An Act of Parliament passed in 1679. Since Magna Charta every Englishman had theoretically the right to trial, and could demand a writ of Habeas Corpus, under which the duly constituted courts were bound to take cognisance of his case. In practice, however, various obstacles were from time to time opposed to the obtaining of this writ. The Act of 1679 ordered that a judge should at any time grant such a writ on application, and inflicted severe penalties on the gaoler who failed to obey it. Habitans. The name given to the Canadian farmers of French descent in the province of Quebec. Hadji. A Mohammedan who has made the Hadj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, is entitled to this name. Hæretico Comburendo, Statute de. A statute passed in the reign of Henry IV (1401), forbidding teaching and preaching without a bishop’s license. The bishop was further given the power of condemning heretical books. The punishment for obduracy was burning at the stake. This statute was specially directed against the Lollards. Hague Congress. A Congress of the Powers, summoned at the instance of the Czar in 1899, to consider the possibility of universal disarmament, and other questions bearing on the peace of the world. The larger schemes foreshadowed by the Czar were found impracticable, but the Congress resulted in the appointment of an International Tribunal of Arbitration, to sit at the Hague. It was further agreed to prohibit in future warfare the throwing of explosives from balloons or air ships, the use of shells containing deleterious gases, and the use of expanding or explosive bullets. Haleuca. The body-guard of slaves of Touran Shah, Sultan of Egypt, afterwards known as the Mamelukes. Half-breeds. The name given by the Stalwarts in New York State in 1881 to those Republicans who supported President Garfield in his movement for Civil Service reform. They were also known as Featherheads. Half-way Covenant. An agreement between Connecticut and Massachusetts, recommended for the acceptance of Plymouth and New Haven in 1662. It somewhat mitigated the ultra-stringent conditions of Church membership then obtaining, whence it was derisively called the Half-way Covenant by the extreme Puritan party. Halifax Fishery Commission. A commission appointed in 1877 to assess the compensation to be awarded to the British-American Colonies, in return for the recognition of American fishing rights in Colonial waters. Canada was awarded four and a half million dollars, and Newfoundland a million. Hammer of England. The sobriquet of Sir William Wallace (1270-1305). Hammer of Scotland. On the tomb of Edward I was inscribed “Edwardus Longus, Scotorum Malleus hic est.” Hampton Court Conference. A conference held in 1604 between the Bishops and the Puritans, to consider the Millenary Petition. It ended in the complete triumph of the High Church party. Hampton Roads Conference.