WITENAGEMOT 



6342 



WITTE 



expelled from an elastic opening in the small, 

 woody capsules. 



In various localities the shrub is known as 

 the unnterbloom and the spotted alder, or, ow- 

 ing to the pungent taste of the bark, as the 

 tobacco wood. 



In Medicine. 

 The bush is im- 

 portant as the 

 source of the 

 healing and tonic 

 lotion known as 

 witch- hazel, or 

 hamamelis, which 

 is obtained by 

 distilling the 

 leaves in alcohol. 

 It is used both as 

 an external and 

 an internal 

 remedy. 



WITENAGE- 

 MOT, witcnahge 

 moht', the su- 

 preme council of 

 England in the 

 Anglo-Saxon pe- 

 riod, composed of 

 the king, bishops, 

 ealdormen and 

 thanes. It en- 

 acted secular and 

 sacred laws, as- WITCH-HAZEL. 



sented to land Branch, flowers, leaves and 

 grants, voted on s 



war or peace, was a court of last resort and ap- 

 proved the appointment of ealdormen or bish- 

 ops. The members also had the power of elect- 

 ing a king when the succession was uncertain, 

 and of dethroning a negligent sovereign. As the 

 power of the ruler grew strong that of the as- 

 sembly declined, and vice versa. The Witenage- 

 mot was disbanded after the Norman Conquest. 



WITH'ERSPOON, JOHN (1723-1794), an 

 American clergyman, college president and one 

 of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- 

 ence. He was born at Gifford, in Scotland, 

 studied at the University of Edinburgh, and in 

 1743 was licensed to preach, holding pastorates 

 in various cities until 1768, when he went to 

 America to become president of the College of 

 New Jersey (now Princeton University). As 

 teacher and organizer he displayed great ability, 

 advancing materially all departments of the 

 institution. In 1774 he was a member of the 

 provincial congress, in 1776 of the New Jersey 



constitutional convention, and from 1776 to 

 1783, except for a short interval, of the Conti- 

 nental Congress. He was active in urging the 

 adoption of the Declaration of Independence, 

 and was the only clergyman who signed that 

 document. He wrote Ecclesiastical Character- 

 istics, Essay on Justification and Authority of 

 the British Parliament, besides many sermons. 



WIT 'NESS, one who gives testimony before 

 a court or judge and is examined under oath 

 or affirmation. A person who has affixed his 

 name to an instrument, such as a will or a 

 deed, executed by another, is also known as a 

 witness. In law, the summons by which a wit- 

 ness is ordered to appear in court is called a* 

 subpoena; this is used for the purpose of com- 

 pelling him to attend and give evidence. If he 

 fails to appear he is liable to punishment for 

 contempt of court. A trial court may ask a 

 witness such questions as it deems necessary 

 for its own information and that of the jury, 

 and witnesses are required to testify from their 

 own recollection and knowledge. Matters re- 

 lating to the competency of witnesses are regu- 

 lated by the rules of evidence; those in the 

 class of incompetents include persons unable to 

 understand the nature of a binding oath, idiots, 

 insane and intoxicated persons. Persons who 

 have been convicted ,of infamous crimes are 

 often called as witnesses, but the evidence they 

 give is usually considered in connection with 

 their past records, which frequently dictate 

 their motives. 



WITTE, vit'e, SERGEI YULIEVITCH (1849- 

 1915), one of the most distinguished of modern 

 Russian statesmen. He was born at Tiflis, 

 studied at the University of Odessa, and after 

 spending some time in journalism entered the 

 government railway service. During the Russo- 

 Turkish War of 1877-1878 he proved himself 

 so capable in the movement of troops that at 

 its close he was made general traffic manager 

 of the Southwestern Railway of Russia. As a 

 member of the Imperial railway commission 

 some years later he displayed marked ability, 

 and in 1888 was made head of the railway de- 

 partment in the finance Ministry. Becoming 

 Finance Minister in 1893, he did much to de- 

 velop railroads throughout the Empire, pro- 

 moted industries, brought about the resumption 

 of specie payment, and with a view to lessening 

 the evils of drunkenness organized a govern- 

 ment monopoly for the sale of vodka, the na- 

 tional drink of Russia. These regulations re- 

 mained in force until prohibition was forced 

 upon the Empire in 1914. His foreign policy 



