each of his sons; l)iit tluit, in every case where this amount was exceeded, the State should re- sume the surplus, payin<; the tenant a price for the buildings, etc., which he had been at the expense of erecting on the lands thus lost to him. The recovered lands were then to be distributed among the poor citizens; a clause being inserted in the bill to prevent these citizens from selling the lands thus allotted to them, as many of them would liave been apt to do.
According to the laws and constitution of Rome, there was nothing essentially unjust in this proposal, which was, in private, at least, approved of by some of the most distinguished men of the time. The energy of Tiberius tirae- chus carried the measure, in spite of the oppo- sition of the aristocratic i)arty, to whose enmity he fell a victim. His work was taken up a decade later by his brother tiaius, who also met a violent death. (See (!k.cciil'S.) The at- tempts to carry out the "Sempronian law,' as it was called (fiom the name of the (701.9 to which the Gracchi belonged), were attended with great difliculties, and although not formally repealed, it continued to be evaded and rendered inopera- tive. 'arious agrarian laws were subsequently passed, sonic by the victorious aristocratic party, in a spirit directly opposed to the Licinian and Seminoiiian laws.
Kesiiles agrarian laws having for their object the division among the commons of public lands usurped by the nobles, there were others of a more jiartial and local nature, for the establish- ment of colonies in particular conquered dis- tricts; these naturally met with less o])position. Still more ditl'erent were those violent apjiropria- tions of territory made by the victorious military leaders in the later tines of the Republic, in order to reward their soldiers and to establish exclusively military colonies. Tn these the pri- vate rights of the previous occupants were often disregarded.
AGRARIAN MOVEMENT (Lat. a(jrariiiK,
pertaining to land, field, ager). A movement
among farmers to promote their interests and
those of large landed proprietors. It comprises
efforts at trade organization, often with political
con.sequences. Such movements took place in
England lor.g ago. and were particularly active
in the period ( f the anti-corn-law agitation. Dur-
ing the last thirty j'ears, owing to the effect of
falling prices on agriculture, there has been an
influential agrarian movement in all western
countries. It has been strongest politically
in Germany, wlicre the first congress of north
German farmers met at Berlin in lS(i8. This and
subsequent congresses until 187.5 were conserva-
tive bodies made up of many large land owners
and inciiibers of the aristocracy. They discussed
technical questions in agriculture and its social
and economic interests. Tn 1S7.5 they began to
agitate for tax and land reform legislation, and
soon developed a party demanding protective tar-
iffs. Tn 1S!)3 the I'nion of Farmers iliiind der
Landnirte) was formed, and only two years lat-
er had a membership of 200.(100. Tts objects
were to oppnsc piilitical treaties which lower
taritT duties on grain, to eiU'ourage legislation
for meat inspeition, to ,igitate for bimetallism,
reduction of land taxes, government elevators,
cheap personal credit, extension of railroads, and
larger governinent appropriations for agricul-
ture. Similar movements exist in France, Den-
mark, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, and
Italy. In the Iniled .Slates Ic-s has been done
in a direct political waj', although farmers" or-
ganizations have been even more successful in
other ways. Su('h organizations as the Grange
(q.v.) and the Farmers' Alliance (q.v.) were
chiedy established for cihicational and mutual
advantages, and especially to resist encroach-
ments of the railroads in discriminating rates.
References: H. Thiel, 25 fnhrr hinibrirtsrhiift-
lichi'rliilercsxcniertntiin;! (18!)4); Tlilir-Giessen,
Die Afirarbeirrfiung in den letzten .io fahren: C.
S. Walker. "The Farmers' Movement," Annalu of
the American Acndemii of Polilical nnd Social
SciVHCf". Volume TV. (Philadelphia. 180.3-94).
AGRARIAN PAR'TY. See Political Parties, paragraph on Germany.
AGTIAVAINE, Sir. A knight of the legen-
dary Ii>und Table (q.v.), surnamed "The Haughty" {L'Oryucilkux) . He was the son of Lot, King of Orkney, and a nephew of I^ing Arthur, and was slain by Sir Launcelot for spying upon him and the queen.
AGREDA, ii-gra'Da, Maria (Coko.nel) de
Il(i02-(U|. The superior of the convent of the
Immaculate Conception, whose monastic name
was Maria of Jesus. She was born at Agreda,
Spain. She reported that she had had revela-
tions from heaven, and that God iiad commanded
her to write an inspired life of Mary, the mother
of Jesus. The book is entitled Mjixtica Ciiidnd
de Dios, etc., 3 parts (Madrid, 1(>70; Frencn
transl.ation. La cite miistii/ue de Dieii, etc.. 6
volumes, Marseilles. 100,5. Paris, lS.i7; German
translation. Die r/eintlichc >^tadt Gottcs, etc., sec-
ond edition, Regensburg. 1893). Pope Innocent
XT. prohibited its universal circulation, but. at
the recpicst of the King of Spain, excepted the
Spanish countries. An English translation has
recently been made.
AGREE'MENT. See Contract.
AGREEMENT, Method of. See Induction.
AGREEMENT OF THE PEO’PLE, The. A remarkable diH-umcnr set fortli by the Council of the Army, .Taiiuary lo, l()40, fifteen days before the execution of King (^harlcs I. of England. It is based upon "The Heads of the Proposals Offered by the .rniy," Au.gust 1. U)47, except that no reference is made to royalty; and it is
an outline of a written constitution for a republic. According to its provisions, the existing Itailiament is to be dissolved on or before the last day of April, lfi40; and thereafter an assembly called the "Representative," composed of not more than four hundred members, is to be elected by the jieople every two years on the first
Thursday in ^la.v. The members or "representers" are fairly distributed among the counties of England and Wales, thus remedying the defects in the existing apportionment. The franchise is conferred upon such natives or denizens "as are assessed ordinarily toward the relief of the poor," provided they be men twenty-one years of age or housekeepers "dwelling within the
division for which the election"' is held. Servants "receiving wages from anv particular person" are excluded: and those who have aided the king are temporarily denied the right of voting or of being chosen members of the assembly. Officials are not eligible, and lawyers are incapable of practicing their profession while serving as
representcrs. There is to be a "Council of State for the managing of public affairs." The Chris-
