The name given to the proprietors of allodial lands in the Orkneys.

Ukase.

A decree of the Czar of Russia is so called. The Czar being an absolute monarch, it has all the force of a legal enactment.

Ulema.

The body of professional theologians and lawyers in Turkey. They are the interpreters of the law of the Koran, and from their body are selected the pleaders and magistrates as well as the priests. The head of the Ulema is the Sheyk-ul-Islam.

Ulm, Capitulation of.

The surrender of the Austrian General Mack, with 30,000 men, to Napoleon in October 1805.

Ulster Custom.

A system of land tenure prevailing in the greater part of Ulster, by which the tenant’s property in all improvements affected by him is recognised by the landlord. This custom had practically the force of law, and was made a part of the Irish Land Laws by Mr. Gladstone’s Act of 1870.

Ulster Massacre.

The Irish rebellion of 1641 began with an attack upon the English settlers in Ulster, many of whom, living outside the towns, were murdered in cold blood. The number of victims has been put as high as 300,000, but this is doubtless a gross exaggeration. Still, some thousands unquestionably perished.

Ulster, Plantation of.

The colonisation, between 1606 and 1612, of lands forfeited from Tyrone, Tyrconel, and other rebels, by retired servants of the Crown. It was a condition of the colonisation that the Irish were to be confined to their own districts, and not allowed to settle on the forfeited lands. The City of London undertook the colonisation of Derry.

Ultimus Romanorum.

A sobriquet of Horace Walpole (1717-97).

Ultramontanes.

The name given to any party strongly supporting the Papal claim to temporal power. It was used especially in Germany, of the Catholic party, led by Dr. Windthorst during the Kulturkampf.

Umritsar, Treaty of.

A treaty between the East India Company and Ranjit Singh, concluded in 1809. It provided that the British should not seek to exercise any control in the territories north of the Sutlej, while Ranjit Singh agreed to respect the rights of the cis-Sutlej chiefs living under British protection.

Unam Sanctam, Bull of.

A Bull issued by Boniface VIII at the Council of Rome in 1302, declaring that the temporal power is inferior to the spiritual, and that the Pope has the power of appointing and deposing sovereigns. This Bull was specially directed against Philip the Fair of France.

Uncle Sam.

The popular name for the Government of the United States.

Uncrowned King.

Charles Stewart Parnell was called the Uncrowned King of Ireland.

Underground Railroad.

An organization formed in the Northern States of America, after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850, to aid fugitive slaves to escape to British territory.

Undertakers.

A number of English gentlemen who undertook the settlement of Ulster in 1569. The forfeited lands were to be peopled by settling a family on each 240 acres, and no Irish were to be admitted as tenants. Neither of these obligations was adhered to, and little was accomplished till the Plantation of Ulster in 1606.

Undertakers.

The name given to certain members of the Addled Parliament in 1615, who undertook to control it in the interests of the King. Their plans became known, and they consequently failed to carry out their scheme.

Undertakers, Parliamentary.

Twenty-five Irish landowners who, in the unreformed Parliament, were able to control the return of 116 members out of a house of 300. They were thus enabled to make their own terms with the Government, and were consequently known by the above title.

Uniformity, Act of.

An Act passed in 1549 (Edward VI), forbidding the use in churches of any book of prayers except the Book of Common Prayer approved by the Parliament then sitting, and known as Edward VI’s First Prayer Book. Certain alterations having been made in the book, a further Act was passed in 1552, substituting the new version for the First Prayer Book. The use of this book having been abolished during Mary’s reign, it was again made obligatory by an Act of Queen Elizabeth in 1559, and made to apply to Ireland, while the same course was pursued after the Restoration in 1662, with the additional proviso that no clergyman might hold a living who was not ordained by a bishop and prepared to accept the Prayer Book.

Unigenitus, Bull.

A Bull issued by Innocent X in 1653, in condemnation of the Jansenist heresy.

Union Catholique.

A union of the League with the less bigoted Catholics of France, formed in 1588 on the virtual acceptance by Henri III of the League formulas.

Union Cellar.

An underground cellar in the High Street, Edinburgh, where the principal supporters of the union with England held secret meetings, the feeling against the union being so strong that they dared not meet openly.

Union de la France ChrÉtienne.

A union formed in 1891 to hinder the movement for adhesion to the Republic on the part of the Catholic party. Its leaders were M. de Chesnelong, the Comte de Mun, and the Baron de Mackau.

Union of Calmar.

By this instrument, promulgated in 1397 by Margaret of Denmark, the three northern kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark were united into one monarchy. It was renounced by Sweden in 1523.

Union Jack.

The union flag, when hoisted at the jackstaff of a man-of-war, is so called. The union flag is composed of the red cross of St. George on a white ground (England), the white saltire of St. Andrew on a blue ground (Scotland), and the red saltire of St. Patrick on a white ground (Ireland).

Union with Ireland.

The Act of Union with Ireland was finally passed in 1800. Resolutions in favour of it had been submitted to the Irish Parliament in 1799, and though supported in the main by the Irish Catholics, they were opposed by Grattan, Curran and other Irish leaders, and rejected. Pitt was determined that in the interests of both countries the union must take place, and, the Irish Parliament having been dissolved, he succeeded by unlimited bribery in securing a Parliament containing a majority pledged to vote for the union. This Parliament met in 1800, and the necessary resolution was passed by a majority of forty-six.

Union with Scotland.

The Parliamentary Union between the two kingdoms was agreed to in 1706, the terms being settled by commissioners, thirty-one on each side, appointed for the purpose. The basis of the agreement was that there should be one kingdom, one Parliament and one Successor. The national flags were to be combined, and the two countries known as the United Kingdom. The confirming Act was passed by the Scots Parliament in 1706, by the English in 1707.

United Brotherhood.

See Clan-na-Gael.

United Colonies of New England.

See Confederation, Treaty of.

United Diet.

A combination of the eight Provincial Assemblies of the Prussian monarchy, convened by Frederick William IV in 1847. It sat for eleven weeks only, and was replaced by the Constituent Assembly summoned to prepare a constitution in 1848.

United Irish League.

A league founded by William O’Brien in the congested districts of the west of Ireland in 1897. Its ostensible object is to secure an increase in the size of tenants’ holdings by breaking up grass farms. Its methods are not free from intimidation.

United Irishmen.

A society founded in 1789 by Wolfe Tone, in the attempt to unite, in opposition to the Government, the Irish Catholics and the Republican Protestants of Ulster.

United Provinces.

The name given to the seven provinces of the Netherlands, namely, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Groningen, Gelderland and Oberyssel, which formed the Union of Utrecht in 1579.

University Tests Act.

An Act passed in 1871, abolishing all religious tests for admission to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and making all graduates of the Universities eligible for fellowships, whether in Holy Orders or not.

Unkiar Skelessi, Treaty of.

A treaty between Russia and Turkey, signed in 1833, by which, regardless of the protests of France and England, Turkey agreed to open the Bosphorus to the warships of Russia, while the Dardanelles remained closed to those of every other Power.

Unlearned Parliament.

The Parliament of Henry IV, which met at Coventry in 1404, was so called because it contained no lawyers.

Unser Fritz.

Frederick, Emperor of Germany, was called Our Fritz by his subjects.

Unspeakable Turk.

A phrase applied to the Ottoman Empire. It was first used by Thomas Carlyle.

Useless Parliament.

The name given to the first Parliament of Charles I. It met in June 1625, was removed to Oxford in August, and dissolved on the 12th of that month without having transacted any business.

Uses, Statute of.

By common law, landed property could only be left to the eldest son, and it had become the custom to saddle property so left with “uses,” or charges, in favour of the younger children. This had caused inextricable confusion as to title, and a statute of Henry VIII, passed in 1535, forbade the practice. It was very soon repealed.

Uti Possidetis.

A term signifying the retention by the parties to a treaty of all such territories as they may have conquered or become possessed of up to the signature of the document.

Utraquists.

The name given to a section of the Hussites who stood firm in their demand that the Communion should be administered in both kinds.

Utrecht, Treaty of.

A treaty signed in 1713 between Louis XIV and the allies, England and Holland, the Emperor not being a party to the instrument, at the close of the War of the Spanish Succession. By its terms the allies recognized the Bourbon succession to the Spanish throne, with the proviso that the two crowns should never be united in one person. Louis acknowledged Anne and the Protestant Succession. England retained Gibraltar, Minorca and Newfoundland, the latter subject to the fishery rights of France. Spain again granted England the Asiento, and certain fortified towns were given to the Dutch as a barrier in the Netherlands. The Emperor signed a separate treaty at Rastadt in the following year.

Utrecht, Union of.

A union of the various provinces of the Netherlands in 1597, when they undertook to support each other in opposing the claims of the Spanish King. The free exercise of the Protestant religion was guaranteed to Holland and Zeeland. This union may be looked upon as the foundation stone of the Dutch Republic.

Uxbridge, Treaty of.

An attempt on the part of the Presbyterians in Parliament to come to terms with Charles I in 1645. Negotiations were opened at Uxbridge, the Parliamentary demands being the abolition of Episcopacy, the continuation of the war in Ireland, and the control by Parliament of the Army and Navy and of appointments to the great offices of State. The King withdrew from the negotiations, owing to the dissensions in Parliament between the Independents and Presbyterians, which he anticipated would eventually enable him to obtain better terms.