building was designed by D. Böhm. The building measures 397 ft.
by 299 ft., and the theatre will hold about 2700 persons. Ventilation
is effected by two fans, the lower for propulsion, the upper for
extraction. The latter is aided also by the heat produced by the
great pendant which has ninety burners. The heating is effected
by steam, and the air enters the hall at a temperature of from 63°
to 65° F., the points of entrance being at the floor and the risers
of the seating. Each gallery and compartment of the theatre,
including the stage, has a separate installation of heating apparatus
and supply duct so that any one portion may be warmed and ventilated
independently of the rest. The velocity of the incoming air
is between 1 and 2 ft. per second. The driving fan in the
basement sends air into the building at the rate of 1059 cub. ft.
per head per hour by means of electricity. The temperature in
different parts of the house can be observed in a central control
office, and here also are the levers which control the valves regulating
the air supply, both hot and cold. During a performance the
superintendent of heating and ventilation is on duty in this office and
secures to each part of the building its proper supply of fresh air
at a proper temperature.
For the ventilation of mines see Mining, and for that of railway tunnels see Tunnel.
Authorities.—The following are the principal publications on ventilation: J. S. Billings, Ventilation and Heating; Leeds, Treatise on Ventilation; Carpenter, Heating, and Ventilating Buildings. (J. Bt.)
VENTIMIGLIA (Fr. Vintimille, anc. Album Intimilium or
Albintimilium), a frontier fortress, seaport and episcopal see of
Liguria, Italy, in the province of Porto Maurizio, 94 m. W. by
S. of Genoa by rail, and 4 m. from the Franco-Italian frontier,
45 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 3452 (town), 11,468 (commune).
The present Gothic cathedral is built on the ruins of
an earlier Lombard church, and this again on a Roman building,
possibly a temple. The ruins of the ancient town are situated
in the plain of Nervia, 3 m. to the E. of the modern. It was
a municipium with an extensive territory, and of some importance
under the Empire, but was plundered by the partisans
of Otho in A.D. 69. Remains of a theatre are visible, and
remains of many other buildings have been discovered, among
them traces of the ancient city walls, a fine mosaic, found in
1852 but at once destroyed, and a number of tombs to the
west of the theatre. The caves of the Balzi Rossi have proved
rich in palaeolithic remains of the Quaternary period.
See Notizie degli Scavi, passim, especially 1877, 288 (G. Rossi).
VENTNOR, a watering-place in the Isle of Wight, England, 12½ m. S. by W. of Ryde by rail. Pop. of urban district (1901) 5866. It is finely situated in the Undercliff district, at the foot of St Boniface Down, which reaches a height of 787 ft. The town is built on a succession of terraces sloping towards the sea, and from its sheltered situation, equable temperature, and comparatively dry atmosphere is regarded as one of the best resorts in England for consumptive invalids. In the middle of the 19th century it was only a small fishing hamlet, now it extends along the shore for a distance of about 2 m., including Bonchurch to the east. It possesses assembly rooms, a literary and scientific institution, an esplanade, a pier and extensive recreation grounds. The churches of Ventnor are all modern, but that of St Boniface at Bonchurch is a small Norman building, perhaps the oldest in the island. Among the benevolent and charitable institutions are the royal national hospital for consumptives (founded in 1869), the seaside home of the London city mission, the St Catherine's home for consumptives and the convalescent home of the Royal Hants Hospital.
VENTRILOQUISM (Lat. venter, belly, and loqui, to speak), the art of producing the voice in such a manner that it shall appear to proceed, not from the speaker's own mouth, but from some place altogether distant from him. The art of ventriloquism was formerly supposed to result from a peculiar use of the stomach (whence the name) during the process of inhalation. As a matter of fact, the words are formed in the normal manner, but the breath is allowed to escape very slowly, the tones being muffled by narrowing the glottis and the mouth opened as little as possible, while the tongue is retracted and only its tip moves. Gestures and facial expression are employed at the same time to assist in the deception by stimulating the imagination of the listeners and to distract their attention from the speaker. “Thus,” says Huxley, “if the ventriloquist desire to create the belief that a voice issues from the bowels of the earth, he imitates, with great accuracy, the tones of such a half-stifled voice, and suggests the existence of some one uttering it by directing his answers and gestures towards the ground. The gestures and tones are such as would be produced by a given cause; and, no other cause being apparent, the mind of the bystander insensibly judges the suggested cause to exist.” Ventriloquism, which is still a recognized form of conjuring entertainment, is of ancient origin. Traces of the art are found in Egyptian and Hebrew archaeology. Eurykles of Athens was the most celebrated of Greek ventriloquists, who were called after him Euryklides, and also Engastrimanteis (belly-prophets). It is not impossible that the priests of ancient times were masters of this art, and that to it may be ascribed such miracles as the speaking statues of the Egyptians, the Greek oracles, and the stone in the river Pactolus, the sound of which put robbers to flight. Many uncivilized races of modern times are adepts in ventriloquism, as the Zulus, the Maoris and the Eskimos. It is well known in Hindustan and China, where it is practised by travelling magicians.
Bibliography.—See De la Chapelle, Le Ventriloque, ou l'engastrimythe (London, 1772); E. Schultz, Die Kunst des Bauchredens (Erfurt, 1895); Sievers, Grundzüge der Phonetic (Leipzig, 1901); Russel, Ventriloquism (London, 1898).
VENUE (derived through the French, from Lat. venire, to come), in English law the term denoting the place from which a jury must come for the trial of a case. The word occurs early in constitutional documents, for it was for a long time one of the essentials of trial by jury that the jury should belong to the neighborhood (vicinetum, visne) in which the cause of action arose or the alleged crime was committed (see Jury). This was founded on the idea that the jurors were in the nature of witnesses for or against the character or innocence of the party. The phrase duodecim legales homines de vicineto, or its equivalent, is found in the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), the Assize of the Forest (1184) and in Glanvill.
Civil Matters.—Civil actions came to be classified as local and transitory, the former where the cause of action could only arise in a particular county, such as trespass to land, the latter where it might have arisen in any county, such as debt. In the latter case the plaintiff might lay the venue where he pleased, i.e. try the cause in any part of England subject to the power of the court or a judge to change the place of trial. The law on the subject is now only of antiquarian interest, for under the rules of the Supreme Court (Ord. xxxvi. r. 1), " there shall be no local venue for the trial of any action, except where otherwise provided by statute, but in every action in every division the place of trial shall be fixed by the court or a judge.” All local venues created by statutes prior to 1875 were superseded by the rules of the Supreme Court and have not been revived by the present rules; and many of such statutes have been expressly or impliedly repealed by the Public Authorities Protection Act 1893. The present practice is to fix the place of trial in the order for directions now made in every civil action in the High Court. The place is selected by reference to the wishes of the parties, the residence of the witnesses, and with a view to reducing the costs of litigation.
Criminal Matters.—Proceedings by indictment or criminal information are not affected by the changes of procedure as to civil actions; and it is necessary to ascertain in the case of each offence the venue, i.e. the proper place of trial, which, unless otherwise provided by statute, must be the county or other jurisdiction in which acts constituting the offence have been done. Numerous acts provide for the place of trial of offences committed partly in one county and partly in another, or on the high seas or abroad, and of special offences such as those under the Post Office, Merchant Shipping, Slave Trade, and Foreign Enlistment Acts. The place of trial may be changed by the king's bench division, where it is probable that a fair trial could not be had in the county of the venue. Until 1825 it was necessary to have as juries in criminal cases jurors from the hundred in which the offence was said to have been committed, and to be very particular to specify the venue as to each act imputed to the accused. This strictness continued to some extent until the passing of the Criminal Procedure Act 1851, which makes it unnecessary to state any venue in the body of an indictment, and no indictment is to be held bad for want of a proper perfect venue. Since this enactment (which applies to Ireland as well as to England) it is sufficient to state the venue in the margin of the indictment in this form, “Middlesex to wit,” and it is unnecessary to mention the venue in the body of the indictment or information, though in certain cases such as burglary it is usual, if not essential, to give a “local description.”
