328 P A R P A R the death of Clement VIII. in 160G. From this time he continued his active intrigues against Protestantism in England until his death, 18th April 1610. Parsons was the author of a large number of polemical tracts, a list of which, to the number of thirty-three, is given in Chalmers s Biographical Dictionary. For portrait, see Gentleman s Magazine, vol. Ixiv. PARSONSTOWN, formerly BIRR, a market-town of King s County, Ireland, is situated on an acclivity rising above the Birr, and on a branch of the Great Southern and Western Railway, 12i miles north of Roscrea and 7| south of Banagher. Cumberland Square, in which there is a Doric column, surmounted by a statue of the duke of Cum berland to commemorate the battle of Culloden, contains a number of good shops, and the streets diverging from it are wide and well built. The fine castle of Birr, besides its historical interest, has gained celebrity on account of the reflecting telescope erected there (1828-45) by the third earl of Rosse. The other principal buildings are the court-house, the Protestant Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches, the convent of the sisters of mercy, the model school, the mechanics institute, the fever hospital, and the infirmary. There is a bronze statue by Foley of the late Lord Rosse. Some trade is carried on in corn and timber, and the town possesses a distillery and brewery. The population was 5401 in 1861, 4939 in 1871, and 4955 in 1881. An abbey was founded at Birr by St Brendan. The district formed part of Ely O Carrol, and was not included in King s County till the time of James I. A great battle is said to have been fought near Birr in the 3d century between Cormac, son of Cond of the Hundred Battles, and the people of Munster. The castle was the chief seat of the O Carrols. In the reign of James I. it and its appendages were assigned to Lawrence Parsons, brother of Sir William Parsons, surveyor-general. It was more than once besieged in the time of Cromwell, and was taken by Ireton in 1650. It also suffered assault in 1688 and 1690. PARTABGARH, PRATABGARH, or PERTABGURH, a district of Oudh, India, situated between 25 34 and 26 10 30" N. lat., and between 81 22 and 82 29 45" E. long., is bounded on the N. by Rai Bareli and Sultan- pur, and on the E., S., and W. by Jaunpur and Allahabad districts. The Ganges forms the south-western boundary line, while the Gumti marks the eastern boundary for a few miles. The area (1881) is 1436 square miles. The general aspect of Partabgarh is that of a richly wooded and fertile plain, here and there relieved by gentle undulations, and in the vicinity of the rivers and streams broken into ravines. The one important river (the Ganges and Gumti nowhere entering the district) is the Sai, which is navigable in the rains, but in the hot season runs nearly dry. The only mineral pro ducts are salt, saltpetre, and kankar or nodular limestone. The manufacture of salt and saltpetre from the saliferous tracts is prohibited. Tigers and leopards are hardly ever met with ; but wolves still abound in the ravines and grass lands. Nilgai, wild cattle, hogs, and monkeys do much damage to the crops. Snakes are not numerous. Small game abounds. The population in 1881 was 847,047 (420,730 males, 426,317 females ; 763,054 Hindus, 83,944 Mohammedans, 48 Christians). The principal grain crops are barley, wheat, and rice. Other food crops are gram, peas, arhar, jour , and Idjra. Sugar-cane cultivation has largely increased of late years, and poppy is grown under the superintendence of the Opium Department. Miscel laneous crops include tobacco of superior quality, indigo, fibres, pan, &c. Irrigation is extensively carried on, and manure is made use of wherever procurable. Rents have steadily increased since the introduction of British rule, and still show a tendency to rise. Artisans and skilled labourers have much improved in circum stances of late years ; but agricultural labour is still paid in kind at about the same rates that prevailed under native rule. Partab garh is now well opened up by roads. Four largo ferries are main tained on the Ganges, and two on the Gumti. Partabgarh forms a great grain-exporting district. Other important exports comprise tobacco, sugar, molasses, opium, oil, ghi, cattle and sheep, hides, &c. The imports consist mainly of salt, cotton, metals and hardware, country cloth, and dyes. The manufactures of the district com prise sugar, blanket weaving, glass beads and bracelets, water-bottles, &c. The gross revenue of the district in 1882-83 was 175,735, of which the land revenue contributed 98,220. Education is afforded by 91 schools, on the rolls of which on 31st March 1883 there were 3493 scholars. The climate is healthy. The average rainfall for the fourteen years ending 1881 was 37 inches. PARTABGARH, or PERTABGURH, a native state in Rajputana, India, lying between 23 14 and 24 14 N. lat., and between 74 27 and 75 E. long., and entirely surrounded by native territory, has an estimated area of 1460 square miles, and an estimated population (1881) of 80,568, mostly Bhils and other aboriginal tribes. The revenue is about 60,000, of which about 20,000 are enjoyed by feudatory chiefs and nobles. It is a hilly country, mainly producing maize andjodr (Ifolcits sorghum}. PARTHENIUS, a Bithynian poet, said to have been captured in the Mithradatic war and carried to Rome. He lived there for many years, as late as the time of Tiberius. His poems were on erotic subjects, and many of them treated of obscure mythological stories. The only work of his which is preserved is a collection of short love- tales in prose, dedicated to the poet Cornelius Gallus, but apparently not intended for publication. PARTHENON. See ATHENS , vol. iii. p. 5. PARTHIA. See PERSIA. PARTINICO, a town of Sicily, in the province of Palermo, and 28| miles W. of Palermo by rail, has a good trade in wine and oil, and in 1881 had 21,000 inhabitants. PARTITION, in law, is the division between several persons of land or goods belonging to them as co-pro prietors. It was a maxim of Roman law, followed in modern systems, that in communione vel societate nemo potest invitus detineri. Partition was either voluntary or was obtained by the actio communi dividendo. In English law the term partition applies only to the division of lands, tenements, and hereditaments, or of chattels real between coparceners, joint tenants, or tenants in common. It is to be noticed that not all hereditaments are capable of parti tion. There can be no partition of homage, fealty, or common of turbary, or of an inheritance of dignity, such as a peerage. Partition is either voluntary or compulsory. Voluntary partition is effected by mutual conveyances, and can only be made where all parties are sui juris. Since 8 & 9 Viet. c. 106, 3, it must be made by deed, except in the case of copyholds. Compulsory partition is effected by private Act of Parliament, by judicial process, or through the inclosure commissioners. At common law none but coparceners were entitled to partition against the will of the rest of the proprietors, but the Acts of 31 Henry VIII. c. 1 and 32 Henry VIII. c. 32 gave a compulsory process to joint tenants and tenants in common of freeholds, whether in possession or in reversion, by means of the writ of partition. In the reign of Elizabeth the Court of Chancery began to assume jurisdiction in partition, and the j writ of partition, after gradually becoming obsolete, was finally abolished by 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 27. The Court of Chancery could not decree partition of copyholds until 4 & 5 Viet. c. 35, 85. By the Judicature Act, 1873, 34, partition is one of the matters specially assigned to the Chancery Division. An order for partition is a matter of right, subject to the discretion vested in the court by the Partition Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Viet. c. 40, amended by 39 & 40 Viet. c. 17). By 3 of the Act of 1868 the court may, on the request of a party interested, direct a sale instead of a partition, if a sale would be more beneficial than a partition. By 12 a county court has jurisdiction in partition where the property does not exceed 500 in value. Under the powers of the Inclosure Act, 1845,
