A council appointed in 1357 to carry on the Government of France during the captivity of John. They had power to levy taxes, to appoint the chief officers of State, and generally to exercise all executive functions. Thirty-three Articles. A code of laws drawn up by the Volksraad of Potchefstroom in 1844, and adopted in 1849 by all the communities established to the north of the Vaal river. Thistle, Order of the. An order of knighthood instituted, according to tradition, by Archaicus, King of the Scots in 809. Though thus older than the Garter in its origin, it has been several times in abeyance, having been revived by James V of Scotland, by James II of England, and finally by Queen Anne, who placed it on its present footing. Thorn, Conference of. A conference summoned by Ladislaus IV of Poland in 1645, in an endeavour to unite the Protestants to the Catholic Church. It lasted about four months, and was entirely without result. Thorough. The Policy of Thorough is the phrase used by Strafford and Laud to express their determination to carry through their schemes for the public advantage, regardless of the obstacles thrown in their way by interested parties. Thralls. Among the Norse nations slaves were so called. They were generally captives taken in war. “Three Acres and a Cow.” A phrase used by Mr. Jesse Collings, in the election campaign of 1885, expressive of the plank in his programme of free allotments of land for all agricultural labourers. Three Emperors, Battle of the. The battle of Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, is so called, because Napoleon and the Emperors of Austria and Russia were all present. Three F’s. The ostensible programme of the Irish Land League in 1880: Fixity of Tenure, Fair Rent, Free Sale. Three Kings, Alliance of the. An alliance formed in 1849 between the Kings of Prussia, Hanover, and Saxony, to take joint measures for the suppression of the disorders rife in their States at that time. Thresher, Captain. The pseudonym of the leader of a band of lawless Irishmen, who in 1806 attacked the collectors of tithes. Throgmorton’s Conspiracy. A conspiracy of certain Jesuits and English Catholics in 1583, to rise against Queen Elizabeth, in conjunction with an invasion of French and Spanish troops. Suspicion was aroused by Throgmorton’s constant visits to the Spanish Ambassador. He was arrested, and under torture revealed the details of the plot, and the names of the principal conspirators. Thugs. A quasi-religious sect of robbers and murderers in India, who despatched their victims by strangling. They were put down by Lord Dalhousie about 1856. Thunderbolt of Italy. The sobriquet of Gaston de Foix, Duc de Nemours (1489-1512), given him on account of his brilliant campaign in Italy. Thurn and Taxis.