BEEVE. 779 BEFEKENDUM. conducted alone until 1795, and then in associa- tion with James Gould until 1820. He was a strong Federalist, but except for brief terms in the Connecticut Legislature and council, his sen-- ices were all of a judicial nature. In 1798 he was elected a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court, and remained on the bench for sixteen years, becoming Chief Justice shortly before his retirement in 1814. His publications include: The Law of Baron and Femme; of Parent and Child; of Guardian and Ward; of Master and Servant, etc. (181G), since republished in many editions, and A Treatise on the Laio of Descent (182.5). BEEVES, revz, :Mrs. Hexrt (Helex Buck- ISGH.M iLvTHEBS) (18.53—). An English nov- elist, born at llisterton, in Somersetshire, August 26, 1853. She was educated at Chantry, near Frome. In 1876 iliss ilathers married' Henry Reeves, a London surgeon. Her first novel, Comin' Thro' the Eye (l8T5), gained wide atten- tion. It was followed by the popular Cherry Ripe (1877), My Lady Green l^leeves (1879). and several others, including novelettes, The Land o' the Leal (1878) and As He Comes Up the Stair (1S78). Among her later novels are: A Man of To-Day ( 1894) ; The Lovelt/ Malincourt (1895) : The Sin of Eaqar (1896) ; Bam Wildfire (189S) ; and Becky (1900). BEEVES, .ToHX (c.1752-1829). An English writer on law, born in London. He was edu- cated at Eton, Cambridge, and O.xford, and was admitted to the bar in 1779. In 1791-92 he was Chief Justice of Newfoundland. In 1792 he pro- posed "An association for preserving liberty and property against Levelers and Republicans," of which for a time he was chairman. This so- ciety was the outcome of his strong feeling against the French Revolution. An anonymous pamphlet published by him in 1795 was consid- ered a libel on Parliament, and he was arraigned for publishing it, but though his opinions were condemned, he was acquitt(!d. His most impor- tant work is his History of the English Law, from the Time of the Saxons to the End of the Reign of Edward I. ( 1783. afterwards brought down through the reign of Elizabeth, 1829; the whole in 5 vols.: American edition, 1880). His other works include A History of the Law of Shippitig and Xarigation (1792) and A History of the Government of the Island of yewfuiindlatid (1793). As King's printer, he produced several editions of the Bible — particularly one with notes in nine volumes ( 1825) — and of the Prayer-Book. BEEVES, JoHx Sims (1822-1900). An Eng- lisli tenor, born at Woolwich. He studied under J. B. Cramer, T. Cooke, and other noted artists, and appeared in public as an operatic bary- tone at Xewcastle in 1839. His debut was a suc- cess, and he acquired fresh fame in Scotland and Ireland. After further study in Paris he ap- peared at Milan in the tenor part of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, when his singing electri- fied the audience. At Dniry Lane in 1847 as Edgardo, he was immediately recognized as the foremost living English tenor, and was engaged in 1848 at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1851 he was equall)' successful as first tenor at the Ital- ian opera in Paris. He retired from the stage and became a p:-ofessor in the Guildhall School of Music in 1892, but on account of financial re- VOL. XVI —50. verses returned to the concert platform and in 1896 made a successful tour in South Africa. BEFEBENCE, BEFEBEE (from Lat. re- fare, to refer, bear back, from re-, back again, anew -f ferre, to bear, carry). In law, the refer- ring or sending of issues or questions arising in a legal proceeding to a competent attorney as referee, to be tried or examined by him in the place and stead of a judge and jury. A reference may be voluntarv', or compulsory. It has been held in many States that compulsory references are constitutional. Actions involving long and complicated accounts, and divorce actions, where privacy and secrecy are desired by the parties, are the most frequently tried before referees. Referees are usually only appointed as the occasion arises, but under the United States Bankruptcy Act standing referees are appointed by the courts. The findings of a referee are contained in a report which is filed with the court ordering the reference, and on its confirmation by that court a judgment may be entered in accordance with the decision of the referee. This judgment may be reviewed on appeal by an appellate court. A referee may demand his fees as a con- dition of filing his report, and the successful party usually pays them in order to enter judg- ment. The fees and expenses of a reference are very large and litigants frequently oppose a mo- tion to send a case to a referee, on that ground. Referees correspond to masters in chancery, ap- pointed by courts of equity, but in code States, referees hear both legal and equitable actions. See Aebitbatiox" ; Couet. BEFEBENDXJM (Xeo-Lat. nom. sg. neu. of Lat. refrrendus, to be referred, gerundive of referre, to refer, bear back). The term applied to the practice of submitting laws to the elec- torate for approval or rejection. In the appli- cation of the referendum the law is first formu- lated by the legislative body or the constituent assembly and is then submitted to the electorate. The logical complement of the refercndun is the initiatire, by means of which the people are en- abled to draw up their own measures and have them voted on without the intermediation of the Legislature. By this nu-thod a petition signed by a certain proportion of the voting constituency is presented to the Legislature requesting that a certain measure be submitted to the popular vote. This the Legislature is bound to do with- out change in the measure, although it may sub- mit an alternative measure to be voted on at the same time. In .Switzerland, in every canton of the Confederation except Freibuig, the referen- dum in one form or another is established by law. In about one-half of the cantons the refer- endum is 'optional' or 'facultative.' that is, the laws are submitted to the jiopular vote only when submission by petition of a certain per cent, of the voting constitueucv is demanded. In the others it is 'obligatory,' that is, the laws must be submitted without petition. It is always obliga- tory in the case of proposed constitutional changes, whether cantonal or Federal. In the domain of ordinary legislation it is usually em- ployed only in the case of imiiortant measures of a general character. Since 1874 the referendum has been a feature of the government of the Confederation. The Constitution provides that upon the demand of eight cantons or 30.000 citizens any Federal law of general application
