Barrel-organ, a musical instrument usually carried by street musicians, in which a barrel, studded with pegs or staples, when turned round, opens a series of valves to admit air to a set of pipes, or acts upon wire strings like those of the piano, thus producing a fixed series of tunes.
Barren Grounds, a large tract in the North-West Territories of Canada, extending northwards from Churchill River to the Arctic Ocean between Great Bear and Great Slave Lake and Hudson's Bay. It largely consists of swamps, lakes, and bare rock.
Barrhead´, a town, Scotland, Renfrewshire, on the Levern, 7 miles S.W. of Glasgow; chief industries: printing of cottons, the spinning of cotton yarn, dyeing, bleaching, iron and brass founding, and sanitary ware. Pop. 11,387.
Barrie, a town of Canada, province Ontario, 55 miles N.W. Toronto, picturesquely situated on Lake Simcoe, a favourite summer resort. Pop. 6420.
Barrie, Sir James Matthew, a novelist and playwright, born in 1860 at Kirriemuir, Forfarshire; studied at Edinburgh University, graduating as M.A. in 1882. After working on a Nottingham journal he was a journalist in London. His first book, Better Dead (1887), a satire on London life, was followed by the highly successful Auld Licht Idylls (1888), with its sequel A Window in Thrums (that is, Kirriemuir) (1889). Among his novels and tales are When a Man's Single, My Lady Nicotine, The Little Minister, Sentimental Tommy, Tommy and Grizel, The Little White Bird. Successful plays are Peter and Wendy, The Professor's Love Story, The Little Minister (based on the novel), The
Admirable Crichton, Quality Street, Little Mary, Peter Pan, What Every Woman Knows, Dear Brutus, A Kiss for Cinderella, Mary Rose. His plays on the whole have been even more successful than his other works. He was created a baronet in 1913, and elected Rector of the University of St. Andrews in 1919.—Cf. J. A. Hammerton, J. M. Barrie and his Books.
Barrier Reef, a coral reef, or rather series of reefs, extending for 1260 miles off the N. E. coast of Australia, at a distance from land ranging from 10 to 100 miles. In sailing along this coast, steamers generally take the route inside the reef, where there is a channel about 12 fathoms deep throughout, protected by the reefs themselves; the outer channel is safer for sailing vessels.
Barrier Treaty, the treaty (1718) by which, when the Spanish Netherlands were ceded to Austria, the Dutch secured the right to garrison several border fortresses of the country at the expense of Austria, to serve as a barrier against France. It was declared void in 1781 by Joseph II.
Bar´rington, Daines, son of Viscount Barrington, lawyer, antiquarian, and naturalist, born 1727, died 1800. He wrote many papers for the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries; published some separate works, and was a correspondent of White of Selborne, who addressed to him a number of the letters in The Natural History of Selborne.
Bar´rister, in England or Ireland, an advocate or pleader, who has been admitted by one of the Inns of Court, viz. the Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, or Gray's Inn, to plead at the bar. It is they who speak before all the higher courts, being instructed in regard to the case they have in hand by means of the brief which they receive from the solicitor who may happen to engage their services, and which has a certain fee endorsed upon it as the sum to be paid for the barrister's services in the case. Before a student can be admitted to the bar he must have been a member of one of those societies, and have kept twelve terms there. The examinations, which had dwindled into mere forms, have been revived and made more stringent. Barristers are sometimes called utter or outer barristers, to distinguish them from the king's counsel, who sit within the bar in the courts and are distinguished by a silk gown. Barristers are also spoken of as counsel, as in the phrase opinion of counsel, that is, a written opinion on a case obtained from a barrister before whom the facts have been laid. All judges are selected from the barristers. A barrister cannot maintain an action for his fees, which are considered purely honorary. A revising barrister is a barrister appointed to revise the list of persons in any locality who have a vote for a member of Parliament. The term corresponding to barrister is in Scotland advocate, in the United States counsellor-at-law; but the position of the latter is not quite the same.—Cf. J. R. V. Marchant, Barrister-at-law.