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264 BRIANCON BRIBERY part of his reign Maelmora, the king of Lein- ster, revolted and called in the Danes to Ins assistance. Brian Boru repulsed the allied Danes and Leinstermen at Clontarf, and died on the battlefield. His son Morrogh also fell in the same fight. The Danes never regained any independent position in Ireland after this de- feat. An ordinance of his prescribed that every one should adopt as a surname the name of his father, and thenceforth surnames became permanent in Irish families. I'.UI t (>> (anc. Brigantium), a fortified town of France, in Dauphiny, department of Hautes- Alpes, 35 m. N. E. of Gap ; pop. in 1866, 3,579. It is at the junction of the two sources of the river Durance, and at the foot of Mont Ge- nevre, and is 4,285 ft. above the sea. It com- mands the principal pass to the Italian and Swiss frontiers, is a depot of military stores for the French Alps, and is surrounded with a triple lino of ramparts. Seven forts whose cross-fires protect all the approaches to the town are con- nected with each other by subterranean pas- sages cut in solid rock. The principal works are on the left bank of the Claree, which is crossed by a bridge of a single arch, 127 ft. in span and 179 ft. above the surface of the water. The position is considered impregna- ble. The most famous productions of Bri- nncon are chalk and manna (the latter from larch trees, also called Venice turpentine) ; and scythes, sickles, nails, cutlery, copper ware, and hosiery are manufactured there. It was formerly capital of a district called Briancon- nais, which during the early part of the mid- dle ages was almost independent, then succes- sively annexed to Dauphiny and the crown of France, and at the beginning of the 18th cen- tury for some years in the possession of Savoy. BRIANSK, a town of Russia, in the govern- ment and 70 m. W. N. W. of the city of Orel, on the right bank of the Desna ; pop. in 1867, 13,831. The town has an imperial cannon fonndery, arms manufactory, and arsenal, a convent and many churches, and carries on a brisk trade in grain, hemp, and linen. BRIARECS, a renowned giant of Greek my- thology, said by Homer to have been called Bria- reus by the gods, but by men ^Egroon. He was the son of Coelus and Terra, and brother of Gy- gesand Cottus, and had like them 100 arms and 50 heads. When the inferior deities conspired against Jupiter and endeavored to dethrone him, Briareus rendered effective aid to the father of the gods ; but when Briareus himself rebelled, he was put in durance under ^-Etna, which belched forth fire and flame as often as the monster struggled in his dungeon. BRIBERY, at common law, the offering or acceptance of any undue reward to or by any person whose office or ordinary employment relates to the administration of public justice, in order to influence his conduct in such office or employment, and incline him to act other- wise than as a strict and conscientious discharge of duty would require. It extends to the giv- ing or receiving a reward to influence the action of a voter at parliamentary elections, or of a member of parliament, or a cabinet minister or member of the privy council, of a justice of the peace, or officer summoning jurors, or the jurors themselves; and the attempt, though not successful, is a misdemeanor. Formerly very loose notions prevailed in England regard- ing the acceptance of gifts by judges from the suitors before them ; and Lord Chancellor Bacon could make no better apology for the receipt of a great number of such gifts by him- self than that the practice was common. The severe punishment inflicted upon him put an end to the practice for a long time ; but in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. there was a shameful venality of judges, which, however, terminated at the revolution of 1688, since which the integrity of the English bench has generally been above reproach. The conspic- uous exception was that of Lord Chancellor Macclesfield, who was impeached and removed from office in 1725 for making sale of offices in his patronage, and conniving at an illegal use of moneys on deposit in his court. In 1865, also, Lord Chancellor Westbury found it neces- sary to resign because not able to defend his conduct in the bestowment of patronage. Bribery is also punishable in England under various statutes. By statute 11 Henry IV., all judges and officers of the king convicted of bribery are subject to forfeiture of treble the amount of the bribe, are punishable at the king's will, and to be discharged from his service for ever. The provisions against bribery at parlia- mentary and other elections are very minute and specific, but no law has yet been able to remedy what is now and has for a long time been a crying evil. It perhaps reached its cli- max in the time of Sir Robert Walpole, but the enormous sums of money now expended in the parliamentary contests are not consistent with purity in elections. By common parliamentary law bribery of or by a member is sufficient cause for expulsion. The statutes of the Uni- ted States prescribe punishments for the brib- ery of members of congress and other officers of government, and of jurors, and bribery in contracts. Bribery of a member of a legisla-