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BANAT, a district in the south-east of Hungary, con sisting of the three counties of Thorontal, Temeswar, and Krasso, which has strangely acquired this title, though it was never governed by a " ban." It is bounded by the Theiss, the Maros, and the Danube, forming almost a regular paral- leloTam. The soil is in many parts a remarkably rich alluvial deposit. Under the Turkish yoke it was allowed to lie almost desolate in marsh and heath and forest ; but Joseph II. determined to render it, if possible, a populous and prosperous district. He accordingly offered land, at a very low rate, to all who were willing to settle within its borders. Germans, Greeks, Turks, Servians, Italians, and Frenchmen responded to his call, and soon developed the agricultural resources of the region. Canals were formed at great expense of labour ; marshes and forests were cleared ; and now the Banat is one of the most highly cultivated parts of the Austrian empire. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, maize, flax, hemp, rape, sun-flowers, tobacco, grapes, and, in short, nearly all the productions of Europe, are successfully raised. The climate in summer is very like that of Italy, and in winter is milder than in other parts of Hungary. Nor is it any longer unhealthy, though, in 1777, Born spoke of it with horror as a realm of death, and the account given of it in 1802 by Dr Samuel Clarke was not much better. The scenery is extremely diversified, from the plains of Thorontal to the snowy mountains of Krasso. The mineral wealth is considerable, including copper, tin, lead, zinc, iron, and especially coal. Among its numerous mineral springs the most important are those of Menadia, which were known to the Romans as Thermae, Herculis. Not only there but in other parts of the Banat numerous remains of the Roman occupation still exist. The various origin of its inhabitants may still be easily traced, the separate settlements having kept remark ably distinct, and in many cases preserving their native languages and customs. The chief town is Temeswar, and other places of importance are Lugos, Kikinda, Becskereh, and Werschitz. Population about 1,500,000.

See Griselini, Versuch einer Gcsch. des Temcsu-ar Banats, Vienna, 1785 ; Iliet/inger, Versuch einer Statistik der Militargrenze dcs Oesterrcich. Kaiserth., Vienna, 1781; Btihm, Gcschichte des Temc- sw&r Banats, Leipsic, 1861 ; Paget, Hungary, 1855.

BANBRIDGE, a town of Ireland, county of Down, on the Bann, 23 miles S.W. of Belfast, standing on the summit of an eminence. To facilitate access, a central carriage way, 200 yards long, has been cut through the main street to a depth of 15 feet, the opposite terraces being connected by a bridge. Banbridge is a neat town, with a handsome church, several chapels, a market-house (built in 1831), and a court-house. It is the principal seat of the linen trade in the county, and has extensive cloth and thread factories, bleachfields, and chemical works. Population in 1871, 5500.

Banbury Arms.

BANBURY, a market-town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and railway junction, in the county of Oxford, 71 miles from London, and a little to the west of the River Cherwell and the Oxford and Birmingham canal. It is well built, and has two or three foundries, several breweries, and some other manufactures, but is chiefly dependent on the neighbour ing villages which send their agricul tural produce to its market. It was formerly famous for its cheese, and gives its name to a kind of cake of considerable repute. Its ancient cross, now destroyed, is celebrated in the well-known nursery rhyme. During the 17th century the inhabitants of Banbury seem to have been zealous Puritans, and are frequently satirized by contemporary dramatists (Cham- bers s Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 31 G). At a somewhat earlier period the grammar school, which is now defunct, was of such repute as to be chosen as the model for the constitution of the school of St Paul s. A school of science was erected in 1861. Banbury returns one member to parliament, and the borough (which is partly in Northamptonshire) had, in 1872, a population of 11,726, of whom 4122 were in the town.

BANCA, Banka, or Bangka, an island off the east coast of Sumatra, and separated from it by the Strait of Banca, lies between lat. 1 30 and 3 7 S., and long. 105 9 and 106 54 E. It varies from 8 to 20 miles in breadth, and has an area of 5000 English square miles. Its mines of tin, which were discovered in 1710, are remark ably productive, and in 1872 yielded no less than 68,148 piculs, the average yield during the previous ten years being 73,961 piculs. The washing is almost wholly carried on by Chinese, and a large part of the metal finds its way to their country. Iron, copper, lead, silver, and arsenic, are also found in the island. The soil is generally dry and stony, and the greater part of the surface is covered with forests, in which the logwood tree especially abounds. Its mountains, which scarcely exceed 2000 feet in height, are covered with vegetation to their summits. They are of granitic formation, containing felspar, quartz, mica, and tourmaline. Population, 54,339, including 17,070 Chinese, 37,070 natives, 116 Europeans, and 56 Arabs. Muntak, the capital, has upwards of 3000 inhabitants. " The houses, which mostly belong to Chinamen, are neatly built and well painted ; the streets are kept in good repair, and the whole place has an air of enterprise and thrift" (vide Bickrnore s East Indian Archip., 1868). There are several other forts on the island. It belongs to the Dutch, who derive from it upwards of 3,000,000 guilders, or .250,000, of annual income, after the expenses of the administration are paid.

BANCROFT, Richard, Archbishop of Canterbury in the

reign of James I., distinguished as an inflexible opponent of Puritanism, was born at Farnworth in Lancashire in 1544. He was educated at Cambridge University, studying first at Christ s College, and afterwards at Jesus College. He took his degree of B.A. in 1567, and that of M.A. in 1570. Ordained about that time, he was named chaplain to Dr Cox, then bishop of Ely, and in 1575 was presented to the rectory of Teversham in Cambridgeshire. The next year he was one of the preachers to the university, and in 1584 was presented to the rectory of St Andrew s, Holborn. His unquestionable abilities, and his zeal as a champion of the church in those unsettled times, secured him rapid pro motion, and at length the highest ecclesiastical position in the land. He graduated B.D. in 1580, and D.D. five years later. In 1585 he was appointed treasurer of St Paul s Cathedral, London. On February 9, 1589, he preached at Paul s Cross a sermon on 1 John iv. 1, the substance of which was a passionate attack on the Puritans. He described their speeches and proceedings, caricatured their motives, denounced the exercise of the right of private judgment, and set forth the divine right of bishops in such strong language that one of the queen s councillors held it to amount to a threat against the supremacy of the Crown. Sixteen days after the publication of this ecclesiastical manifesto, Bancroft was made a prebendary of St Paul s. Within a few years he was advanced to the same dignity in the collegiate church of Westminster, and in the cathedral church of Canterbury. He was chaplain successively to Lord Chancellor Hatton and Archbishop Whitgift. In May 1597 he was consecrated bishop of London ; and from this time, in consequence of the age and incapacity for business of Archbishop "Whitgift, he was virtually invested

with the power of primate, and had the sole management of