Exchange, Deed of, in English law, an original common law conveyance for the mutual transfer of real estate. It takes place between two contracting parties only, although several individuals may be included in each party; and the parties must take an equal estate, as fee-simple for fee-simple, legal estate for legal estate, copyhold for copyhold of the same manor, and the like.
Excheq´uer (Fr. échiquier, chess-board), in Britain, the department which deals with the moneys received and paid on behalf of the public services of the country. The public revenues are paid into the Bank of England (or of Ireland) to account of the Exchequer, and these receipts as well as the necessary payments for the public service are under the supervision of an important official called the Comptroller and Auditor General, the payments being granted by him on receipt of the proper orders proceeding through the Treasury. The public accounts are also audited in his department. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, who must be a member of the House of Commons, is the head of the Treasury Department. When the Prime Minister is a member of the House of Commons, he sometimes holds the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Exchequer, Court of, an ancient English court of record, established by William the Conqueror, and intended principally for the care and collection of the royal revenues. It was one of the supreme courts of common law, and is said to derive its name from the chequered cloth, resembling a chess-board, on which the sums were marked and scored with counters. The judges of this court were the chief baron and five junior or puisné barons. This court was abolished by the Judicature Act of 1873, and its jurisdiction transferred to the High Court of Justice. In Canada there is a Court of Exchequer for the Dominion.
Exchequer and Audit Department, a department of the English Civil Service charged with the functions of auditing the accounts of all other departments.
Exchequer Bills, bills of credit issued by authority of Parliament as a means of raising money for temporary purposes. They are of various sums—£100 or any multiple—and bear interest at a rate fixed for every half-year according to the rate ruling in the money-market at the time. These bills pass from hand to hand as money, and form part of the public unfunded
debt of Great Britain. Exchequer bonds are similar, but they run for a definite number of years (six at most) at a fixed rate of interest.
Excise´, an inland duty or impost laid on commodities produced and consumed within a country, and also on licences to manufacture and deal in certain commodities. Excise duties were introduced into England by the Long Parliament in 1643, being then laid on the makers and vendors of ale, beer, cider, and perry. Being found to be a convenient and productive source of revenue, they continued to gain ground, and in 1919 yielded £59,663,000. In Britain the excise includes duties on spirits and beer, licences on dogs, guns, carriages, servants, plate, railways, game, &c. In 1917 an excise duty was laid on entertainments, matches, and table waters. Spirits and beer yield over £44,000,000.
Exci´to-motor action, the action of nerves distributed to muscular organs, the stimulation of which leads to movement. Thus, irritation of a nerve supplying a muscle will lead to contraction of the muscle by excito-motor action, and irritation of certain nerves distributed to blood-vessels will lead to contraction of the vessel by acting on its muscular coat.
Exclusion, Bill of, a bill introduced into the British Parliament during the reign of Charles II for the purpose of excluding the Duke of York (afterwards James II), he being a Roman Catholic, from the throne.
Excommunication, the exclusion of a Christian from the communion and spiritual privileges of the Church. Excommunication was a recognized penalty among the Jews (John, ix, 22), and was practised early by the Christian Church. A distinction gradually arose between a lesser and a greater excommunication, the former being a suspension from Church privileges, the latter a formal expulsion excluding from all communion with the faithful. In the Middle Ages the Popes often excommunicated whole cities and kingdoms. In such a case all religious services ceased, and the grave inconveniences thus caused made excommunication a formidable weapon in the hands of the Pope, till with frequent abuse it lost its force. Besides excommunication an extreme degree of denunciation called anathema, and cutting the offender off from all the hopes and consolations of the Christian faith, is used in the Roman Catholic Church. Both Luther and Calvin were in favour of the right of excommunication by the ministers of the Church. In the Church of England both the less and the greater excommunications are recognized.—Cf. E. Taunton, The Law of the Church.