Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/532

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HAMMURAPI, CODE OF 460 HAMPSTEAD over Elam. From this date, his ag- gressive policy against the outer bor- ders of the Fertile Crescent sent his conquering armies to wrest submission from the Assyrians. Hammurapi pos- sessed a genius for organization, rare among the tribal Kings of the Valley lands. His methods of centralization, communication by writing and delega- tion of power to properly instructed military sub-lords, together with his vise and economic encourgement of igriculture, building and the arts of peace which brought his kingdom sconomic prosperity marked him as a great ruler. Perhaps his most valuable contribution from the standpoint of civilization was his codification of the laws of his realms. HAMMURAPI, CODE OF, the re- corded collection of the body of rules governing the procedure of courts, the administration of justice, the positive and negative rules of conduct ordered to be observed in the daily social and com- mercial life of Babylon in the 22d century B. c. The Code of Hammurapi is con- tained upon a block of black diorite, a stone of peculiarly high resisting power to weather. This block, about eight feet in height, was discovered on the acropolis at Susa, a former capital, by De Morgan in 1901. Originally found in three pieces, it has been restored, and exhibits beneath a bas-relief of the King receiving the Code from Shamash, the sun-god, 16 columns of engraved text. There were originally 28 of these columns. The authenticity of this block has been established by the later discovery of fragments of copies made from the original text. Among the laws appearing in the Code are recitals of punishment for witchcraft, including trial by ordeal. There were sections devoted to the rights, obligations and duties due to and from owners of private property. There was a considerable section devoted to commercial law, covering loans, pledges and the debtor's position. The law governing injuries to the person or torts provided a graduated scale of damages or reparation which is granted upon the basis of ability of the injured party to stand the loss. The Code is strictly a civil code and there are no religious injunctions. The whole fabric of the Code indicates the state of social flux between an absolute im- position of penalties and a fixed law, and a fixed law with a gradation of greater and lesser offenses with corresponding punishment. land, in 1594. He was cousin-german by the mother's side to Oliver Cromwell. In 1609 he was entered a gentleman com- moner at Magdalen College, Oxford. He began the study of law in the Inner Temple, but inheriting a fortune on his father's death he lived the usual life of a country gentleman. He entered Parlia- ment in the beginning of Charles I.'s reign as member for Grampound, and continued to sit in the House of Com- mons three times as member for Wen- dover, and finally for Bucks. Though for years opposing arbitrary practices in Church and State, it was not till 1636 that his resistance to Charles' demand for ship-money made him the argument of all tongues. Though the decision in the Court of Exchequer was given against him by seven voices to five, the victory, as far as regarded public opinion, was his. In the following year (1637) he was one of those who medi- tated emigration to America, which they were prevented from carrying out by an order in council detaining them. Hence- forward he took a prominent part in the great contest between the crown and the Parliament, and was one of the five mem- bers whom the king, in 1642, so impru- dently attempted, in person, to seize in the House of Commons. When the ap- peal was made to the sword, Hampden accepted the command of a regiment in the parliamentary army under the Earl of Essex, and was fatally wounded on Chalgrove Field, June 24, 1643. HAMPDEN-SIDNEY COLLEGE, an institution of learning in Hampden-Sid- ney, Va.; founded in 1775 by the Pres- byterian Church of Hanover and incor- porated by the Legislature of Virginia in 1783. It is located on a tract of land given by Peter Johnson in 1773, and which has been increased by purchases and gifts, so that the college now owns about 250 acres. In 1919 it reported: Professors and instructors, 8; students, 159; president, A. W. McWhorter, A. M. HAMPSHIRE, SOUTHAMPTON, or HANTS, a county of England on the southern coast. It includes the Isle of Wight, and has an area of 1,645 square miles. The surface is irregular and is traversed by the North and South Downs. The chief rivers are the Test, the Anton, the Itchen, and the Avon. It is an important agricultural county. Hops are an important crop and exten- sive truck farming is carried on. The chief centers of trade are Southampton and Portsmouth. The capital is Win- chester. Pop. about 1,000,000. HAMPDEN, JOHN, a celebrated Eng- HAMPSTEAD, a parliamentary lish statesman; bom in London, Eng- borough of London, England, situated