B A L 



<iis 



15 A L 



a solemn and irrevocable resignation t>l Ins crown into 

 the hands of Edward. Baliol was Bent in chains to 

 remain a prisoner in the Tower of" Ldndon ; but being 

 soon after allowed to retire to France, he resided there, 

 aj a private gentleman, on his own estates. During his 

 absence, a band of patriots arose to assert the inde- 

 pendence of their country ; and though they admit- 



' the name of Baliol into their public acts and ma- 

 nifestoes, they proceeded as it no such person had ex- 

 isted. Some attempts were afterwards made to re- 

 store him to his throne, but in vain. He died in 131 I, 

 :ii the 55th year of his age. 



In the character of Baliol there is little either to 

 praise or to blame. His conduct was the effect of a 

 weak rather than of a wicked mind ; and he yielded to 

 the-circumstances of the times, and to the example of 

 others, rather than to his own ideas of rectitude and 

 honour. He was ashamed of the part he had acted ; 

 and his short and unavailing struggle to extricate his 

 country from the power of Edward, entitles him to 

 our commendation and pity. When stripped of his 

 kingdom, he regretted not the power which he had 

 lost, but was contented to live in privacy and retireiru at 

 in a foreign land. It has been asserted, much to ht3 

 disadvantage, but upon what authority we know not, 

 that Bruce, his competitor, was offered the crown upon 

 the same terms, and that he generously refused to hold 

 it as depending upon England. Erom the most au- 

 thentic records we can affirm, that Bruce was the fn st 

 who acknowledged the superiority of Edward ; that 

 he preferred a petition to him as liege lord of Scot- 

 land j and that his son and party were afterwards 

 found under the banners of England, fighting against 

 their country. In contrasting the characters of Bruce 

 and Baliol, with regard to patriotism and integrity of 

 conduct, our preference, however contrary to vulgar 

 opinion, must rest with the latter. See Biog. Brit. 

 Dalrymple's Annuls. Robertson's Hist, of Scotland, 

 vol. i. p. 10. Guthrie's Hist, of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 

 43 9k Hume's Hist, of England, vol. ii. p. 

 252. (/>) 



BALISTA. See Ahms and Artillery. 



BALISTES,in Zoology, a genus of cartilaginous 

 s, belonging to the order Branchiostigi of the 

 LinntEan system. See Ichthyology, (fj 



BALK, probably the ancient Bactria, is a large 

 town of independent Tartary, situated on the river De- 

 hash, which flows into the Amu. It is the capital of 

 the province of Balk, which includes the whole of 

 Great Bucharia, to the south of the Amu. In the 

 beginning of the last century it belonged to the khans 

 of t he Usbecks, and was then the largest and the most 

 populous of their cities. The greater part of the 

 buildings are of brick and stone; the fortifications 

 are mounds of earth, supported on the outside with a 

 ,trong wall ; and the castle or palace of the khan is 

 built entirely of marble from the surrounding moun- 

 tains. In the year 1221, when Zengis Khan plun- 

 dered this city, and massacred its inhabitants, it is said 

 to have contained 1200 temples, and 200 public baths 

 for foreign merchants and strangers. The inhabitants 

 of Balk were regarded as the most civilized and the 

 most industrious of all the Mahometan Tartars. It is 

 now the chief seat of the trade between Bucharia and 

 ilindostan ; and the most beautiful stuffs are made in 



the town, from the silk collected in the neighbourhood. ' 

 The fine river of Dehash contributes much to the ...1 

 commercial greatness of Bali;. The duty upon mer- '' r i- 

 chaudtsc is only 2 percent. ; and tiiose goods which 

 MM through the country, pay no duty. SeeD'Her- 

 belot, Biiiiotheoue Orient, p. 1(>7. (<>) 



BALKASH, Palcaii, or Tkncjis, a large lake 

 in Tartary, belonging to the Kalmucks subject to 

 China. It is lit) miles long and 70 broad, and is the 

 largest in Asia, excepting Aral and Baikal. (j) 



BALL ANDEN, Jon .*. See Bkixbndek. 



BALLANDEN, William. See Blllendk*. 



BALLAST. S Ska kam hip. 



BALLI, or Bali, or Li i ilk Java, one of the 

 Sunda isles, situated at tbeeaturn extremity of Java. 

 It is about 7J miles long, an 1 45 wide ; and though 

 a great number of the inhabitants are sold for slaves, 

 it contains a population of about 000,000. A great 

 quantity of c\tton is produced in the island, wliich, 

 along with what is brought from Sumbawa, and the 

 bouring cities, is made by the inhabitants int 

 different kinds of stuffs. 



Rice is produced here in great quantities ; but the 

 king does not permit any part of it to be sold. The 

 Surplus rice above what is consumed, is carried annu- 

 ally into the fortresses- on the summits of the moun- 

 tains, for years of war and scarcity. The island pro- 

 duces great quantities of cocoa nuts, oranges, and ci- 

 trons, witli which the woods and uncultivated grounds 

 are filled. The shores of Ball, are covered with 

 fish. The only trade which is carried on is in cloths 

 and cotton stuffs, which they transport in their small 

 boats to the coast of Java. 



Mines of gold and copper are said to exist in this 

 island ; but the king does not allow them to be open- 

 ed. Balli is an excellent place of refreshment for 

 vessels that go to the Moluccas, to Banda, and to 

 Macassor ; and the Chinese sometimes visit it, and 

 exchange their silver and their porcelains for the cot- 

 ton stuffs of the country. E. Long. 1 15 20', S. Lat. 

 8 40'. See Peuchet's Diet. Geograph. Commerc ; 

 and Forest's Voyage to Papua, p. 170. (q) 



BALLIBAY, a market town of Ireland, in the 

 county of Monaghan, remarkable for its linen mar- 

 ket, and for the extensive bleachfields and mills of 

 Crieve, where 50,000 webs are bleached annually. 

 See Coote's Statist. Account of Monaghan. (j) 



BALLINA, a town of Ireland, in the county of 

 Moy, beautifully situated on the river Moy. Besides 

 a linen market, it has one of the rnost considerable 

 salmon fisheries in the island, which produces annually 

 about riOtons of salted fish, beside those which are sold 

 fresh. See Beaufort's Memoir, and Young's Tour. (J) 



BALLINAHINCH, the name of a barony 'in 

 the county of Galway, in Ireland. See Beaufort's 

 Memoir, Young's Tour, and Galway. (j) 



BALLINASLOE, a thrivir.g and well built 

 town in the county of Galway in Ireland, remark- 

 able for its great wool fair on the 13th of July, and 

 for several cattle fairs, at which no less than 10,000 

 oxen and 100,000 sheep are sold annually. See 

 Beaufort's Memoir and Young's Tour. ( /') 



BALLINTOY, a small sea-port town of Ireland, 

 in the county of Antrim, with a tolerably good har- 

 bour. At a little distance from Ballintoy, the rocky 

 6 



