Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/102

BEVOLUTION. 86 REWARD. Essap on Oovernmcnt ; Burgess, PoUlical Sciciica and Compurativc Constitutional Law (2 vols., Bostcin, 1890). On its historical aspects, see the history of dill'erent nations. See also Lilly, A Century of Revolution (London, 1890). REVOLUTIONARY TRIBUNAL. The name given to the court for the trial of political oflVnses instituted bv the French Convention on the night of Marcli 10, 170,3. The name was pro- posed by Cambacer&s. Danton and his asso- ciates considered lliat such a court had become neccssiiry, inasmuch as the disasters which had befallen the national armies on the frontiers had led to dangerous conspiracies against the revolu- tionary Government. Its members were chosen from tlie various departments, and their appoint- ment was ratified by the Convention. Their func- tion was to sit in judgment on all persons ac- cused of crimes against the State, and from their sentence, delivered with appalling promptitude, there was no appeal. During the Reign of Terror, when Fouquicr-Tinville (q.v.) was the public prosecutor, this tribunal acquired a fearful no- toriety liy doing away with almost all forms of justice, and making itself the willing instrument of the Committee of Public Safety. After several changes in organization, the Revolutionary Tri- bunal was finally abolished, May 31, 1795. See French Revolution. REVOLUTIONARY WAR. See United States. REVOLVER, MiLiTART. The military revol- ver is a weapon of much disputed value, as is shown by its varying relative importance in the armies of the world. It has, perhaps, found a greater sphere of usefulness in the United States cavalry than with any other troops in the world. The ordinary range of usefulness of the service revolver — if judged by the sighting of those now in general use — is practically limited to 50 yards, the weapon itself being required to be strong enough to stop a man, and if possible a horse. The responsible authorities of the great military powers remain officially faithful to revolvers of over .40 calibre, and bullets of from 180 to 313 grains; although their officers are often supplied, or supply themselves, with lighter and less bulky weapons of reduced calibre. This is especially true of British officers. The United States Colt, calibre .38, fires a bullet lighter by nearly 30 grains than that of any other power, with the ex- ception of those used by the Swdss dismounted officers, French officers, and the revolvers of the new Russian model. Its cylinder contains six chambers, and in order to facilitate the load- ing of cartridges and the simultaneous ejec- tion of the emptied shells the cylinder is mount- ed upon a crane pivoted in the frame below the cylinder, so that on drawing the cylinder latch to the rear the cylinder swings to the left and downward out of its seat in the frame. Thus, all the chambers are exposed for loading, while the pressure against the end of the ejector rod under the barrel forces out the shells. Tliis done, the cylinder is returned to its posi- tion in the frame and is automatically secured by the cylinder latch. One of the most im- portant American revolvers is the Smith and Wesson. Formerly, Smith and Wesson revolvers were constructed in calibres from .22 to .45, but about the year 1890 the .22 calibre was discon- tinued. These revolvers are equipped with an automatic shell ejector, so that when the revolver is opened by its clasp the barrel and cylinders tip downward, an action which-simultaneously ejects the empty shells. This mechanism is one of the most important inventions ever made in con- nection with i-evolvers, and has been adopted by juacticallv all the revolver manufacturers throughout the world, since the patents covering the invention expired. The Army Model Number 3, made by .Smith and Wesson, weighs 2Vi pounds, is central fire, with a calibre of .44. It takes six cartridges and has a length of barrel of 6% inches. All American pistols and revolvers use metallic cartridges. Although it is conceded that if load- ed a certain way the breech-loading revolver has no advantage over the muzzle-loader, and even though it is admitted that the muzzle-loading pistol cliarged as are dueling pistols gives bet- ter results than a breech-loading pistol of the same weight, length of barrel, and bore, loaded with a factor.y metallic cartridge, yet, owing to the great amount of labor necessary to load them, they are, as a rule, tuipopular with pistol-shots, and naturally are out of the question for military purposes. The mark IV. .445 service model re- volver of the Webley and Scott Revolver Com- pany was adopted in 1803 by a joint War Office and Admiralty committee for the exclusive use of the British" Army and Xa-y, as well as the Indian and Colonial forces. It weighs 2 pounds 3 ounces, and has a 4-inch barrel. The cylinder may be locked or free as desired, a good feature of the weapon being its combination of the trig- ger action with the cocking action. As already stated, the British officer selects and purchases his own weapon, and since the advent of the auto- matic pistol a general need was felt for a re- volver which should be capable of approaching the rapidity of fire of the automatic pistol. Since 1901 the Webley-Fosbery revolver has made its appearance, and has the great advan- tage of taking the regular service ammunition. See Pistol; and Plate of Pistols and Revol- VEKS. REVUE DES DEUX MONDES, rc-vu' da de moNd ( Fr., Review of the two Worlds ) . The most important French magazine, founded in 1831 by F. Buloz, and now conducted by Brune- ti&re. It is a bi-monthly and numbers among its contributors the leading French writers in litera- ture, art, politics, and history. REWA KANTHA, ra'wa klin'thii. A collec- tion of (!1 native States, constituting a British political agency, in the Gujarat division of Bom- bay, India. The comliined area is 4080 square miles, and the population in 1901 was 478.889 having fallen ofl' from 733,500 in 1891. REWARD (OP. rcwarder, resiparder, reguard- er, reyarder, to regard, from re-, back + tvarder, garder, to watch, mark, heed, guard, from OHG. ■warten, Ger. warten, AS. weardian. Eng. leard : connected ultimately with Gk. opSv, horan, to see). A compensation or premium offered by a government or a private individual to the public in general for the performance of a particular act specified therein. In England, statutes forbid the offering or receiving of a reward for the re- turn of stolen property under conditions protect- ing or sheltering the thief. In the United States compounding a felony is a crime, but the English