A treaty between Great Britain and Sweden, by which Great Britain undertook to pay 12,000 men to be employed in Pomerania in aid of the coalition against Napoleon in 1805. Bel Anglais, Le. A name given by the French to John Churchill, the great Duke of Marlborough. Belgian Neutrality Treaty. The neutrality of Belgium being threatened by the Franco-German War in 1870, treaties were signed by Great Britain with France and Germany respectively, by which the belligerents agreed to respect the neutrality of Belgium during the war and for one year after its close, from which date the Treaty of London of 1839 was again to become operative. Belgrade, Treaty of. A treaty between Austria and Russia on the one hand, and Turkey on the other, by which Austria surrendered Wallachia and Servia, while Russia withdrew from her conquests in Moldavia and Bessarabia, and renounced her rights of navigation in the Black Sea. This treaty was signed in 1739, after the capture of Belgrade by the Turks. Bell the Cat. The sobriquet of Archibald Douglas, the “great” Earl of Angus, which he earned by undertaking to take the lead in removing James III of Scotland from the pernicious influence of Cochrane, Earl of Mar, in 1481. Belski. One of the two factions of nobles who between them ruled Russia during the minority of Ivan IV (The Terrible), circ. 1533. The other faction was that of the Chouiski. Belted Will. Lord William Howard (1563-1640), Warden of the Marches, was so called. Benares, Treaty of. A treaty signed in 1773 between Warren Hastings and the Vizier of Oude, by which it was stipulated that an English force should be lent to Oude for service against the Rohillas, the Vizier paying forty lacs down and two lacs per month for their services. Further, Hastings agreed to cede Oorah and Allahabad to Oude, in return for an annual tribute of fifty lacs of rupees. Benedictines. The first regular monastic order, founded by St. Benedict in 527. Benefit of Clergy. The right claimed by the Church to withdraw its members from the jurisdiction of the secular courts, to be dealt with by the ecclesiastical courts. In the dark ages “clerk” was held to cover all who could read, but with the spread of education after the Renaissance, the abuse of this definition became intolerable, and in 1532, an act was passed limiting the right of pleading benefit of clergy, in cases of felony, to those of the rank of sub-deacon and above. Benevolences. An arbitrary method of taxation without the consent of Parliament, introduced by Edward IV of England. Benevolences were declared illegal by the Parliament of Richard III. Bengal Land Law. An Indian Act passed in 1859, by which the proprietary rights of the cultivators under the Zemindari system in Bengal were recognized with certain restrictions. Bengal Mutiny.