in diameter. The quoits, made of iron, may be of any weight, but are usually about 9 lb each. They must not exceed 812 in. in diameter, or be less than 312 in. in the bore, or more than 2% in. in the web. When delivering his quoit a player must stand within 4 ft. 6 in. of the centre of the end and at its side. Matches are played between teams or individuals, the object of the game being to throw the quoit as near to the pin as possible, a “ringer,” i.e. a quoit actually surrounding the pin, counting two, and a quoit nearer to the pin than any of the adversary's, counting one. A match may be for any number of points, the team or player scoring that number first being the winner. In championship, matches all quoits farther than 18 in. from the end, are foul and removed. All measurements are made from the middle of the pin to the nearest edge of the quoit. If one or more quoits are lapped, the one most accessible is first measured and withdrawn. All quoits on their backs are a foul. The general principle of curling, to drive the opponents' quoits away from the pin and place one's own near or on it, is followed.
Scotland, Lancashire and the Midlands are the principal centres of quoiting in Great Britain. In Scotland the game is patronized by the Curling Clubs, and this is also the case in the United States and Canada. Billy Hodson was champion of Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century, and his trip to America in the early 'sixties is of historical interest, as it resulted in two contests for the championship of the world with James McLaren of Newark, N. J., a native of Scotland, who was champion .of America. One hard-fought match was won by each, the deciding one remaining unplayed. The championship of America is rewarded by the “ Bell Medal, ” presented by the Grand National Curling Club of America.
QUORUM (Lat. for “ of whom ”), in its general sense, a term denoting the number of members of any body of persons whose
presence is requisite in order that business may be validly
transacted by the body or its acts be legal. The term is derived
from the wording of the commission appointing justices
of the peace which appoints them all, jointly and severally
to keep the peace in the county named. It also runs- “ We
have also assigned you, and every two or more of you (of whom
quorum], any one of you the aforesaid A, B, C, D, &c., we will
shall be one) our justices to inquire the truth more fully, ”
whence the justices so-named were usually called justices of
the quorum. The term was afterwards applied to all justices,
and subsequently by transference, to the number of members
of a body necessary for the transaction of its business. No
general rule can be laid down as to the number of members of
which a quorum should consist; its size is usually prescribed
by definite enactment or provision; it is entirely a matter for
self-constituted bodies as to what their quorum shall be, and
it usually depends on the size of the body. In bodies which
owe their existence to an act of the legislature, the necessary
quorum is usually fixed by statute. In England, in the House
of Lords, three form a quorum, though on a division there
must be thirty members present. In the House of Commons,
forty members, including the Speaker, form a quorum. The
quorum of a standing committee of the House of Lords is
seven, and of the House of Commons, twenty.
QUOTA, a proportional share or part that is due from or to any person of body of persons, in Med. Lat. quota, sc. pars, from quotus, an adjective formed from quot, how many. The word first appears in connexion with the levying of men, money or supplies for military and naval purposes from districts, towns or seaports, and thus is equivalent to “contingent” (Lat. contingere, to happen to, fall to one's lot or share, cum,
with, and tangere, to touch), used since the 18th century specifically of a contribution of men or ships according to a scale fixed between the contracting parties.
QUOTATION, a passage repeated from the writings or speech of another. The verb “to quote ” comes from Med. Lat.
quotare (from quot, how many), to refer to by numbers, i.e. of
page, chapter, &c., also to separate into chapters, verses, &c.
The term is also specifically applied to the statement of the
current prices of goods and commodities, and of stocks and
shares (see Stock Exchange).
Useful lists of familiar quotations may be found in the following:- H. T. Riley, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Quotations, ed. Bohn; P. H. Dalbiac, Dictionary of English Quotations (1896); in the same series, T. B. Harbottle, Classical Quotations (1897), and T. B. Harbottle and P. H. Dalbiac, French and Italian Quotations (1901); Robinson Smith, English Quotations (n.d.); H. P. jones, A New Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Classical Quotations; ]. K. Hoyt and A. L. Ward, The Cyclopaedia of Practical Quotations, English and Latin (1892); Cassel1's Book of Quotations (1901); ]. Bartlett, Familiar Quotations. . .in Ancient and Modern Literature (1902); in Notes and Queries, the indices to the various series contain, grouped under the heading “ Quotation, ” a large number of outof-the-way quotations.
QUO WARRANTO, in English law, the name given to an
ancient prerogative writ calling upon any person usurping any office, franchise, liberty or privilege belonging to the Crown, to
show “ by what Warrant ” he maintained his claim, the onus
being on the defendant. It lay also for non-user or misuser of
an office, &c. If the Crown succeeded, judgment of forfeiture
or ousterlemain was given against the defendant. The procedure
was regulated by statute as early as 1278 (the statute of
Quo Warranto, 6 Edw. I. c. 1), passed in consequence of the
commission of quo warranto issued by Edward I. A distinction
was drawn in the report between liberates, jurisdiction exercised
by the lord as lord, and regalia, jurisdiction exercised by Crown
grant. After a time the cumbrousness and inconvenience of
the ancient practice led to its being superseded by the modern
form of an information in the nature of a quo warranto, exhibited
in the King's Bench Division either by the attorney-general ex
officio or by the king's coroner and attorney at the instance of
a private person called the relator. The information will not
be issued except by leave of the court on proper cause being
shown. It does not lie where there has been no user or where
the office has determined. Nor does it lie for the usurpation
of every kind of office. But it lies where the office is of a public
nature and created by statute, even though it is not an encroachment
upon the prerogative of the Crown. Where the usurpation
is of a municipal office the information is regulated by 9 Anne c.
25 (1711), under which the defendant may be fined and judgment
of ouster given against him, and costs may be granted for
or against the relator. Such an information must, in the case
of boroughs within the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, be
brought within twelve months after disqualification (s. 22 5);
in the case of other boroughs, within six years after the defendant
first took upon himself the office (32 Geo. III. c. 58, s. 2). The
information in the nature of a quo warranto, though nominally a
criminal, has long been really a civil proceeding, and has recently
been expressly declared to be so (Supreme Court of Judicature
Act 1884, s. 15). In cases not falling within 9 Anne c. 25,
judgment of ouster is not usually given. The most famous
historical instance of quo warranto was the action taken against
the corporation of London by Charles II. in 1684. The King's
Bench adjudged the charter and franchises of the city of London
to be forfeited to the Crown (State Trials, vol. viii. 1039). This
judgment was reversed by 2 Will. & Mary, sess. 1, c. 8; and it
was further enacted, in limitation of the prerogative, that the franchises of the city should never be seized or forejudged on pretence of any forfeiture or misdemeanour. In Scotland the analogous procedure is by action of declaratory.
In the United States the right to a public office is tried by quo warranto or similar procedure, regulated by the state laws. Proceedings by quo warranto lie in a United States court for the removal of persons holding office contrary to art. xiv. s. 3 of the Amendments to the Constitution (act of the 31st of May 1870, c. 14).
