The inhabitants of the country districts of Cuba which during the insurrection of 1895-9, were laid waste by General Weyler. By his orders these people were driven from their homes and herded into concentration camps where, owing to Government neglect, they died in thousands of famine and pestilence. Reconciliation, Act of. An Act passed in 1554, shortly after the accession of Mary, to give effect to the proposals of Cardinal Pole, the Papal Legate, for the re-establishment of the Papal authority in Church matters as it existed before the ecclesiastical legislation of Henry VIII. Recruiters. The name given by the Royalists to the members of the Long Parliament elected to fill the places of those who had been “disabled” by Parliament for joining the King’s forces. Recusant Act. An Act passed in the first year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, subjecting to fine all persons who absented themselves from Divine Service in their parish church on Sundays and Holy Days. Protestant dissenters were relieved from the penalties of this Act by the Toleration Act of William and Mary, but Roman Catholics obtained no relief until 1791. Red Comyn. The nickname of Alexander Comyn, a claimant to the Scottish throne, murdered by Robert Bruce in 1306. Red Cross Knights. The Knights Templars were so called. Red Cross League. _See_ Geneva Convention. Red Cross Society. The generic name of the various associations formed, under the Geneva Convention, for the relief of the wounded in war. The Red Cross is the badge of military hospitals, ambulances, doctors, etc. Red Prince. The sobriquet of Prince Frederick Charles (1828-1885), nephew of William I of Germany. Red River Rebellion. An outbreak in 1869 of the half-breed settlers on the Red River, who resented the transfer of their settlement from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the newly formed province of Manitoba. It was found necessary to send regular troops against the insurgents, and the revolt was promptly quelled by Colonel (now Viscount) Wolseley. Their leader, Louis Riel, escaped, and was later the ringleader in the rising of 1885 known as Riel’s Rebellion. Redif. The reserve of the Turkish Army. Redistribution Bill. A Bill passed in 1885 as the complement of the Franchise Act of 1884. It subdivided the old constituencies so as to leave only a few two-member constituencies in the boroughs. All the counties were divided into districts, each district returning one member. The plan adopted was the result of a conference between the two parties. Reeve. The Shire-reeve or Sheriff in Saxon times was the representative of the King for judicial and fiscal purposes. He presided over the Shire Court. Referendum. A provision in the constitution of Switzerland to the effect that all laws passed by the Federal Assembly must be submitted to the popular vote, if such a course is demanded by 30,000 Swiss citizens, or by the legislatures of eight Cantons. Reform Bill.