By a treaty concluded in 1803, in the promotion of which Napoleon took a prominent part, the ecclesiastical States of Germany, three of which, the Sees of Mayence, Treves and Cologne, were Electors to the Imperial crown, were secularized and distributed among the other German States. Securities Bill. A Bill brought forward at the instance of Charles II in 1679, to provide for the succession of James, who was a declared Roman Catholic. The Bill provided that while a Catholic prince was on the throne the right of appointing to livings should be withdrawn from him, and that the appointment of all judges, councillors, lords lieutenant and officers of the fleet should be in the hands of the two Houses of Parliament. This Bill was not considered sufficiently stringent. Security, Act of. An Act passed by the Scottish Parliament in 1703, declaring that the successor of Queen Anne in Scotland should not be the same as in England, unless free commercial intercourse were secured between the two countries. Sédan, Man of. A name bestowed on Napoleon III after his surrender, with the army of Macmahon, at Sédan in September, 1870. Self-denying Ordinance. A resolution of the Parliament, passed at the instance of Cromwell, by which the members of both Houses were made ineligible for commands in the army. Its object was to get rid of some of the Parliamentary generals, such as Manchester, Essex and Waller, in as delicate a way as possible. The resolution was at first rejected by the Lords, but was afterwards passed. Selski Starosta. The village elder or elected head of a Russian mir, or village community. Semiramis of the North. Margaret of Denmark (1387) was so called. Voltaire also gave this title to Catherine of Russia (1729-96). Sempach, Convention of. A military ordinance promulgated in 1393 by the eight federated cantons of Switzerland, together with Soleure, making provision for the repression of private war, brigandage and pillage. Senussi. A Mohammedan religious fraternity founded at Fez by Mohammed-es-Senussi about 1830. It has spread all over Northern Africa, and is a powerful factor in uniting African Mohammedanism. September Convention. A convention between France and Italy, signed in 1864, by which Louis Napoleon agreed gradually to withdraw the French troops from Rome, Victor Emmanuel undertaking not to violate the Pope’s territory. September Laws. A series of laws restricting the liberty of the Press, passed in France in 1835. September Massacres. The massacre, after a mock trial, of the priests, officials and other Royalists confined in the prisons of Paris between the 2nd and 6th of September, 1792. About 1,000 prisoners are known to have perished. The men engaged in the massacre were afterwards called the Septembriseurs. Septembrists.