An Act passed in 1835, dealing with 178 municipalities. In the majority of these the election to municipal offices had been entirely in the hands of the freemen, often a very small minority of the inhabitants. The Act instituted an electoral qualification of three years’ residence, and the payment of poor and borough rates. It also established town councils, and provided for an independent audit. Mustafiz. The second line of reserve, or militia, of the Turkish army. Mutiny Act. This Act was passed for the first time in 1689, for one year only, and has since that time been passed annually. It gives disciplinary powers to the officers of the army and navy, apart from the ordinary process of law, and neither service could be maintained without it. Mutualists. A secret association of the _chefs d’ateliers_, or middlemen, of the Lyons weavers, which ordered a strike of workmen in April, 1834. The strike resulted in a rising, which was promptly suppressed, and the leaders were prosecuted under the Associations Law. N Nag’s Head Controversy. A controversy which arose over an allegation of the Roman Catholics, in 1599, that Archbishop Parker’s consecration, forty years previously, had taken place in the most informal manner at the Nag’s Head Tavern, in Cheapside. The statement was proved to be entirely devoid of foundation. Nanking, Treaty of. A treaty between Great Britain and China, signed in 1842, at the close of the Opium War. By its terms England secured Hong Kong in perpetuity, and Shanghai and other ports were opened to foreign trade. Napoleon of Peace. A sobriquet of Louis Philippe, whose peaceful reign of eighteen years was a marked contrast to the constant wars of the Napoleonic era. Natal, Republic of. A republic founded by emigrant burghers from Cape Colony in 1838. It stretched from the Drakensberg to the sea, and from the Tugela to the Umzimvubu river, while Zululand, under Panda, was tributary to it. The British Government never recognized the republic, and in 1842 steps were taken to obtain possession of the country, in which a regular colonial government was established in 1845. Nation of Shopkeepers. A phrase first applied to England by Samuel Adams, the American politician, in 1776. It is generally attributed to Napoleon, but was probably taken by him from a translation of the speech in which it occurs. National Association for King William. An association formed on the discovery of the Assassination Plot in 1696, at the suggestion of Sir Rowland Gwyn. The signatories declared their loyalty to the King, and bound themselves to take vengeance on all who might attempt his life. National Debt. The origin of the National Debt was a loan raised by Montague, afterwards Lord Halifax, in 1693. The lenders were life-annuitants, and as each died his annuity was divided among the survivors till only seven remained; after which, on the death of each of the seven, his portion was absorbed by the Government.