articles manufactured. among the chief towns. QUEENS, a co. in s central New Brunswick, Canada; drained by the St. John's river, and intersected by the Grand Trunk railroad; 1480 sq. m.; pop. '81, 14,017,— 5,342 of Irish descent. The St. John's river is navigable to Frederickstown, or about 90 miles. Bituminous coal is found in large quantities near Grand lake. Co. seat, Gage. Co. seat, Jamaica. Hempstead, Astcria, and Mineola are town. QUEENS, a co. in the s.w. Nova Scotia, Canada, on the Atlantic ocean, 1065 sq. m.; pop. '81, 10,577, about half of English descent. The coast is rugged, but the interior is well watered and fertile, and has much beautiful scenery. Co. seat, Liverpool. QUEENS, a co. in center of Prince Edward's island; 771 sq.m.; pop. 81, 48,111. It is traversed by a railroad and drained by several small streams. Its capital, Charlottetown, is also the capital of the province. son. QUEEN'S BENCH, or KING'S BENCH, one division of the high court of justice, other four divisions being chancery, common pleas, exchequer, and probate. The king's bench was so called from the origin of the court, inasmuch as the king used to sit there in perIn Cromwell's time it was called the upper bench. The court consists of five judges, a president (who is called the chief-justice of England, and is the highest of all the judges next to the lord chancellor), and four puisne judges called justices. In 1874 the old courts were reconstituted, and all were merged in the high court of justice, which consists of four divisions, each of which, however, retains nearly the same jurisdiction as before such change, and the only appeal from each is to the high court of appeal, which exercises the functions formerly vested in, and from remote antiquity exercised by, the house of lords. The ancient jurisdiction of the court and the history of its modifications are too technical to be stated in this place, but the outline of the leading points of jurisdiction may be shortly stated. The queen's bench is the highest court which has a criminal jurisdiction, and such jurisdiction is unlimited. But practically this jurisdiction is seldom exercised originally, for it is only when an indictment is removed from an inferior court into the queen's bench that a criminal trial takes place there, and this is only the case when there is some peculiar difficulty or importance attending the trial, which renders it expedient to remove it from the sessions or assizes. But though criminal trials in the queen's bench are exceptional, there are certain criminal matters which are part of its ordinary administration. A criminal information, for example, when filed by the attorney-general, or the master of the crown-office, charging a person with a criminal offense, is tried in the queen's bench as a matter of course, and can be tried in no other court. The queen's bench exercises a superintending control over all inferior tribunals, and also over public bodies, by commanding them to do a specific duty, the writ being called a writ of mandamus; or by prohibiting them from going on with some matter over which they have no jurisdiction, by a writ called a writ of prohibition. The queen's bench also entertains appeals from justices of the peace on a vast variety of matters. Besides the criminal jurisdiction, and the prerogative writs of mandamus, prohibition, and quo warranto, there is a civil jurisdiction belonging to the queen's bench of the most extensive kind; indeed, any civil action to recover debts and damages may be brought there. The civil jurisdiction is mostly shared in common with the other two common-law divisions. The judges of the queen's bench are often called the queen's coroners, having a universal jurisdiction of that kind throughout England, though seldom acting in that capacity. The chief-justice has latterly been usually made a peer, or has the option of becoming one if he pleases. The officers of the court are the master of the crown-office, and several masters of the court. Further consolidation of the common law courts took place in 1881, and the high court of justice is now divided into the three divisions of chancery; common law; probate; divorce and admiralty. QUEENSBURY, N. Y. See page 887. QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, was founded in 1446 by Margaret of Anjou, consort of Henry VI., and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV. The college consists of a president and 14 foundation fellows; the fellowships being tenable for 10 years from M.A. without being subject to any restriction whatsoever; while any fellow who takes holy orders, and has not a benefice of the net annual value of £300, may hold his fellowship for life. The new statutes provide that there shall be at least 14 scholarships, tenable till B.A., ranging between £30 and £50; the number and value of the scholarships to be augmented at the discretion of the presi dent and fellows. Besides these, there are 5 exhibitions, ranging from £12 to £20; and there are funds to the amount of £130 per annum at the disposal of the president, for the behoof of deserving students of limited means. There are likewise a number of prizes, ranging from £5 to £30. The college holds the patronage of 10 benefices in the counties of Bucks, Cambridge, Essex, Leicester, Norfolk, Notts, and Wilts. QUEEN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD. In 1340 Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain or confessor to queen Philippa, founded, by license from Edward III., a collegiate hall in Oxford, under the name of the hall of the queen's scholars. In his statutes he sets forth his motives and objects with unusual minuteness. Theological study was the main object of the foundation. Residence was rigidly enforced, and poverty enjoined with peculiar Queensferry. force. The original number of the provost and fellows was to be 13, in memory of our Lord and the 12 apostles; and the ultimate number of poor boys to be educated on the foundation was 72, in memory of the 70 disciples. Few colleges, however, have disregarded more directly the wishes of their founders. When the commissioners under 17 and 18 Vict. c. 81, began their work, they found the poverty required changed into a provostship of £1000 a year, and fellowships of £300, the conditional preference to north countrymen converted into an absolute exclusion of all others; and the 72 poor children represented by 8 "taberdars," as they are called, who were alone eligible to fellowships. A separate foundation had been given to queen's by John Michel, Esq., in 1736, consisting of 8 open fellowships and 4 open scholarships. The commissioners introduced great changes. The foundations are consolidated, and the college now consists of a provost, 19 fellows, 15 scholars or taberdars, 2 Bible-clerks, and 4 Eglesfield exhibitioners. There are also upward of 20 exhibitions in this college, some of which are confined to natives of the northern counties. There are 30 benefices in the gift of the college, also the principalship of St. Edmund hall. QUEEN'S COUNSEL are certain barristers who receive from her majesty a patent giving them preaudience over their brethren, and but for which they would rank only according to seniority of their standing as barristers. The advantage of appointing queen's counsel is this, that it enables the most able or successful counsel to take preced ence of those of the same or longer standing, and to take the chief conduct of causes. In practice, there are almost invariably two counsel engaged on each side, called a leader and a junior, and the leader is generally a queen's counsel, and the junior is not. The appointment is made by the crown, on the nomination of the lord-chancellor. The practice of appointing crown counsel is adopted in Ireland, and also in Scotland. In the courts of chancery in England, it was usual for a queen's counsel to confine himself to a particular vice-chancellor's court, or to that of the master of the rolls, so that his clients might thus reckon on his attendance there; and when he went into another court, he required an addition to his fee. In the common-law courts, however, this arrangement was impracticable, and had never been adopted. It is sometimes popularly believed that the appointment of queen's counsel entitles the counsel to a salary from the crown; but this is a mistake, except as to the attorney and solicitor-general. When a queen's counsel is engaged in a criminal case against the crown, as, for example, to defend a prisoner, he requires to get special license to do so from the crown, which is always given, as a matter of course, on payment of a small fee. In courts of law and equity, a queen's counsel is entitled to preaudience over all other counsel, except those who were appointed queen's counsel before him. A queen's counsel has preaudience over all sergeants-at-law, though many of the latter obtain patents of precedence, which also make them in effect queen's counsel, as well as sergeants, and prevent them being displaced by those who come after them. The order of sergeants-at-law is much more ancient than that of queen's counsel, though now it is in point of rank inferior. The practice of appointing queen's counsel is not older than the time of sir Francis Bacon, who was the first appointed. QUEEN'S COUNTY, an inland co. of the province of Leinster, Ireland, is bounded n. by the King's county, e. by Kildare and Carlow, s. by Kilkenny, and w. by Tipperary and King's county. Area, 424,854 acres, of which 363,153 are arable. The population, which, in 1861, was 90,750, had fallen in 1881 to 72,598, of whom 63,963 were Catholics 7,743 Protestant Episcopalians, and the rest Protestants of other denominations. The number of acres under crop in 1875 was 143,211; cattle, 77.241; sheep, 100,502; pigs, 29,098. Queen's county for the most part is within the basin of the Barrow, which is the chief river, and is partly navigable for barges. On the north-western border lie the Slieve Bloom mountains, and the Dysart hills occupy the s.e., the rest of the surface being flat or gently undulating. In its geological structure, it belongs to the great limestone district; but the Slieve Bloom mountains are sandstone, and the Dysart hills include coal, but not in deep or profitably worked beds. Coarse linen and cotton cloths are manufactured in small quantities. The chief town is Maryborough; pop. '81, 2,872. The national schools in 1875 were 96; pupils, 12,553. Queen's county anciently formed part of the districts of Leix and Ossory; and on the submission of O'More to the English, the territory retained a qualified independence. Under Edward II. the O'Mores became so powerful that a protracted contest was maintained by them with the English. In the reign of Edward VI., Bellingham, the lord-deputy, succeeded in reannexing the territory of the O'Mores to the Pale (q.v.); and a new revolt in Mary's reign led to measures by which it was finally reduced to a shire, under the name of Queen's county, in honor of Mary, from whom also the chief town, Maryborough, was called. There are a few antiquities of interest-a perfect round tower, and two in a less perfect condition, and some ecclesiastical and feudal remains, the most important of the latter being a castle of Strongbow on the picturesque rock of Dunamase. Queen's county is traversed by the Great Southern and Western, and by the Midland Great Western railways, and also by a branch of the Grand canal. It returns two members to parliament. QUEEN'S EVIDENCE. See KING'S EVIDENCE. QUEENSFERRY, SOUTH AND NORTH. South Queensferry is a royal and parliamentary burgh in Linlithgowshire, on the s. shore of the firth of Forth, about 9 m. w.n.w. of Queensland. Edinburgh. It was erected into a royal burgh in 1636, but was for centuries before a burgh of regality. The walks and scenery about South Queensferry, with Hopetoun house and grounds on the w., and Dalmeny park on the e., are very beautiful, and the town itself is a good deal resorted to for sea-bathing. The Forth-much wider both above and below the ferry-here narrows to a width of only about two miles. It receives historical mention as early as the middle of the 11th c., as the ferry across which royal personages passed when traveling between Edinburgh and Dunfermline. The foundation stone of a railway-bridge across the Firth here was laid Sept. 30, 1878. Pop. '81, 1966, within the parliamentary bounds. South Queensferry is one of the Stirling district burghs.-North Queensferry, a small village in Fifeshire, on the n. shore of the firth of Forth, opposite South Queensferry; pop. '81, 360. QUEENS LAND. This prosperous British colony occupies the whole of the northeastern portion of Australia, commencing at a point of the e. coast about 400 m. n. of Sydney, called Point Danger, in lat. 28° 8' south. The greater portion of the southern boundary-line is formed by the 29th parallel of s. latitude. The eastern sea-board extends about 1300 m. to cape York, the extreme northern point of the continent, in lat. 10° 40'. The mean breadth of the territory is 900 m., from the eastern coast-line to the meridian of 138° e. long., which forms the western boundary-line. This includes the greater portion of the gulf of Carpentaria, which has a seaboard of about 900 miles. The whole of Queensland comprises 668,224 sq.m.-nearly twelve times the area of England and Wales. The portion of the colony extending along the eastern coast is indented with numerous bays, which are the outlets of many navigable rivers, having their sources in the cool gorges and deep recesses of a great mountain range, running n. and s., parallel with the sea-coast, at a distance of from 50 to 100 miles. The summits of this great “dividing range" rise from 2,000 to 6,000 ft. above the level of the sea. Numerous spurs are given off from the range in ridges sloping gradually toward the coast. These ridges are generally composed principally of quartz, and in many places form good natural roads for a considerable distance. The ridges are usually covered with a variety of fine and valuable timber. The iron-bark, blood-wood, box, and other descriptions of wood, very valuable to the farmer for fencing and building, are found here in great abundance. Unlike almost every other portion of Australia, Queensland is correctly described as a "land of rivers and streams." These rivers find an outlet in the many large and beautiful bays and estuaries on the eastern sea-board. One of these, Moreton bay (q.v.), receives the waters of five rivers, which are always navigable The largest of these, the Brisbane, is navigated by good-sized steamers for 75 m., and is nearly a quarter of a mile wide at a distance of 15 m. from its mouth. The principal rivers on the eastern sea-board are the Brisbane, the Burnett, the Mary, the Calliope, the Boyne, the Fitzroy, the Pioneer, and the Burdekin. The longest tidal river in Queensland is the Fitzroy, which drains an area of not less than 50 millions of acres, and is navigable as far as Yaruba, 60 m. from its estuary in Keppel bay. It receives, as its principal tributaries, the Dawson, Mackenzie, and Isaacs, large streams flowing for several hundred miles from the n. w., w., and s. w. parts of the interior. The tide at Rockhampton (40 m. from the embouchure of the river) rises 14 ft., and the stream is thus rendered navigable for vessels of considerable burden. The banks of the rivers are usually well elevated, and in many places consist of very rich alluvium, brought down from the great mountain-ranges. This alluvial soil is frequently of very great depth, and is marked everywhere by a magnificient growth of timber, very unlike the ordinary Australian wood. The enormous fig-trees and gigantic eucalypta tower aloft, and spread out their great arms, festooned with vines and flowering parasites, which throw themselves over every spreading branch, and deck it with their varied and brilliant colors; the tall pine trees shoot up their straight stems to a great height; while the cedar, the myrtle, the rosewood, and tamarind trees, display their rich and green foliage in every variety of shade. A thick evergreen hedge of mangroves covers the banks, preserving them from the wash of the stream; and at certain seasons of the year, this is fringed with thousands of flowering lilies. Ordinarily, the eastern sea-board part of the country assumes very much the appearance of park-scenery in Great Britain, the trees standing at some distance apart, and the ground between them being covered with grass, which is generally green and luxuriant throughout the whole year. The regularity of the showers which fall in the summer season keeps the grass growing with luxuriant verdure generally during the hot months. Exceptions to this sometimes occur, and a dry summer appears to have been experienced in this part of Australia about once in every six or seven years. The summer of 1863 formed one of these exceptional seasons. The frosts of winter being generally so slight as not to injure the vegetation, the country is almost always green from January to December. Beyond the "Andes," or great dividing-range, the country presents features of still greater beauty and fertility. Vast plains-10, 15, or 20 m. across-stretch out their level surface unbroken by a single tree, but covered with luxuriant grass, and often purpled over with fragrant herbage. These great plains are composed of rich black soil. They |