Part 26

BRAWLING (probably connected with Ger. _brallen_, to roar, shout), in law, the offence of quarrelling, or creating a disturbance in a church or churchyard. During the early stages of the Reformation in England religious controversy too often became converted into actual disturbance, and the ritual lawlessness of the parochial clergy very frequently provoked popular violence. To repress these disturbances an act was passed in 1551, by which it was enacted "that if any person shall, by words only, quarrel, chide or brawl in any church or churchyard, it shall be lawful for the ordinary of the place where the same shall be done and proved by two lawful witnesses, to suspend any person so offending, if he be a layman, from the entrance of the church, and if he be a clerk, from the ministration of his office, for so long as the said ordinary shall think meet, according to the fault." An act of 1553 added the punishment of imprisonment until the party should repent. The act of 1551 was partly repealed in 1828 and wholly repealed as regards laymen by the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860. Under that act, which applies to Ireland as well as to England, persons guilty of riotous, violent or indecent behaviour, in churches and chapels of the Church of England or Ireland, or in any chapel of any religious denomination, or in England in any place of religious worship duly certified, or in churchyards or burial-grounds, are liable on conviction before two justices to a penalty of not more than L5, or imprisonment for any term not exceeding two months. This enactment applies to clergy as well as to laity, and a clergyman of the Church of England convicted under it may also be dealt with under the Clergy Discipline Act of 1892 (_Girt v. Fillingham_, 1901, L.R. Prob. 176). When Mr J. Kensit during an ordination service in St Paul's cathedral "objected" to one of the candidates for ordination, on grounds which did not constitute an impediment or notable crime within the meaning of the ordination service, he was held to have unlawfully disturbed the bishop of London in the conduct of the service, and to be liable to conviction under the act of 1860 (_Kensit_ v. _Dean and Chapter of St Paul's_, 1905, L.R. 2 K.B. 249). The public worship of Protestant Dissenters, Roman Catholics and Jews in England had before 1860 been protected by a series of statutes beginning with the Toleration Act of 1689, and ending with the Liberty of Religious Worship Act 1855. These enactments, though not repealed, are for practical purposes superseded by the summary remedy given by the act of 1860. In Scotland disturbance of public worship is punishable as a breach of the peace (_Dougall_ v. _Dykes_, 1861, 4 Irvine 101).

In British possessions abroad interference with religious worship is usually dealt with by legislation, and not as a common-law offence. In India it is an offence voluntarily to cause disturbance to any assembly lawfully engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies (Penal Code, s. 296). Under the Queensland Criminal Code of 1899 (s. 207) penalties are imposed on persons who wilfully and without lawful justification or excuse (the proof of which lies on them) disquiet or disturb any meeting of persons lawfully assembled for religious worship, or assault any forces lawfully officiating at such meeting, or any of the persons there assembled.

In the United States disturbance of religious worship is treated as an offence under the common law, which is in many states supplemented by legislation (see Bishop, _Amer. Crim. Law_, 8th ed. 1892, vol. i. s. 542, vol. ii. ss. 303-305; California Penal Code, s. 302; _Revised Laws of Massachusetts_, 1902, chap. 212, s. 30.).

BRAY, SIR REGINALD (d. 1503), British statesman and architect, was the second son of Sir Richard Bray, one of the privy council of Henry VI. Reginald was born in the parish of St John Bedwardine, near Worcester, but the date of his birth is uncertain. He was receiver-general and steward of the household to Sir Henry Stafford, second husband of Margaret, countess of Richmond, whose son afterwards became King Henry VII. The accession of the king Henry VII. favoured the fortunes of Reginald Bray, who was created a knight of the Bath at the coronation and afterwards a knight of the Garter. In the first year of Henry VII.'s reign he was given a grant of the constableship of Oakham Castle in Rutland, and was appointed joint chief justice with Lord Fitz Walter of all the forest south of Trent and chosen of the privy council. Subsequently he was made high treasurer and chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. In October 1494 he became high steward of the university of Oxford, and he was a member of the parliament summoned in the 11th year of Henry VII's reign. In June 1497 he was at the battle of Blackheath, and his services in repressing the Cornish rebels were rewarded with a gift of estates and the title of knight banneret. His taste and skill in architecture are attested by Henry VII.'s chapel at Westminster and St George's chapel at Windsor. He directed the building of the former, and the finishing and decoration of the latter, to which, moreover, he was a liberal contributor, building at his own expense a chapel still called by his name and ornamented with his crest, the initial letters of his name, and a device representing the hemp-bray, an instrument used by hemp manufacturers. He died in 1503, before the Westminster chapel was completed, and was interred in St George's chapel.

BRAY, THOMAS (1656-1730), English divine, was born at Marton, Shropshire, in 1656, and educated at All Souls' College, Oxford. After leaving the university he was appointed vicar of Over-Whitacre, and rector of Sheldon in Warwickshire, where he wrote his famous _Catechetical Lectures_. Henry Compton, bishop of London, appointed him in 1696 as his commissary to organize the Anglican church in Maryland, and he was in that colony in 1699-1700. He took a great interest in colonial missions, especially among the American Indians, and it is to his exertions that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel owes its existence. He also projected a successful scheme for establishing parish libraries in England and America, out of which grew the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. From 1706 till his death in February 1730 he was rector of St Botolph-Without, Aldgate, London, being unceasingly engaged in philanthropic and literary pursuits.

BRAY, a village in the Wokingham parliamentary division of Berkshire, England, beautifully situated on the west (right) bank of the Thames, 1 m. S. of Maidenhead Bridge. Pop. (1901) 2978. There are numerous riverside residences in the locality. The church of St Michael has portions of various dates from the Early English period onward, and is much restored. It contains a number of brasses of the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. A well-known ballad, "The Vicar of Bray," tells how a vicar held his position by easy conversions of faith according to necessity, from the days of Charles II. until the accession of George I. and the foundation of "the illustrious house of Hanover" (1714). One Francis Carswell, who is buried in the church, was vicar for forty-two years, approximately during this period, dying in 1709; but the legend is earlier, and the name of the vicar who gave rise to it is not certainly known. That of Simon Aleyn, who held the office from c. 1540 to 1588, is generally accepted, as, in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth, he is said to have been successively Papist, Protestant, Papist and Protestant. The name of Simon Simonds is also given on the authority of the vicar of the parish in 1745; Simonds died a canon of Windsor in 1551, but had been vicar of Bray. Tradition ascribes the song to a soldier in Colonel Fuller's troop of dragoons in the reign of George I.

BRAY, a seaport and watering-place of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, 12 m. S.S.E. of Dublin on the Dublin & South-Eastern railway, situated on both sides of the river Bray. Pop. of urban district (1901) 7424. For parliamentary purposes it is divided between the eastern division of county Wicklow and the southern of county Dublin. A harbour was constructed by the urban district council (the harbour authority) which accommodates ships of 400 tons. There is some industry in brewing, milling and fishing, but the town, which is known as the "Irish Brighton," is almost wholly dependent for its prosperity on visitors from Dublin and elsewhere. It therefore possesses all the equipments of a modern seaside resort; there is a fine sea-wall with esplanade upwards of a mile in length; the bathing is good, and race meetings are held. The town is rapidly increasing in size. The coast, especially towards the promontory of Bray Head, offers beautiful sea-views, and some of the best inland scenery in the county is readily accessible, such as the Glens of the Dargle and the Downs, the demesne of Powerscourt, the Bray river, with its loughs, and the pass of the Scalp. The demesne of Kilruddery, the seat of the earls of Meath, is specially beautiful. About 1170 Bray was bestowed by Richard de Clare or Strongbow, earl of Pembroke and Strigul, on Walter de Reddesford, who took the title of baron of Bray, and built a castle.

BRAYLEY, EDWARD WEDLAKE (1773-1854), English antiquary and topographer, was born at Lambeth, London, in 1773. He was apprenticed to the enamelling trade, but early developed literary tastes. He formed a close friendship with John Britton, which lasted for sixty-five years. They entered into a literary partnership, and after some small successes at song and play writing they became joint editors of _The Beauties of England and Wales_, themselves writing many of the volumes. Long after he had become famous as a topographer, Brayley continued his enamel work. In 1823 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He died in London on the 23rd of September 1854. His other works include _Sir Reginalde or the Black Tower_ (1803); _Views in Suffolk, Norfolk and Northamptonshire, illustrative of works of Robt. Bloowifield_ (1806); _Lambeth Palace_ (1806); _The History of the Abbey Church of Westminster_ (2 vols., 1818); _Topographical Sketches of Brighthelmstone_ (1825); _Historical and Descriptive Accounts of Theatres of London_ (1826); _Londiniana_ (1829); _History of Surrey_ (5 vols., 1841-1848).

BRAZIER (from the Fr. _brasier_, which comes from _braise_, hot charcoal), a metal receptacle for holding burning coals or charcoal, much used in southern Europe and the East for warming rooms. Braziers are often elegant in form, and highly artistic in ornamentation, with chased or embossed feet and decorated exteriors.

BRAZIL, or BRASIL, a legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean. The name connects itself with the red dye-woods so called in the middle ages, possibly also applied to other vegetable dyes, and so descending from the _Insulae Purpurariae_ of Pliny. It first appears as the _I. de Brazi_ in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436), where it is found attached to one of the larger islands of the Azores. When this group became better known and was colonized, the island in question was renamed Terceira. It is probable that the familiar existence of "Brazil" as a geographical name led to its bestowal upon the vast region of South America, which was found to supply dye-woods kindred to those which the name properly denoted. The older memory survived also, and the Island of Brazil retained its place in mid-ocean, some hundred miles to the west of Ireland, both in the traditions of the forecastle and in charts. In J. Purdy's _General Chart of the Atlantic_, "corrected to 1830," the "Brazil Rock (high)" is marked with no indication of doubt, in 51 deg. 10' N. and 15 deg. 50' W. In a chart of currents by A.G. Findlay, dated 1853, these names appear again. But in his 12th edition of Purdy's _Memoir Descriptive and Explanatory of the N. Atlantic Ocean_ (1865), the existence of Brazil and some other legendary islands is briefly discussed and rejected. (See also ATLANTIS.)

BRAZIL, a republic of South America, the largest political division of that continent and the third largest of the western hemisphere. It is larger than the continental United States excluding Alaska, and slightly larger than the great bulk of Europe lying east of France. Its extreme dimensions are 2629 m. from Cape Orange (4 deg. 21' N.) almost due south to the river Chuy (33 deg. 45' S. lat.), and 2691 m. from Olinda (Ponta de Pedra, 8 deg. 0' 57" S., 34 deg. 50' W.) due west to the Peruvian frontier (about 73 deg. 50' W.). The most northerly point, the Serra Roraima on the Venezuela and British Guiana frontier (5 deg. 10' N.), is 56 m. farther north than Cape Orange. The area, which was augmented by more than 60,000 sq. m. in 1903 and diminished slightly in the boundary adjustment with British Guiana (1904), is estimated to have been 3,228,452 sq. m. in 1900 (A. Supan, _Die Bevolkerung der Erde_, Gotha, 1904). A subsequent planimetric calculation, which takes into account these territorial changes, increases the area to 3,270,000 sq. m.

_Boundaries._--Brazil is bounded N. by Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas, N.E., E. and S.E. by the Atlantic, S. by Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, and W. by Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Its territory touches that of every South American nation, except Chile, and with each one there has been a boundary dispute at some stage in its political life. The Spanish and Portuguese crowns attempted to define the limits between their American colonies in 1750 and 1777, and the lines adopted still serve in great part to separate Brazil from its neighbours. Lack of information regarding the geographical features of the interior, however, led to some indefinite descriptions, and these have been fruitful sources of dispute ever since. The Portuguese were persistent trespassers in early colonial times, and their land-hunger took them far beyond the limits fixed by Pope Alexander VI. In the boundary disputes which have followed, Brazil seems to have pursued this traditional policy, and generally with success.

Beginning at the mouth of the Arroyo del Chuy, at the southern extremity of a long sandbank separating Lake Mirim from the Atlantic (33 deg.45' S. lat.), the boundary line between Brazil and Uruguay passes up that rivulet and across to the most southerly tributary of Lake Mirim, thence down the western shore of that lake to the Jaguarao and up that river to its most southerly source. The line then crosses to the hill-range called Cuchilla de Sant' Anna, which is followed in a north-west direction to the source of the Cuareim, or Quarahy, this river becoming the boundary down to the Uruguay. This line was fixed by the treaty of 1851, by which the control of Lake Mirim remains with Brazil. Beginning at the mouth of the Quarahy, the boundary line between Brazil and Argentina ascends the Uruguay, crosses to the source of the Santo Antonio, and descends that small stream and the Iguassu to the Parana, where it terminates. This line was defined by the treaty of 1857, and by the decision of President Cleveland in 1895 with regard to the small section between the Uruguay and Iguassu rivers. The boundary with Paraguay was definitely settled in 1872. It ascends the Parana to the great falls of Guayra, or Sete Quedas, and thence westward along the water-parting of the Sierra de Maracayu to the _cerro_ of that name, thence northerly along the Sierra d'Amambay to the source of the Estrella, a small tributary of the Apa, and thence down those two streams to the Paraguay. From this point the line ascends the Paraguay to the mouth of the Rio Negro, the outlet of the Bahia Negra, where the Bolivian boundary begins. As regards the Peruvian boundary, an agreement was reached in 1904 to submit the dispute to the arbitration of the president of Argentina in case further efforts to reach an amicable settlement failed. The provisional line, representing the Brazilian claim, begins at the termination of the Bolivian section (the intersection of the 11th parallel with the meridian of 72 deg. 26' W. approx.) and follows a semicircular direction north-west and north to the source of the Javary (or Yavary), to include the basins of the Purus and Jurua within Brazilian jurisdiction. The line follows the Javary to its junction with the Amazon, and runs thence north by east direct to the mouth of the Apaporis, a tributary of the Yapura, in about 1 deg. 30' S. lat., 69 deg. 20' W. long., where the Peruvian section ends. The whole of this line, however, was subject to future adjustments, Peru claiming all that part of the Amazon valley extending eastward to the Madeira and lying between the Beni and the east and west boundary line agreed upon by Spain and Portugal in 1750 and 1777, which is near the 7th parallel. With regard to the section between the Amazon and the Apaporis river, already settled between Brazil and Peru, the territory has been in protracted dispute between Peru, Ecuador and Colombia; but a treaty of limits between Brazil and Ecuador was signed in 1901 and promulgated in 1905. The boundary with Colombia, fixed by treaty of April 24, 1907, follows the lower rim of the Amazon basin, as defined by Brazil. The Colombian claim included the left bank of the Amazon eastward to the Auahy or Avahy-parana channel between the Amazon and Yapura, whence the line ran northward to the Negro near the intersection of the 66th meridian. The Brazilian line ran north and north-west from the mouth of the Apaporis to the 70th meridian, which was followed to the water-parting south of the Uaupes basin, thence north-east to the Uaupes river, which was crossed close to the 69th meridian, thence easterly along the Serra Tunaji and Isana river to Cuyari, thence northerly up the Cuyari and one of its small tributaries to the Serra Capparro, and thence east and south-east along this range to the Cucuhy rock (Pedra de Cucuhy) on the left bank of the Negro, where the Colombian section ends. Negotiations for the settlement of this controversy, which involved fully one-third of the state of Amazonas, were broken off in 1870, but were resumed in 1905. The boundary with Venezuela, which was defined by a treaty of 1859, runs south-eastward from Cucuhy across a level country intersected by rivers and channels tributary to both the Negro and Orinoco, to the Serra Cupuy watershed which separates the rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco valleys. This watershed includes the ranges running eastward and northward under the names of Imeri, Tapiira-peco, Curupira, Parima and Pacaraima, the Venezuelan section terminating at Mt. Roraima. On the 9th of December 1905 protocols were signed at Caracas accepting the line between Cucuhy and the Serra Cupuy located in 1880, and referring the remainder, which had been located by a Brazilian commission in 1882 and 1884, to a mixed commission for verification.

The disputed boundary between Brazil and British Guiana, which involved the possession of a territory having an estimated area of 12,741 sq. m., was settled by arbitration in 1904 with the king of Italy as arbitrator, the award being a compromise division by which Great Britain received about 7336 sq. m. and Brazil about 5405. The definite boundary line starts from Mt. Roraima and follows the water-parting east and south to the source of the Ireng or Mahu river, which with the Takutu forms the boundary as far south as 1 deg. N. to enclose the basin of the Essequibo and its tributaries, thence it turns east and north of east along the Serra Acaria to unite with the unsettled boundary line of Dutch Guiana near the intersection of the 2nd parallel north with the 56th meridian. Negotiations were initiated in 1905 for the definite location of the boundary with Dutch Guiana. Running north-east and south-east to enclose the sources of the Rio Paru, it unites with the French Guiana line at 2 deg. 10' N., 55 deg. W., and thence runs easterly along the water-parting of the Serra Tumuc-Humac to the source of the Oyapok, which river is the divisional line to the Atlantic coast. The boundary with French Guiana (see GUIANA), which had long been a subject of dispute, was settled by arbitration in 1900, the award being rendered by the government of Switzerland. The area of the disputed territory was about 34,750 sq. m.

_Physical Geography._--A relief map of Brazil shows two very irregular divisions of surface: the great river basins, or plains, of the Amazon-Tocantins and La Plata, which are practically connected by low elevations in Bolivia, and a huge, shapeless mass of highlands filling the eastern projection of the continent and extending southward to the plains of Rio Grande do Sul and westward to the Bolivian frontier. Besides these there are a narrow coastal plain, the low plains of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Guiana highlands on the northern slope of the Amazon basin below the Rio Negro.

Relief.

The coastal plain consists in great part of sandy beaches, detritus formations, and partially submerged areas caused by uplifted beaches and obstructed river channels. Mangrove swamps, lagoons and marshes, with inland canals following the coast line for long distances, are characteristic features of a large extent of the Brazilian coast. Parts of this coastal plain, however, have an elevation of 100 to 200 ft., are rolling and fertile in character, and terminate on the coast in a line of bluffs. In the larger depressions, like that of the Reconcavo of Bahia, there are large alluvial areas celebrated for their fertility. This plain is of varying width, and on some parts of the coast it disappears altogether. In Rio Grande do Sul, where two large lakes have been created by uplifted sand beaches, the coastal plain widens greatly, and is merged in an extensive open, rolling grassy plain, traversed by ridges of low hills (_cuchillas_), similar to the neighbouring republic of Uruguay. The western part of this plain is drained by the Uruguay and its tributaries, which places it within the river Plate (La Plata) basin.

The two great river basins of the Amazon-Tocantins and La Plata comprise within themselves, approximately, three-fifths of the total area of Brazil. Large areas of these great river plains are annually flooded, the flood-plains of the Amazon extending nearly across the whole country and comprising thousands of square miles. The Amazon plain is heavily forested and has a slope of less than one inch to the mile within Brazilian territory--one competent authority placing it at about one-fifth of an inch per mile. The La Plata basin is less heavily wooded, its surface more varied, and its Brazilian part stands at a much higher elevation.