PBETENDEE. 382 PREVIOUS QUESTION. PRETENDEB (from pretend, OF. pretender, Fr. prdciidtr, I'roui Lat. pratendere, to pretend, allege, hold out, from prw, before + tcndere, to streteli ) . The name lioriie in English history by the son and the grandson of the dethroned James II., the two being s])eciilcally known as the Old Pretender and the Yoimg Pretender, respectively. See Stuart, James Fbanci.s Edward; Stuart, Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir. PRETENSE, Escutcheon of. See Escut- cheon. PRETI, prii'te, IM.VTTiA (sometimes Marco, or Maria) (1013-90). An Italian painter of the Neapolitan School, born at Taverna, Calabria. He was also called II Cavaliere Calabrese. and Cor- diseo. He was a pupil of Lanfraueo in Rome, or, according to other authorities, of Guereino in Cento, and also studied in France, Spain, and Antwerp, and ultimately settled in Malta, where he died. He was a follower of Caravaggio and Sabbatino, and has the same skill in the use of •chiaroscuro. His works include "The Prodigal Son,^ in the Naples Museum, and frescoes in the Church of the Carmine, Modena, and in San Pietro a Majella, Naples. ' PRETO'RIA. The capital of the Transvaal Colony, formerly the South African Republic, British South Africa. It is situated 4500 feet above sea-level on the southern slope of a spur of the ]Iagalies Berge, in the south central part of the colony, 35 miles by rail, northnortli- east of .Johannesburg (Map: Transvaal Col- ony, E 4). It was regularly laid out on an extensive scale, with wide and straight streets crossing at right angles, but, although it became the converging point of the main railroad lines from Delagoa Bay and Port Elizaljeth, it never acquired much economic im- portance, owing to the competition of .lohannes- Inirg. The Raadzaal or former Parliament House, 126 feet high, surmounted Iiy a statue of lilierty, is the most important building. The population is about 15,000, of whom 10,000 are whites. Pretoria, named after the Boer General Pretorius. was founded in 1S55 to succeed Potchefstroom as capital of the Transvaal Republic. In May. 1900, it surrendered to the British, after which its four imposing but useless fortresses were dis- mantled. Consult Boyd, "Pretoria," in Aiiglo- Haxdii /I'l III ir, vol. iv. (London, 1900). PRETO'RIUS, Dutch pron. pra-tO'rl-us, Marthinas Ve.ssels (1827-1901). A South African soldier and statesman, the first president of the South African Republic. He was born in Natal, the son of Andries Pretorius, one of the leaders of the 'Great Trek.' and subsequently commandant -general of the Boer forces. He suc- ceeded to his father's rank and position upon his death in 1852, and strove to carry out his policy, which had for its object the consolidation of the various independent Boer states. He won dis- tinction as a military commander in the wars with the KafTirs, and in 1860 was chosen presi- dent of the Orange Free State. When, in 1864, the small Boer states north of the Vaal River combined to form the South African Ee)Hi1)lic, Pretorius left the Free State and threw in his fortunes with the new re])ublic, of which he was at once elected president. He was reelected in 1869. but in the following year, becaiise of dis- satisfaction over the arbitration agreement to which he had assented, in reference to territory claimed by the Baralong tribe, he resigned office. The acts of his successor, President Burgers, led in 1877 to friction with the British autliorities, and to a proclamation annexing the Transvaal to the British Empire. Pretorius took a jjrominent part in the revolt which followed, and after the independence of the Republic was recognized iu 1880 he, with Ivruger and Joubert, organized a provisional Government. Pretorius expected to be chosen president, but the conunanding position won by Paul Krugcr in the struggle led to his election in 1883, and the final retirement of Pre- torius to private life. He was one of the most conservative of Boer leaders, and during his last years bitterly opposed the war polic.y of Kruger, declaring prophetically that it meant the final extinction of lioth the Boer republics. PBEUSCHEN-TELMANN, proi'shen tel'- man, Hek.mixe von (1854 — ). A German painter and author. She was born at Darmstadt, studied under Keller in Karlsruhe, and attained her earliest and greatest fame in floral paintings, marked by brilliant coloring. She traveled widely, and devoted herself to still life, and then to a sj'mbolie manner which she described as 'historical still life.' Her most striking picture is "ilors Im])erator." Her literary labors include the poems, Reqina Titw (1888); Via Piissionis ( 1895) : and ^'o,n Mondhcry (1900) ; and the fic- tion, Tollkriiut (1893); Yon ihm und Ihr (1900) ; and Dunkelkummer (1901). PREVESA, pra-va'sa. A fortified seaport of Turkey in Europe, in the Vilayet of Janina. situ- ated at the entrance to the Gulf of Arta in the extreme southwestern corner of the country (Map: Balkan Peninsula, C 5). It has con- siderable trade. Po])ulation, about 7000. PREVIOUS QUESTION. A question put to a parliamentary assembly u|)on motion of a mem- ber to ascertain whether it is the will of the assembly to vote at once and thus put a stop to further debate on the subject under considera- tion. The form of the previous question is: "Shall the main question now be put?" If the vote is in the afliirmative, the subject luider dis- cussion must then be voted on without further debate on the main question or amendment. This puts it in the power of a bare majority to shut off debate at any time. Under the name of 'closure,' this method of parliamentary tactics was first extensively resorted to by Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons in 1882 in order to prevent dilatory or obstructive motions of the minority. It has been frequently resorted to in the LTnited States House of Representatives from the earliest time, but up to the present time has not yet been tried in the Senate, where the prac- tice of unlimited debate is allowed. In the House of Representatives the defeat of the pre- vious question operates to keep the business be- fore the House as though no motion had been made, but in the English Parliament it has the effect of postponing consideration for the day. The -object of the practice in the United States is to hasten action, and a motion is made by a friend of the measure; in the English Parliament the purpose is to get rid of the subject for the time, and the motion is made with the purpose of voting against the measure. Thus in the United States House of Representatives the mover of the previous question votes for it, vhile in Eng- land he votes against it. At first in the House
