THE BRITISH EMPIRE. THE British Empire consists of : I. THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Reigning King and Emperor. George V., born June 3, 1865, son of King Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra, eldest daughter of King Christian IX., of Denmark; married July 6, 1893, to Victoria Mary, born May 26, 1867, daughter of the late Duke of Teck; succeeded to the crown on the death of his father, May 6, 1910. Living Children of the King. I. Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of II. Prince Albert Frederick, born December 14, 1895. III. Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary, born April 25, 1897. IV. Prince Henry William, born March 31, 1900. V. Prince George Edward, born December 20, 1902. Living Sisters of the King. I. Princess Louise, Princess Royal, born February 20, 1867; married July 27, 1889, to the late Duke of Fife, who died January 29, 1912. Offspring-(1) Alexandra Victoria, Duchess of Fife, born May 17, 1891; married October 15, 1913, to Prince Arthur, son of the Duke of Connaught. (2) Maud Alexandra, born April 3, 1893. II. Princess Victoria Alexandra, born July 6, 1868. III. Princess Maud Charlotte, born November 26, 1869; married July 22, 1896, to Charles, Prince of Denmark, now King Haakon VII. of Norway. Offspring:-Olav, Crown Prince of Norway, born July 2, 1903. Living Brother and Sisters of the late King. I. Princess Helena, born May 25, 1846; married July 5, 1866, to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (died October 28, 1917). Living offspring:-Albert John, born Feb. 26, 1869; Helena Victoria, born May 3, 1870; Marie Louise, born Aug. 12, 1872, married to Prince Aribert of Anhalt July 6, 1891: the marriage was dissolved December 13, 1900. II. Princess Louise, born March 18, 1848; married March 21, 1871, to John, Marquis of Lorne, who became Duke of Argyll, April 24, 1900, and died May 2, 1914. III. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, born May 1, 1850; married March 13, 1879, to Princess Louise of Prussia, born July 25, 1860; died March 14, 1917. Offspring:-(1) Margaret Victoria, born Jan. 15, 1882, married June 15, 1905, to Prince Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden; (2) Arthur, born Jan. 13, 1853, married Alexandra Victoria, Duchess of Fife, October 15, 1913; (3) Victoria, born March 17, 1886. IV. Princess Beatrice, born April 14, 1857; married July 23, 1885, to Prince Henry (died January 20, 1896), third son of Prince Alexander of Hesse. Living offspring :--(1) Alexander Albert, born Nov. 23, 1886; (2) Victoria Eugénie, born Oct. 24, 1887; married May 31, 1906, to Alfonso XIII., King of Spain; (3) Leopold Arthur Louis, born May 21, 1889. The King's legal title rests on the statute of 12 and 13 Will. III. c. 3, by which the succession to the Crown of Great Britain and Ireland was settled on the Princess Sophia of Hanover and the heirs of her body, being Protestants.' By proclamation of May 9, 1910, under the Roval Titles Act, 1901, the title of the King is declared to be 'George V., by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.' By proclamation of July 17, 1917, the Royal family became known as the House and Family of Windsor. By Letters Patent of November 30, 1917, the titles of Royal Highness and Prince or Princess are (except for existing titles) to be restricted to the Sovereign's children, the children of the Sovereign's sons, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. The Regency Act, 1910 (10 Edw. VII. and 1 Geo. V., ch. 26) appointed Queen Mary to act as regent in the event of the demise of the King and his succession by any of his children under the age of 18 years. Provision is made for the support of the Royal household by the settlement of the Civil List soon after the commencement of each reign. (For historical details, see YEARBook for 1908, p. 5.) By Act of 10 Ed. VII, and 1 Geo. V. c. 28 (August 3, 1910), the Civil List of the King, after the usual surrender of hereditary revenues, is fixed at 470,000l., of which 110,0001. is appropriated to the privy purse of the King and Queen, 125, 8007. for salaries of the Royal household and retired allowances, 193,000l. for household expenses, 20,0001. for works, 13,2001. for alms and bounty, and 8,000l. remains unappropriated. The same Civil List Act of 1910 also provides for an annuity of 70,000l. to Queen Mary it the event of her surviving the King. Should the Prince of Wales marry, the Princess of Wales will receive an annuity of 10,0001., and should she survive the Prince of Wales, this annuity will be raised to one of 30,000l. Further, there is to be paid to trustees for the benefit of the King's children (other than the Duke of Cornwall) an annual sum of 10,000l. in respect of each son (other than the Duke of Cornwall) who attains the age of 21 years, and a further annual sum of 15,0001. in respect of each such son who marries, and an annuity of 6,000l. in respect of each daughter who attains the age of 21 or marries. First Commissioner of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Keeper of the King's Privy Purse are appointed the Royal Trustees under this Act. Queen Alexandra, the Queen-Mother, receives the annuity of 70,000l. provided by the Civil List Act of 1901. Civil List pensions may be granted, but are not chargeable on the sum paid for the Civil List. All these payments are charged on the Consolidated Fund, into which the surrendered hereditary revenues are carried. The King has paid to him the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, the payments made therefrom in 1918 being 56,000l. for His Majesty's use. The On the Consolidated Fund are charged likewise the following sums allowed to members of the royal family:-25,000l. a year to the Duke of Connaught; 6,000l. to H.R.H. Helena Augusta Victoria; 6,000l. to Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll; 6,000l. to H. R.H. Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore 6,000l. to the Duchess of Albany; 6,000l. to the Duchess of Edinburgh; and 6,000l. to each of the late King's daughters. The Heir Apparent has an income from the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, the payment in 1918 on his account being 50,0001. Sovereigns and sovereign rulers of Great Britain, from the union of the crowns of England and Scotland : House of Stuart. : 1625 House of Hanover. George V. 1910 1 Change of title made by Royal Proclamation, July 17, 1917. Formerly House of Saxe Coburg and Gotha. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Constitution and Government. I. IMPERIAL AND CENTRAL. 5 The supreme legislative power of the British Empire is vested in Parlia ment. Parliament is summoned by the writ of the sovereign issued out of Chancery, by advice of the Privy Council, at least twenty days previous to its assembling. The annual session used to extend from the middle of February to about the middle of August, or occasionally later, but since 1914 the sittings of Parliament have been interrupted only by comparatively short intervals. Every session must end with a prorogation, and all Bills which have not been passed during the session then lapse. A dissolution may occur by the will of the sovereign, or, as is most usual, during the recess by proclamation, or finally by lapse of time, the statutory limit of the duration of any Parliament being five years. The life of the last Parliament, which would otherwise have ended in January, 1916, was, however, owing to the war, extended by successive Acts to November, 1918, nearly eight years' duration. Under the Parliament Act, 1911 (1 and 2 Geo. V, ch. 13), all Money Bills (so certified by the Speaker of the House of Commons), if not passed by the House of Lords without amendment, may become law without their concurrence on the royal assent being signified. Public Bills, other than Money Bills or a Bill extending the maximum duration of Parliament, if passed by the House of Commons in three successive sessions, whether of the same Parliament or not, and rejected each time, or not passed, by the House of Lords, may become law without their concurrence on the royal assent being signified, provided that two years have elapsed between the second reading in the first session of the House of Commons, and the third reading in the third session. All Bills coming under this Act must reach the House of Lords at least one month before the end of the session. Finally, the Parliament Act limited the maximum duration of Parliament to five years instead of seven (but the duration of the last Parliament was specially extended, as stated above). The present form of Parliament, as divided into two Houses of Legislature, the Lords and the Commons, dates from the middle of the fourteenth century. The House of Lords consists of peers who hold their seats-(i) by hereditary right; (ii) by creation of the sovereign; (iii) by virtue of officeLaw Lords, and English archbishops (2) and bishops (24); (iv) by election for life-Irish peers (28); (v) by election for duration of Parliament-Scottish peers (16). The full house would consist of about 700 members, but the voting strength (in February, 1919) was about 680. The House of Commons consists of members representing County, Borough, and University constituencies in the three Divisions of the United Kingdom. No one under 21 years of age can be a member of Parliament. Clergymen of the Church of England, ministers of the Church of Scotland, and Roman Catholic clergymen are disqualified from sitting as members; Government contractors, and sheriffs, and returning officers for the localities for which they act, are also among those disqualified. No English or Scottish peer can be elected to the House of Commons, but non-representative Irish peers are eligible. Under the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act, 1918, women are also eligible. In August, 1911, by resolution of the House of Commons, provision was |