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HECOBD 453 BECTIFY gress. The bill with such provisions was passed over the President's veto, March 2, 1867. The provisions of the bill were carried out, and the constitutions which were adopted abolished slavery, re- nounced the right of secession, and agreed to pass no laws limiting the lib- erty of any class of citizens and repudi- ated the debts incurred during the Civil War. Governors and legislators were elected under these constitutions. Ar- kansas was admitted June 22, 1868; North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, June 25, 1868; Virginia, Jan. 26, 1870; Mis- sissippi, Feb. 23, 1870; Texas, March 30, 1870. Congress did not complete the readmission of Georgia till July 15, 1870, that State having failed in its compli- ance with the general policy. The four States last named were compelled to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment, also before^ their admission, as a penalty for delay in complying with the plan of Con- gress. The Union of the United States was thus restored, and the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Texas vs. White declared the action of Congress constitutional. Reconstruction measures instituted after the World War are treated under the name of the countries involved. RECORD, the list of known facts in a person's life, especially in that of a pub- lic man; personal history. Also some- thing set down in writing for the pur- pose of preserving the memory of a fact or event; specifically a register; an au- thentic or official copy of a document, or account of any facts, acts, or proceed- ings, whether public or private, entered in a book for preservation; also, the book containing such entries. In law, authentic or official testimonies in writ- ing, contained in rolls of parchment, and preserved in a court of record. Con- gressional Record, a pamphlet published daily during sessions of Congress and containing a record of the proceedings of that body. Conveyances by record, in law, conveyance evidenced by the au- thority of a court of record, as a con- veyance by private act of Legislature or a government grant. Court of record, in law, a court of record is defined to be that where the acts and judicial pro- ceedings are enrolled or recorded; which rolls "ire called the records of the court, and are of such high authority that their truth is not to be called in question. Nothing can be averred against the rec- ord nor shall any plea, or even proof, be admitted to the contrary. And if the existence of a record be denied, it shall be tried by nothing but itself; that is, upon bare inspection whether there be any such record or no; else there will be no end of disputes. Debt on record, in law, a debt which appears to be due by the evidence of a court of record. Geological record, the record of the his- tory of the globe, as written upon the rocks especially by means of fossils. It is imperfect; many gaps existing, some of which may never be filled up. To beat, break, or cut the record, in sport- ing concerns, to do a distance in less time than has yet been officially re- corded, to excel any previous perform- ance. Trial by record, in law, a trial which is heard when a matter of record is pleaded. RECORDER, a musical instrument, formerly popular in Great Britain, re- sembling a flageolet in shape. The in- strument was wider in the lower half than in the upper; its tones were soft and pleasing, and an octave higher than the flute. RECORDER, in England, the chief ju- dicial officer of a borough or city, ex- ercising within it, in criminal matters, the jurisdiction of a court of record, whence his title is derived. The appoint- ment of recorders is vested in the crown, and the selection is confined to barristers of five years' standing. The same name is given to similar legal functionaries elsewhere, as in some American cities. RECTANGLE, in geometry, a paral- lelogram or quadrilateral figure whose angles are all right angles. An equilat- eral rectangle is a square. A rectangle is said to be contained by any two of tlie sides about one of its angles; thus, if A B and B C represent two adjacent sides, the rectangle is said to be con- tained by A B and B C, or, as it is some- times expressed, it is the rectangle under A B and B C. The area of a rectangle is equal to the product of its base and altitude. Rectangles haing equal bases are to each other as their altitudes; rec- tangles having equal altitudes are to each other as their bases. RECTIFY, to refine or purify spirit or common alcohol by a process of distil- lation, with the aid of certain herbs, es- sences, and other flavoring ingredients. More strictly, to separate the lighter portions of any liquid, and render pure and homogeneous any alcohol, ether, or volatile oil, by repeated distillation. In geometry, to construct a straight line equal in length to a definite portion of. (Said of a curve.) To rectify the globe in astronomy or geometry, to bring the sun's place in the ecliptic on the globe to the brass meridian, or to adjust it in order to prepare it for the solution of a proposed problem.