B R I D G E bills, ifec., not bearing the printer’s or publisher’s name, are, when committed by any one who is not a candidate or agent, offences punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £100, but carry with them no incapacities. Where an election court finds that any illegal practice has been committed with the knowledge or consent of a parliamentary candidate, he becomes incapable for seven years of being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons for the same constituency. He incurs the like incapacity, limited to the duration of the parliament for which the election was held, if the election court finds that he was guilty by his agents of an illegal practice. A prosecution for any of the above offences cannot be instituted more than a year after the offence was committed, unless an inquiry by Election Commissioners takes place, in which case it may be instituted at any time within two years from the commission of the offence, not being more than three months after the date of the Commissioners’ report. The law as to corrupt and illegal practices, as above stated, applies to parliamentary, municipal, county, parochial, and school board elections. Incapacities corresponding to those incurred by parliamentary candidates found guilty by an election court are incurred by municipal and other candidates in the like case, e.g., a municipal candidate found personally guilty of a corrupt practice is incapacitated forever, and a candidate found guilty by his agents is incapacitated for three years from holding corporate office in the borough. No maximum of expenses is prescribed for school board candidates, nor is any return and declaration of expenses required from them. Bribery at elections of fellows, scholars, officers, and other persons in colleges, cathedral and collegiate churches, hospitals, and other societies is prohibited by the Act 31 Eliz. c. 6. If a member receives any money, fee, reward, or other profit for giving his vote in favour of any candidate, he forfeits his own place; if for any such consideration he resigns to make room for a candidate, he forfeits double the amount of the bribe, and the candidate by or on whose behalf a bribe is given or promised is incapable of being elected on that occasion. The Act is to be read at every election of fellows, &c., under a penalty of £40 in case of default. By the same Act any person for corrupt consideration presenting, instituting, or inducting to an ecclesiastical benefice or dignity forfeits two years’ value of the benefice or dignity; the corrupt presentation is void, and the right to present lapses for that turn to the Crown, and the corrupt presentee is disabled from thereafter holding the same benefice or dignity • a corrupt institution or induction is void, and the patron may present. For a corrupt resignation or exchange of a benefice the giver and taker of a bribe forfeit each double the amount of the bribe. Any person corruptly procuring the ordaining of ministers or granting of licenses to preach forfeits £40, and the person so ordained forfeits £10, and for seven years is incapacitated from holding any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion. (l. l. s.) Bridge.—Bridge is a game of cards for four players developed out of the game of whist. It is probably of Russian origin. It appeared to have been first played in England about 1880 under the name of Biritch or Russian whist. It found its way to the London clubs about 1894, from which date its popularity rapidly increased. Bridge differs from whist in the following respects :—Although there are four players, yet in each hand the partner of the dealer takes no part in the play of that particular hand. After the first lead his cards are placed on the table exposed, and are played by the dealer as at dummy whist;
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nevertheless the dealer’s partner is interested in the result of the hand equally with the dealer. The trump suit is not determined by the last card dealt, but is selected by the dealer or his partner without consultation, the former having the first option. It is further open to them to play without a trump suit. The value of tricks and honours varies with the suit declared as trumps. Honours are reckoned differently from whist, and on a scale which is somewhat involved and illogical. There are five honours, the ten being accepted as one of them. The score for honours does not count towards winning or losing the rubber, but is added afterwards to the trick score in order to determine the value of the rubber. There is also a score for holding no trumps in one of the hands, and for winning a “ slam.” The score has to be kept on paper. It is usual for the scoring block to have two vertical columns divided halfway by a horizontal line. The left column is for the scorers’ side and the right for the opponents’. Honours are scored above the horizontal line and tricks below. The drawback to this arrangement is that, since the scores for each hand are not kept separately, it is generally impossible to trace an error in the score without going through the whole series of hands. A better plan, it seems, is to have four columns ruled, the inner two being assigned to tricks, the outer ones to honours. By this method a line can be reserved for each hand, and any discrepancy in the scores at once rectified. The Portland Club drew up a code of laws in 1895, and this code, with a few amendments, was in July 1895 adopted by a joint committee of the Turf and Portland Clubs. The provisions of the code are here summarized. Each trick above 6 counts 2 points in a spade declaration, 4 in a club, 6 in a diamond, 8 in a heart, 12 in a no-trump declaration. The game consists of 30 points made by tricks alone. When one side has won two games the rubber is ended. The winners are entitled to add’ 100 points to their score. Honours consist of ace, king, queen, knave, ten, in a suit declaration. If a player and his partner conjointly hold 3 honours they score twice the value of a trick; if 4 honours, 4 times; if 5 honours, 5 times. If a player in his own hand hold 4 honours he is entitled to score 4 honours in addition to the score for conjoint honours; thus, if one player hold 4 honours and his partner the other their total score is 9 by honours. Similarly if a player hold 5 honours in his own hand he is entitled to score 10 by honours. If in a no-trump hand the partners conjointly hold 3 aces, they score 30 for honours; if 4 aces, 40 for honours. 4 aces in 1 hand count 100. On the same footing as the score for honours are the following : chicane, if a player hold no trump, in amount equal to 2 by honours ; grand slam, if one side win all the tricks, 40 points; little slam, if they win 12 tricks, 20 points. At the end of the rubber the total scores, whether made by tricks, honours, chicane, slam, or rubber points, are added together, and the difference between the two totals is the number of points won. The Play.—The cards are shuffled, cut, and dealt (the last card not being turned) as at whist; but the dealer cannot lose the deal by misdealing. After the deal is completed, the dealer makes the trump declaration, or passes the choice to his partner without remark. If the dealer’s partner make the declaration out of his turn, either adversary may, without consultation, claim a fresh deal. If an adversary make a declaration, the dealer may claim a fresh deal or disregard the declaration. Then, after the declaration, either adversary may double, the leader having first option. The effect of doubling is that each trick is worth twice as many points as before; but the scores for honours, chicane, and slam are unaltered. If a declaration is doubled, the dealer and his partner S. II. — 47
