Home Rulers.
A party formed in 1873, under the leadership of Isaac Butt, to agitate for the re-establishment of a separate Parliament for Ireland. His successor in the leadership of the party was Charles Stewart Parnell.
Homestead Act (New Zealand).
An Act passed in 1885, providing that a male under eighteen could take up twenty acres of first class, or thirty acres of second class land, and a male over eighteen, fifty or seventy-five acres respectively, free of all cost, providing he agreed to reside five years on the land, and fulfil certain requirements as to cultivation.
Homesteads Act (Western Australia).
An Act passed in 1893, providing for free grants of 160 acres each to all males above eighteen, subject to certain conditions as to residence and improvements.
Honest Broker.
A nickname of Prince Bismarck, with reference to his attitude, as President of the Berlin Congress in 1878, on the points in dispute between Russia and Austria.
Honour of the Flag.
The claim made by Cromwell that England had the right to exact from all foreign ships, a salute to her flag in the narrow seas. The Dutch Admiral Van Tromp refusing the salute in 1652, he was fired upon by the English Admiral, and the action which followed led to the declaration of war in July of the same year. The Dutch afterwards conceded the claim by the Treaty of 1654.