Nertchinsk, Treaty of. A treaty between Russia and China signed in 1689, and notable as being the first convention between China and a European Power. This treaty put a stop for nearly 150 years to Russia’s eastward expansion in Siberia. Nestor of Europe. Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1831-1865) was so called. Neuf Thermidor. July 27, 1794, the day on which the Decree of Accusation was launched against Robespierre, Couthon, St. Just and the other extremists of the Revolution, thus putting an end to the Reign of Terror. New Custom. A system of granting to foreign merchants the privilege of trading with English ports in return for a subsidy. This system was introduced by Edward I in 1303, and is the origin of Customs Duties. New Departure. A change of programme on the part of a section of the Democratic party in the United States in 1871. They admitted that all, including negroes, were entitled to equal rights and full citizenship, but demanded a universal amnesty for the Southerners, condemned protective duties as levied solely in the interests of the Northern manufacturers, and strongly protested against the Force Bill of 1870. New England Confederation. A union of the four New England Colonies, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut, formed in 1643 for mutual protection against the Dutch and the Indians. New Learning. The name given in England to the revival of learning in the West, the first manifestation of which was the Italian Renaissance. New Model. The name given to the Parliamentary Army as reformed by the Self-denying Ordinance of 1645. New Republic. A republic formed in 1884 in what was later the Vryheid district of the Transvaal, the territory having been given by Dinizulu to certain Boers in return for their help in his war with Usibepu. Lucas Meyer was elected president, but the republic was short-lived, being absorbed by the South African Republic in 1887. New Roof. A nickname given to the Constitution of the United States shortly after its promulgation. New Style. The name given to the Gregorian Calendar, introduced into England by the Calendar Act of 1752. New Tipperary. A township started in 1890, under the Plan of Campaign, with the object of bringing to terms the owner of the land on which the town of Tipperary stands. The scheme was a complete fiasco, and collapsed in 1891. New Unionism. This form of trade unionism had its rise about 1884. It differs from the old unionism in that it is frankly Socialistic in its tendencies, and demands State interference between workmen and employers, whereas the old demanded only to be left alone and to be allowed the right of combination for the advancement of the interests of the workers. New Zealand Centralization.