A treaty between Louis XI and his nobles, signed in 1465, putting an end to the Guerre du Bien Public. Louis ceded the Duchy of Normandy to his brother, the Duc de Berri, to be held as a fief of France, and made certain concessions to the Duc de Bretagne, the Comte de Charolais, and others.
Congé d’Elire.
The invitation sent by the Crown to a cathedral chapter to elect a certain person as bishop of the diocese.
Congo Conference.
A conference of the Powers held at Berlin in 1884-5. It declared for freedom of commerce in the basin and mouths of the Congo, and along the coast from Gaboon to Angola, and appointed an international commission to regulate the navigation of the Congo and the Niger. It recognised the neutrality of the Congo Free State, decreed the abolition of slave gangs and slave markets, and all monopolies, and insisted that foreigners should enjoy equal rights with the subjects of the sovereign state.
Congregation, Lords of the.
The leaders of the reforming party in Scotland, who issued the First Covenant in 1557, took this title.
Congress.
The Parliament of the United States, consisting of two Chambers, a House of Representatives, and a Senate. The former consists of a certain number of members from each state, elected by direct popular vote. The number of representatives of each state is in proportion to the population, as shown in the decennial census. The Senate is composed of two members from each state, irrespective of population, elected by the respective state legislatures. One third of the Senate retires annually.