The party of the towns, in the Netherlands, in the fourteenth century. The word signifies “Codfish-jaws,” and the opposing party, that of the nobles, was known as the “Hooks.”

Kaiser KlÄs.

The German nickname for Napoleon.

Kalf-vel.

A document issued by Charles V curtailing the privileges of the city of Ghent.

Kanaka Labour Traffic.

In the early eighties attention was attracted to the methods of the “Blackbirders,” or ships engaged in supplying Kanaka labourers for the Queensland sugar plantations. The captain of the Hopeful was brought to trial for kidnapping, and the disclosures in the case caused the Government to appoint a commission in 1884 to investigate the whole question. It was found that kidnapping was much more general than was thought, and in all the instances which were brought to light the natives were returned to their islands, and the planters compensated for the loss of their services.

Kansas-Nebraska Act.

An Act of Congress passed in 1854 by which Kansas and Nebraska were admitted to the Union as territories. This Act was a breach of the Missouri Compromise, as it left it to each of the new territories to settle the question of slavery within its borders.

Karl.

Among the Norsemen the holders of Odal or freehold land were so called.

Karmathians.

A Moslem sect, taking their name from Karmath, a disciple of Babek, whose leading tenets were the indifference of all human actions and the non-existence of private property. The Karmathians first appeared in 890, and it is said that a hundred battles were fought before they were exterminated. They were at one time in possession of Mecca.

Keate Award.

The award, in 1871, of Mr. R. W. Keate, Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, on the territorial questions pending between the South African Republic and various native chiefs, amongst others Waterboer, Mankoroane, and Montsiwa. It practically endorsed the native claims, and is specially important as having enabled Great Britain at a later date to annex Bechuanaland, thus opening a way to the centre of the continent, and rendering possible the colonization of Rhodesia.

Kenilworth, Dictum of.

A proclamation of Henry III in 1267, after the final overthrow of Simon de Montfort, wherein the king reaffirmed Magna Charta and restored to their lands those of the barons who had been dispossessed, on payment of a solatium to the then holders.

Kelly Gang.

A famous gang of bushrangers which infested the north-eastern part of New South Wales from 1878 to 1880. Towards the end of the latter year they were hunted down by the police. In the fight which followed the whole gang were killed except their leader, Ned Kelly, who was captured and hanged.

Kentish Petition.

A petition from the Grand Jury of Kent, presented to Parliament in 1701, praying the House to abstain from the prosecution of personal vengeance and to give its attention to the needs of the country.

Kentucky Resolutions.

A series of resolutions passed by the Kentucky Legislature in 1798, declaring the Alien and Sedition Laws unconstitutional, and asserting the doctrine of State Rights.

Kenyon-Slaney Clause.

A clause introduced into the Education Act of 1902, on the motion of Colonel Kenyon-Slaney. It provides that in all voluntary schools taken over by the new education authority the religious teaching shall be in accordance with the provisions of the trust deed, and be under the control of the managers. The object of the clause is to prevent a clergyman of extreme views forcing upon a school a form of doctrinal instruction contrary to the generally received teaching of the Church of England.

Kerns.

Mercenary troops, partly Irish and partly Scotch, maintained by the petty Irish chieftains, and employed in their inter-tribal wars up to the time of Elizabeth. They were also known as “Gallowglasses.”

Ket’s Rebellion.

A rising of the peasantry against the landed gentry, led by Ket, a tanner, in 1549. He collected some 16,000 followers in a camp near Norwich, and established a tribunal, on which he sat, with the Mayor of Norwich, to try obnoxious gentlemen. The rebellion was suppressed by the Earl of Warwick, and Ket and other leaders hanged.

Keys, House of.

The Lower House of the Isle of Man legislature.

Keystone State.

A name given to the State of Pennsylvania, as being the central State of the thirteen originally forming the Union.

Khalsa.

The Sikh Commonwealth in the Punjaub was known by this name.

Khozain.

The head of a household in the Russian Mir or village community. Before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 the family generally owned all property in common, those who went to work in the towns sending a proportion of their wages to the common stock. The Khozain was the administrator of the general fund.

Kiel, Peace of.

A treaty between Sweden and Denmark signed in 1814, after the expulsion of the Danes from Holstein by Bernadotte. Denmark surrendered Norway to the Crown of Sweden, reserving, however, Greenland, Iceland and the FaroË Islands, which had been considered appanages of the Norwegian Crown.

Kilkenny, Convention of.

A convention of the prelates, nobles and commons of Ireland held in 1338. It presented a petition of grievances to Edward III, complaining of the neglect by his lieutenants of the fortified places, whereby they suffered from the raids of the Irish; of the corruption prevailing amongst the royal officers; of their absenteeism, and of the misrepresentation which the petitioners had suffered at their hands.

Kilkenny, Council of.

A council of twenty-four members formed in 1642 to organize the Irish Catholics in support of the royal cause during the Civil War.

Kilkenny, Statute of.

A statute passed in 1367 by which the English colonists in Ireland were forbidden under penalty of high treason to intermarry with the Irish, to present an Irishman to a Church living, or to offer hospitality to an Irish bard or minstrel.

Kilkenny, Synod of.

A synod of the Irish bishops and other Church dignitaries, held in 1642 at the commencement of the Great Rebellion, to form a provisional government. It established the Council of Kilkenny.

Kilmainham Treaty.

A supposed agreement between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell (then a prisoner in Kilmainham Gaol), negotiated by Mr. O’Shea in 1882, by which Parnell undertook, if released, to use all his influence in the suppression of agrarian crime. Both parties stoutly denied the existence of any compact, but the matter gave rise to stormy debates in the House of Commons, and many wild stories were current as to the terms of the agreement.

Kimberley Riots.

A series of disturbances in 1884 due to the opposition of the employÉs in the diamond mines at Kimberley to the Search Act, passed in 1882 with the object of checking illicit diamond buying.

King of the Commons.

A sobriquet of James V of Scotland.

King Philip’s War.

The name given to a rising of the Wampanoags, an Indian tribe, in 1675, with the object of exterminating the white settlers in New England. The war lasted over a year, with much destruction of property, but finally the Indians were defeated and their leader, Philip, shot.

King’s Friends.

The name given to the secret advisers of George III in his attempts to restore the royal prerogative to its old position in the State. They were mainly Tories, though drawn from both parties, and their leader was the Earl of Bute.

King’s Prymer.

A book of the ritual of the Church of England, issued in 1545 by the authority of Henry VIII, and containing the Services for the Hours. It is the basis of all subsequent prymers, including those of Edward VI and Elizabeth.

Kingmaker, The.

The sobriquet of Neville, Earl of Warwick (1428-71), the most prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses.

Kinmont Willie.

The nickname of William Armstrong, the famous border raider. He was the hero of a celebrated rescue at the hands of the Lord of Buccleugh in 1596, having been captured by the English and confined in Carlisle Castle.

Kirke’s Lambs.

The troopers of Colonel Kirke, who was in command at Bridgwater after the suppression of Monmouth’s rebellion. Their barbarous treatment of their prisoners and of suspected adherents of Monmouth hardly fell behind the judicial cruelties of Jeffreys. Their name was ironically derived from the Lamb, their regimental badge.

Kit-Kat Club.

A club formed by certain prominent Whig politicians in 1793 to promote the principles of the French Revolution. Walpole, Steele and Addison were among its members.

Kitchen Cabinet.

The name given by their political opponents to the unofficial advisers of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Among them were Amos Kendall, Isaac Hill and F. P. Blair.

Knighthood, Orders of.

See Alcantara, Alexander, Annunziata, Bath, Black Eagle, Calatrava, Dannebrog, Elephant, Garter, Golden Fleece, Holy Sepulchre, Hospitallers, Iron Cross, Isabella, Legion of Honour, Livonian, Malta, Montesa, Our Lady, Rhodes, St. Andrew, St. Esprit, St. Hubert, St. Lazare, St. Patrick, Santiago, Templars, Teutonic, Thistle.

Knight’s Fee.

The extent of land the holding of which qualified for knighthood in feudal times. The amount is uncertain, but it is thought to have been an annual value of twenty pounds.

Knights of Labour.

A society for the protection of workmen, founded in 1869 at Philadelphia by Uriah S. Stevens. It has become one of the most powerful labour organizations of the world, and claims a membership of 200,000.

Knights of the Shire.

The representatives of the counties in the early Parliaments. They were elected in the Shire Courts, which all the freeholders of the county were entitled to attend.

Know-Nothings.

A political party formed in America in 1855. Their essential tenet was the necessity of keeping the Government in the hands of genuine Americans, and with this object they proposed a twenty-one years’ residence as a qualification for naturalization. The party was short-lived, scarcely surviving the presidential election of 1856.

Kongelov.

The Royal Law, a new Danish Constitution promulgated in 1660, proclaiming an hereditary instead of an elective monarchy. The administration was confided to certain bureaux whose members were appointed by the king.

Kossuthists.

The modern National party in Hungary. They take their name from the famous patriot of the War of Independence of 1848, and his son, who is one of the leaders of the existing party.

Kreuz Partie.

The party of the Cross, under whose influence Frederick William IV of Prussia lay during the latter years of his reign. Their policy included a closer union with Russia and Austria, and a tacit resistance to the more liberal ideas of Western Europe.

Kshatriya.

The second or military caste among the Hindoos.

Ku Klux Klan.

An organization formed in the Southern States, after the American Civil War, to coerce the coloured people and their sympathisers and prevent them recording their votes. It became so powerful that a stringent Act, known as the Ku Klux Act, was passed by Congress in 1871, inflicting heavy penalties on all convicted of belonging to this and similar associations.

Kuldja Treaty.

A treaty between Russia and China, negotiated in 1880 after the suppression of the Mohammedan revolt in Western China, during which the Russians had held and administered Kuldja. It provided for the retention by Russia of the most valuable part of Kuldja, including the Tekes Valley and the passes into Kashgaria and Yarkand. It further stipulated that Russia should enjoy the use of an overland route to Hankow for Russian merchants, and the free navigation of the Sungari River, which practically opened the whole of Manchuria to Russian trade. Chang How, who had negotiated this treaty, was disgraced, and China refused to ratify it. In 1881, however, a second treaty was concluded, and eventually ratified, by which Russia retroceded the whole of Kuldja, the other stipulations of the treaty of 1880 remaining practically unaltered.

Kulterkampf.

The crusade in Germany against the Pope and the Ultramontanes, who were looked upon as the foes of civil as well as religious liberty. After the issue of the Vatican Decree on Papal Infallibility many of the bishops attempted to force the dogma upon university professors and others holding State appointments, and their high-handed interference in this and other ways led to the enacting of the Falk Laws. The conflict lasted over ten years.

Kurucz.

The name given to the followers of DÓzsa, TÖkÖli and RÁkÓczy in the various risings of the Hungarians against Austrian rule which they headed. It means the wearers of the Cross, or Crusaders.

Kutchuk-Kainardji, Treaty of.

A treaty between Catherine II of Russia and the Sultan Abdul-Hamed, signed in 1774, after the occupation by the Russians of Crim-Tartary, Moldavia and Wallachia. Turkey surrendered the Crimea, Azov and Taganrog, and by the seventh clause of the treaty undertook to protect the Christian religion and its churches, and to permit the Russian Minister to make at all times representations on behalf of the new church in Constantinople, such representations to be taken into consideration as proceeding from a sincerely friendly Power. In this clause lay the germ of the Crimean War, for Russia interpreted it as giving her the right to interfere for the protection of all Christians of the Greek Church in the Turkish Empire.