Oxford’s Assault.
The attempted assassination of Queen Victoria by Edward Oxford in 1840 is so called. He fired twice at the Queen, but missed. At his trial he was found to be insane, and was incarcerated in Bethlem Hospital, and afterwards in Broadmoor.
Oyer and Terminer.
A commission specially nominated to hear and determine specific cases, especially of high treason, in England. This legal form was extended to Scotland in 1709, after the abortive trial of the Stirlingshire Jacobites under the ordinary Scotch procedure in 1708.
P
Pacific, War of the.
The war between Chile on the one side and Peru and Bolivia on he other in 1879-83 is so called.
Pacta Conventa.
The agreement entered into between the nobles and candidates for the throne at the election of the Polish kings. The terms agreed upon at the election of Henry in 1573 included the following: Henry undertook not to influence the diet in the choice of his successor, not to declare war, to marry or to divorce without their consent, not to impose taxes nor to appoint ambassadors. These terms were known as the Articles of Henry, and similar disabilities were imposed upon subsequent kings of Poland.