A D U A D V 177 dora, and of punishing all offenders who were found guilty of working adulterated gold or silver. The chief offenders appear to have been the cutlers, who were charged with covering base metal in such a manner that it could not easily be detected. It was therefore provided that all manner of vessels of gold and silver should be of " good and true alloy ; " and power was given to the company to " go from shop to shop to assay if the gold was good," and finding that it was not of the right touch, it was to be seized and forfeited for the king. Subsequently, by the statute of 2 Henry VI. (1424), it was provided that none should work gold unless it be as good as the alloy of the "mystery," and that silver wares should be as good or better than the king s coin. It was further provided, that when the goods were finished they should be brought to the Hall to be assayed; and when found of the right touch it should be stamped with the owner s and assayer s marks, as well as with the " Liberdshede crowned." These powers have been confirmed in numerous Acts of Parliament, the most important of which are the following : 1 2 Geo. II. c. 26 (1739), which provides that no goldsmith, silver smith, or other trader shall work or make any vessel of gold of less than 22-carat fineness (that is, 22 parts of fine gold to 2 parts of alloy), nor any silver vessel or plate of less than eleven ounces and two pennyweights of fine silver, and 18 pennyweights of alloy, in a pound troy, under a penalty of 10. But this does not extend to jewelry, earrings, gold springs, lockets, &c. It also pro vides for the proper assaying and stamping of the same. In 1784, the Act 24 Geo. III. c. 53, made provision for imposing a duty on the article assayed and stamped, and from that time the king s or queen s head has ap peared as a mark. In 1798, the Act 38 Geo. III. c. G9, gave permission for a lower standard of gold, namely 18-carat gold (that is, 18 parts of fine gold to 6 of alloy); and by the Act 7 and 8 Viet. c. 22 (1844), the penalty for using false stamps, &c., wag ameliorated. Lastly, by the Act 17 and 18 Viet. c. 96, three still lower standards of gold were permitted, namely 15-carat gold, 12-carat gold, and 9-carat gold, each of which was to be designated by the number and the decimal. At pre sent, therefore, all gold and silver plate, as well as wedding and mourning rings, must be assayed and stamped before their sale ; and other articles may be assayed and stamped in like manner at the option of the maker or dealer. The stamps or marks impressed on gold are the following, namely, 1st, The initials of the maker s name; 2d, The duty mark (a king s or queen s head); 3d, The crown and standard number, indicating the quality of the gold ; 4?A, The assayer s stamp (a leopard s head for Goldsmiths Hall); and 5th, The letter denoting the year of assay. In the case of silver, the stamps are 1 st, The initial letters of the maker; 2d, A lion; 3d, The assayer s stamp (in London, a leopard s head); <ith, The letter indicating the year of assay; and 5th, The duty mark (a king s or queen s head). Silver goods of higher value, that is, with a mixture of 1 1 ounces and 10 pennyweights of fine silver, instead of 11 ounces and 2 pennyweights, is called new sterling, and is, as for merly, marked with a figure of Britannia, and a lion s head erased. As in olden times, the Goldsmiths Company have still power to break, cut, or otherwise destroy all gold and silver plate which is below the legal standard. (H. L.) ADULTERY (from the Latin adulterium) is the sexual intercourse of a married person with another than the offender s husband or wife. Among the Greeks, and in the earlier period of Roman law, it was not adultery unless a married woman was the offender. The foundation of the later Roman law with regard to adultery was the lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis passed by Augustus about B.C. 17. (See Dig. 48, 5; Paull. Rec. Sent. ii. 26; Brisson, Ad Leg. Jul. de Adult.) In Britain it has been reckoned a spiritual offence, that is, cognisable by the spiritual courts only. The common law took no farther notice of it than to allow the party aggrieved an action of damages. In England, however, the action for " criminal conversation," as it was called, is nominally abolished by 20 and 21 Viet. c. 85, 59; but by the 33d section of the same Act, the husband may claim damages from one who has committed adultery with his wife in a petition for dissolution of the marriage, or for judicial separation, or in a special petition for the purpose in the Divorce Court, In Scotland damages may be recovered against an adulterer in an ordinary action of damages in the civil court, and the latter may be found liable for the expenses of an action of divorce if joined with the guilty spouse as a co-defender. Adultery is, both in England and Scotland, a ground of divorce. In England, a complete divorce or dissolution of the marriage could, until the creation of the Court of Probate and Divorce by 20 and 21 Viet. c. 85, be obtained only by an Act of Parliament. In Scotland a complete divorce may be effected by proceedings in the Court of Session, as succeeding to the old ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the commissioners. A person divorced for adultery is, by the law of Scotland, prohibited from intermarrying with the paramour. See DIVORCE. ADVENT, the period of the approach of the nativity, lasting, in the Greek Church, from St Martin s Day (Nov. 11), and, in other churches, from the Sunday nearest to St Andrew s Day (Nov. 30) till Christmas. The observance of it dates from the 4th century, and it has been recognised since the 6th century as the commencement of the ecclesias tical year. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the coming of Christ as Saviour, and to his second coming as Judge, special lessons are prescribed for the four Sundays in Advent. At one time Advent was observed almost as strictly as Lent, but the rule is now relaxed, and in the Church of England fasting is confined to the week in which Ember Day (13th Dec.) occurs. The phrase second advent is commonly used to denote our Lord s "appearing the second time, without sin, unto sal vation," which is so often spoken of in the New Testament. Various opinions have been held as to the time and manner of this event. In the apostolic churches it was commonly regarded as imminent, though this was not the opinion of the apostle Paul, as may be gathered from 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. The discussion in later times has centred itself chiefly round the question whether the second advent is pre- millennial or post-millennial. ADVERTISEMENT (from the French avertissement, a giving notice, or announcement) denotes in a general sense any information publicly communicated through the press or otherwise. It is the profit derived from advertisements that supports the larger number of newspapers. While some of these drag out a sickly existence, others derive a large revenue from this source. The duty upon advertise ments (which existed in Britain 1 previous to 1853) was not unjustly branded as a tax upon knowledge. It was certainly very unequal and oppressive, being the same upon the sale of an estate worth 100,000 as on a servant s notice wanting a place, upon an advertisement of a sixpenny 1 There is no duty on advertisements in the United States, Germany, or France. In France, however, there is a duty of 10 per cent, on the raw paper, and a further duty of 20 per cent, on all newspapers printed.
L - 23
