BAR 



BAR 



elected by the Cinque.ports; two for each 

 port. 



BARONET, a modern degree of ho- 

 nour, next to a baron, created by King 

 James I. in order to propagate a planta- 

 tion in Ulster, in Ireland, for which pur- 

 pose each of them was to maintain thirty 

 soldiers in Ireland for three years, after 

 the rate of eight pence sterling per day 

 to each soldier. The honour is heredita- 

 ry, and they have the precedence of all 

 knights, except those of the garter, ban- 

 nerets, and privy -counsellors They are 

 stiled baronets in all writs, and the-addi- 

 tion of Sir is attributed to them, as the 

 title of Lady is to their wives. No hon- 

 our is to be created between barons and 

 baronets. 



BAROXETS of Ireland, a dignity institu- 

 ted 30th Sept. 1619. 



BARONY, the honour and territory 

 which gives title to a baron, whether he 

 be a layman or a bishop. According to 

 Bracton, a barony is a right indivisible ; 

 wherefore, if an inheritance is to be divid- 

 ed among co-heirs, though some capital 

 messuages may bedivided,yet, if the capi- 

 tal messuage be the head of a county or 

 barony, it may not be parcelled ; and the 

 reason is, lest by this division many of the 

 rights of counties and baronies by de- 

 grees come to nothing, to the prejudice 

 of the realm, which is said to be compos- 

 ed of counties and baronies. 



BARRA, in commerce, a long measure, 

 used in Portugal and some parts of Spain, 

 to measure woollen cloths, linen cloths, 

 and serge. 



BARRACAN, in commerce, a sort of 

 stuflfnot diapered, something like cam- 

 blet, but of a coarser grain. It is used to 

 make cloaks, surtouts, and such other 

 garments, to keep off' the rain. 



BARRACKS, places for soldiers to 

 lodge in, especially in garrisons. Bar- 

 racks were formerly reckoned as highly 

 dangerous to the constitution of 'the 

 realm ; within these last ten years, how- 

 ever, they have increased so much in 

 number and extent, that there is scarce- 

 ly a moderate sized town in the kingdom 

 without its barracks ; and one might in- 

 fer, from the rapid increase of these 

 buildings, that our very existence de- 

 pends upon them. 



BARRATOR, in law, a common mover 

 or maintainer of suits and quarrels, either 

 in courts or elsewhere in the country. A 

 man cannot be adjudged a barrator for 

 bringing any number of suits in his own 

 right, though they are vexatious. Bar- 

 rators are punished by fine and imprison- 

 ment. 



BARRATRY, in law, signifies the fo- 

 menting quarrels and law -suits. 



BARRATRY,UI a ship-master, is his cheat-^ 

 ing the owners. If goods delivered on 

 ship-board are embezzled, all the mari- 

 ners ought to contribute to the satisfac- 

 tion of the party that lost his goods, by 

 the maritime law ; and the cause is to be 

 tried in the admiralty. In a case where 

 a ship was insured against the barratry of 

 the master, &c. and the jury found that 

 the ship was lost by the fraud and negli- 

 gence of the master, the court agreed 

 that the fraud was barratry, though not 

 named in the covenant ; but that negli- 

 gence was not. 



BARREL is a measure of liquids. The 

 English barrel, wine measure, contains 

 the eighth part of a tun, the fourth part 

 of a pipe, and one half of an hogshead ; 

 that is to say, it contains thirty-one gal- 

 lons and a half: a barrel, beer-measure, 

 contains thirty-six gallons. 



BARREL also denotes a certain weight 

 of several merchandises, which differs 

 according to the several commodities: a 

 barrel of Essex butter weighs one hun- 

 dred and six pounds; and of Suffolk but- 

 ter two hundred and fit\y-six pounds. 

 The barrel of herrings ought to contain 

 thirty-two gallons wine-measure, which 

 amount to about twenty-eight gallons old 

 standard, containing about a thousand 

 herrings. The barrel of salmon must 

 contain forty-two gallons. The barrel 

 of eels the same. The barrel of soap 

 must weigh two hundred and fifty-six 

 pounds. 



BARREL, fire, in military affairs, is 

 mounted on wheels, filled with a compo- 

 sition and intermixed with loaded gre- 

 nades, and the outside ful I of sharp spikes; 

 some are placed underground, to act as 

 mines : others are used to roll down a 

 breach to prevent the enemy's entrance. 

 These are rarely used now in any country. 



BARRKL, in mechanics, a term given 

 by watch-makers to the cylinder about 

 which the spring is wrapped; and by 

 gun-smiths to the cylindrical tube of a 

 gun, pistol, &c. through which the ball 

 is discharged. 



BARREUIA, in botany, named after 

 Peter Barrere, a French physician, a 

 genus of the Syngenesia Mono.^ynia class 

 and order. Essential character : calyx 

 five toothed, very small ; enrol five part- 

 ed; style short; stigma trifid. There is 

 only one species, viz. B. guianensis. This 

 t"ee rises, forty or fifty feet in height, and 

 is two feet and a half in diameter ; the 

 bark is ash -coloured, and the wood is 

 reddish brown, hard and compact. It 



