REV 



IlEV 



innate between tbe effects producible 

 by a cloud, and those caused by a prime 

 conductor, might be admitted ; but sure- 

 ly no electrical cloud can expel from a 

 body more than the natural quantity of 

 electricity which this contains. On the 

 sudden removal, therefore, of the pres- 

 sure by which this natural quantity had 

 been expelled, in consequence of the ex- 

 plosion of the cloud into the earth, no 

 more (at the utmost) than his whole na- 

 tural stock of electricity can re-enter his 

 body, provided it be so situated, that the 

 returning' fire of other bodies must ne- 

 cessarily pass through his body. But per- 

 haps we have no reason to suppose that 

 this quantity is so great, as that its sudden 

 re-entrance into his body should destroy 

 or injure him. See " Mahon's Electri- 

 city." 



RETZIA, in botany, so named in ho- 

 nour of Anders Jahan Retzius, Professor 

 of Natural History ,- a genus of the Pen- 

 tandria Alonogynia class and order. Na- 

 tural order of Campanaceae. Convolvuli, 

 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla cy- 

 lindrical, villose on the outside ; stigma 

 bifid; capsule two-celled, many-seeded. 

 There is but one species, viz. R. spicata; 

 it is found on the highest mountains, 

 near the Cape of Good Hope. 



REVENUE, public, the portion of the 

 general income of a state, which is ap- 

 propriated to the payment of national ex- 

 penses. Different nations have adopted 

 different modes of raising- a public reve- 

 nue, but the rent derived from land, being 

 obviously a fund of a more permanent na- 

 ture than most others, has usually been 

 one of the earliest resoui'ces, and has 

 sometimes been the principal source of 

 public revenue, particularly in ancient 

 times. From the produce or rent of the 

 public lands, the republics of Greece and 

 Italy derived, for a long time, the greater 

 part of the revenue which defrayed the 

 necessary expenses of the common- 

 wealth; and the rent of the crown-lands 

 constituted the greater part of the reve- 

 nue of the ancient sovereigns of Europe. 

 The introduction of a different mode of 

 warfare, and the greater duration of mo- 

 dern wars, increased considerably the 

 public expenditure, and rendered it ne- 

 cessary to raise a much greater revenue. 

 In the ancient republics of Greece and 

 Italy, every citizen was a soldier, who 

 both prepared himself for service, and 

 served at his own expense ; and in the 

 ancient monarchies of Europe, the peo- 

 ple, when they served in the field, were, 

 by the condition of thdr feudal tenures, 



to be maintained, either at their own ex- 

 pense, or at that of their immediate lords, 

 without bringing any new charge upon 

 the sovereign. The other necessary ex- 

 penses of government were very mode- 

 rate. The administration of justice, in- 

 stead of being a cause of expense, was a 

 source of revenue. The labour of the 

 country people, for three days before and 

 after harvest, was thought a sufficient 

 provision for maintaining all the bridges, 

 highways, and other public works, which 

 the commerce of the country was sup- 

 posed to require. In those days, the 

 principal expense of the sovereign seems 

 to have consisted in the maintenance of 

 his own family and household. The offi- 

 cers. of his household, accordingly, were 

 then the great officers of state. The 

 Lord Treasurer received his rents; the 

 Lord Steward and Lord Chamberlain look- 

 ed after the expense of his family ; the 

 care of his stables was committed to the 

 Lord Constable and the Lord Marshal ; 

 his houses were all built in the form of 

 castles, and the keepers of those houses 

 or castles might be considered as a sort 

 of military governors, who seem to have 

 been the only military officers it was ne- 

 cessary to maintain in time of peace. In 

 these circumstances, the rent of a consi- 

 derable landed estate might, upon ordi- 

 nary occasions, very well defray all the 

 usual expenses of government, and when- 

 ever extraordinary circumstances caused 

 a greater expense, the sum necessary to 

 make it good was drawn from the people 

 by some arbitrary and often very unequal 

 imposition. 



The ordinary revenue of the early 

 kings of England, consisted of the follow- 

 ing branches : 



1. Rents and profits of the crown lands. 

 This must have been considerable, as it 

 appears from Domesday-book, that there 

 were appropriated to the use of the crown 

 1422 manors, besides other lands and 

 quitrents. This ancient branch of the 

 King's revenue has, however, of late 

 years become of very small amount, as 

 the lands originally reserved by the 

 crown, or which came to it afterwards by 

 forfeiture, have been almost entirely 

 granted away. 



2. Profits from military tenures. As a 

 great part of the lands in England were 

 subject to knight-service, the profits in- 

 cident to this tenure were very great, 

 besides the extraordinary contributions 

 to which they were liable, for making the 

 King's eldest son a knight, and for marry- 

 ing his eldest daughter. 



