A section of the Republican Party in the United States, led by Senator Conkling of New York, who were opposed to President Garfield in 1881 on the question of Civil Service Reform. Guiteau, the assassin of Garfield, was a Stalwart, and gave as his reason for the crime that he could see no other way to bring about a reunion of the Republican Party. Stamford, Statute of. A statute of reform forced upon Edward II by his nobles in 1309. It renewed the first Statute of Westminster, checked the abuses of constables and others exercising the royal authority, and repealed certain unauthorized taxes upon wool and hides. Stamp Act. An Act passed in 1765, for the purpose of raising revenue from the colonies. It was even more unpopular in America than the American Customs Act, and proved almost impossible to enforce. It was repealed in 1766. Standard, Battle of the. The name given to the Battle of Luton Moor, between the English and the Scots in 1138. The standard displayed on this occasion was that of St. Cuthbert of Durham, which was always thought to secure victory. Stannaries. The tin mines of Cornwall are so called. Their administration is in the hands of the Warden of the Stannaries, an official of the Duchy of Cornwall. The Stannaries are technically the property of the Crown, and are worked under Royal License. Staple. A term applied to the chief products of England, and also to certain towns in Flanders where alone these commodities were permitted to be sold. These transactions were carried out under the surveillance of Government officers, and it was obligatory on the vendor to bring back a certain proportion of the proceeds of the sale in coin. Edward III, however, named nine English towns as the Staple towns, and made it a penal offence for an Englishman to carry any of the staple commodities beyond the seas. Staples, Statute of. A statute of 1353, regulating foreign trade and the privileges of the Merchant Guild. Star Chamber, Court of. A court established by Henry VII in 1487, to check the power of the great feudal houses by the suppression of maintenance, which, by providing them with large bodies of armed retainers, enabled the more powerful nobles to foment disturbances and insurrections. Later the Star Chamber became an instrument in the hands of the Sovereign for the suppression of free speech, and its arbitrary and corrupt decisions became notorious. It was abolished by Act of Parliament in 1641. Star of the North. A name given to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden by the German Protestants during the Thirty Years War. Stars and Stripes. The flag of the United States. It consists of thirteen stripes, being the number of the original States of the Union, and a number of stars equal to the number of States in the Union for the time being, an additional star being added for each State admitted. Start, The.