension 

 has occurred a number of times in the United 

 States. 



During the War of 1812 the United States 

 government found it necessary to borrow more 

 money than the State banks of the country 

 could raise. This made it very hard for the 

 people everywhere to obtain money, and it 

 also kept money out of the banks, because 

 people were afraid that if they did deposit their 

 money they could not draw it out again. The 



SPEARMINT 

 In blossom. 



