Division, in the army, the smallest formation of troops which is a mixed force. A division, besides three brigades of infantry, includes artillery, engineers, and administrative troops. It is commanded by a major-general, and if at full strength consists of about 20,000 men.
Division, in Parliament, the mode of determining a question at the end of a debate. In the House of Commons the Speaker puts the question, and declares whether in his opinion the 'Ayes' or the 'Noes' have it. Should his opinion not be acquiesced in by the minority, the House is cleared, and the 'Ayes' directed to go into the right lobby and the 'Noes' into the left, where they are counted by two tellers appointed for each party. In the House of Lords the two sides in a division are called 'Contents' and 'Not-contents'.
Division of Labour, a method employed in productive undertakings for the simplifying of the work to be done by each of the workmen engaged therein. The separation of the process of production into a series of simple operations means that less ability on the part of the workman is required in order that he may acquire the necessary skill in performing any particular operation, and saves much time, partly because practice leads to each operation being more quickly performed, and partly by avoiding the waste which takes place in workmen moving from one operation to another. Owing to both of these causes, the cost of producing complicated articles may be immensely reduced. By standardizing operations division of labour tends to the invention of machinery; increases the skill and dexterity of the individual workman in the particular operation in which he is engaged; enables semi-skilled or unskilled labour to replace skilled; makes a more continuous and economical use of capital possible; and conduces to the more economical distribution of labour by classing work-people according to their capacity. It has, however, a deteriorating effect on the labourer's usefulness as an all-round workman, and is liable to kill his interest in his work, thereby reducing the incentive to industry. What is called division of labour in English economics has been sometimes termed co-operation by foreign economists.
Divorce (Lat. divortium, from divertere, to turn apart, separate), a separation, by law, of husband and wife, which is either a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, that is, a complete dissolution of the marriage bonds, or a divorce a mensâ et thoro (from bed and board), whereby the parties are legally separated, but not unmarried. The causes admitted by different codes of laws as grounds for the modification or entire dissolution of the marriage contract, as well as the description of tribunal which has jurisdiction of the proceedings, and the form of the proceedings, are various. Divorce was permitted by the law of Moses, but forbidden in the New Testament, except for adultery. The early laws of Rome permitted the husband to divorce his wife for adultery and many other alleged offences. The facility of divorce continued, without restriction, under the Roman emperors, but as the modern nations of Europe emerged from the ruins of the Roman Empire, they adopted the doctrine of the New Testament. Marriage, under the Roman Church, instead of a civil contract, came to be considered a sacrament of the Church, which it was unlawful to dissolve. The ecclesiastical courts could indeed annul a marriage, but only for a cause that existed at the time the marriage was contracted, such as prior contracts or impotency. For any cause arising after marriage they could only pronounce a divorce a mensâ et thoro, which did not leave either party free to marry again, except by Papal dispensation. A divorce a vinculo matrimonii, for any cause arising subsequent to marriage, could formerly be obtained in England only by an Act of Parliament, and the ecclesiastical courts must have previously pronounced a divorce a mensâ et thoro. The Act passed in 1857, however, established a new court for trying divorce causes, called the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes, since absorbed into the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice. According to present practice the husband may obtain a divorce for simple adultery; but if the wife is the petitioner, she must show that her husband has been guilty of certain kinds of adultery, or of adultery coupled with desertion or gross cruelty. Either party may marry again after divorce. A divorce cannot be obtained if it appear that the petitioner has been guilty of the same offence, or has been accessory to or has connived at the offence, or if there has been collusion between the parties to obtain a divorce, or if they have condoned the offence by living together as man and wife after discovery. The husband may claim damages from the adulterer, and the court may also order the adulterer to pay the costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part. The Act also abolished divorces a mensâ et thoro, substituting, however, judicial separations. (See Judicial Separation.) A decree for a divorce is always in the first instance a decree nisi (q.v.). A Matrimonial Causes Bill, introduced in the House of Lords in 1920, proposes to abolish the legal disabilities of a wife in this matter, and to grant divorce to husband or wife on any of the following grounds: (a) adultery; (b) desertion for at least three years; (c) cruelty; (d) incurable insanity coupled with at least five years' confinement under the lunacy laws; (e) incurable habitual drunkenness coupled with three years' separation under a temporary separation order granted on the ground of habitual drunkenness; and (f) imprisonment under a commuted death sentence. In Scotland, from the time of the Reformation, divorce might be obtained by either party on the ground of adultery, marriage being held to be only a civil contract, and as such under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Condonation, or connivance, or collusion is sufficient to prevent a divorce from being obtained on the ground of adultery, but not recrimination, that is, a counter charge of adultery. Wilful desertion for at least four years is also held a valid reason for divorce. The action is carried on before the Court of Session. In other countries, including British colonies, the law relating to divorce varies greatly. In the United States of America, marriage, though it may be celebrated before clergymen as well as civil magistrates, is considered to be a civil contract, and the laws as to divorce, and the facility or difficulty of obtaining it, differ greatly in the several states. In France divorce was legalized in 1884, with conditions, after having been prohibited for many years.—Bibliography: Lehr, Le mariage, le divorce et la séparation de corps dans les principaux peuples civilisés; Stephen, Commentaries on the Laws of England; Bryce, Marriage and Divorce.
Dixmude, a town of Belgium, in Flanders. It was the scene of severe fighting during the European War. Captured by the Germans, it was retaken by the Belgians on 29th Sept., 1918. Pop. 4040 (1911); 450 (1919).
Dixon, William Hepworth, miscellaneous writer, born at Manchester, 1821, died in London, 1879. In 1849 he published a memoir of Howard the philanthropist, which was followed by the Life of William Penn (1851), and by a work on Admiral Blake (1852). In 1853, after having been a contributor, he became chief editor of The Athenæum, a post which he retained till 1869. During this period he published several very popular works, including the Personal History of Lord Bacon, The Holy Land, and New America, the last being followed by Spiritual Wives. After his retirement from The Athenæum, and in the last ten years of his life, he gave to the world about twenty-five volumes of history, travel, and fiction, among others, Free Russia; Her Majesty's Tower; The Switzers; History of Two Queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn; Diana Lady Lyle, and Ruby Grey (both novels); and his last work, Royal Windsor.
Dizful, a town of Persia, near the western boundary, on the River Dizful; a place of great trade and manufactures. Pop. about 25,000.
Djavid Bey, Hussein, a Turkish Jew, one of the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress, and Minister of Finance from 1914 to 1918. His advice that Turkey should adhere to strict neutrality during the European War was, unfortunately for his country, not followed by his colleagues, who decided to join Germany.
Djemal Pasha, Turkish soldier and politician, and one of the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress. Minister of Marine in 1914, he commanded the Turkish forces in Palestine from 1915 to 1917, and became notorious on account of his oppression of and cruelties against the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, and by his hatred of Zionism. Accused in 1918 of various crimes, such as misappropriation of funds, and compelled to flee from Constantinople, he was condemned to death in his absence in 1919. He was nevertheless one of the Turkish delegates who signed the Peace Treaty on 11th May, 1920.