Chapter III: General Observations (2)

The courts of law having held that by the grant of administration the authority of the ecclesiastical courts was exhausted, the administrator became entitled to the privilege, similar to that formerly enjoyed by the ordinary, of dealing as he pleased with residue of the property. The next of kin of the same degree of relationship to the deceased were thus aggrieved by the preference of the administrator, and it was to remedy this grievance that the Statute of Distributions 1670/1 was passed. It empowered the ordinary to take a bond from the administrator binding him to make a fair and complete distribution of the property among the next of kin. Such distribution is to be in the following manner: one-third to the wife of the intestate, and all the residue by equal portions to and amongst the children, and their representatives if any of such children be dead, exclusive of children who shall have any estate by the settlement of the intestate, or shall be advanced by the intestate in his lifetime by portions equal to the shares allotted to the other children under the distribution. If such advancement should be less than the share of the other children in distribution, then it shall be made equal thereto. But the "heir-at-law, notwithstanding any land that he shall have by descent or otherwise from the intestate, is to have an equal part in distribution with the rest of the children" (S 5). By S 6, if there be no children nor any legal representatives of children, one moiety of the property is to be allotted to the wife of the intestate, the residue "to be distributed equally to any of the next of kindred of the intestate who are equal in degree and those who legally represent them." By S 7 there shall "be no representation admitted among collaterals after brothers' and sisters' children; and in case there be no wife, then all the said estate to be distributed equally to and among the children; and in case there be no child, then to the next of kindred in equal degree of or unto the intestate and their legal representatives as aforesaid, and in no other manner whatsoever." For the protection of creditors it is enacted that there shall be no distribution till a full year after the intestate's death, and if any debts should be discovered after distribution, the persons sharing the estate shall refund the amount of the same ratably. With reference to the above rules the following points may be observed: (1) The husband's absolute right to administer his wife's estate is not affected by the act. This was made clear by a later act of the same reign. (The Statute of Frauds 1677). Administration is now granted to the representatives of the husband where he has died without taking out administration to his wife, unless it can be shown that the wife's next of kin are beneficially interested. (2) The widow, in the event of there being no children or next of kin, takes only her half. The other half goes to the crown. The widow's rights, however, have been enlarged by the Intestate Estates Act 1890. By this act where a man dies wholly intestate and without issue, his property, both real and personal, shall, if it does not exceed L500 in net value, belong to his widow absolutely. If the estate exceeds L500 net, the widow is entitled to L500 out of the estate and has a charge for that amount upon the real and personal property of the deceased. (3) The child or children take equally, two-thirds if the widow be alive, and the whole if she be dead. If some of the children be alive and some dead having issue, then such issue will take their parents' share equally among themselves. There has been some difference of opinion as to whether if all the children have predeceased their parent but have left issue, such grandchildren take as between themselves _per stirpes_ as representatives of their parent or _per capita_ as next of kin. Thus if A and B predecease their father but A leaves three children and B one, should the property be divided into fourths, or first into moieties and then one moiety subdivided into thirds among A's children and the other moiety be given undivided to B's child? It is now settled that the latter method of distribution is the correct one, and it is thought that this will also apply when only great-grandchildren are alive. (4) The next of kin must be ascertained according to the rules of consanguinity, which are the same in English as in the civil law. Degree is calculated from the intestate, through the common ancestor if any, to the kindred. Thus from son to father is one degree, to grandfather two degrees, to brother two degrees, to uncle three degrees, and so on. The statute ordains distribution to be made "to the next of kindred in equal degrees _pro suo cuique jure_, according to the laws in such cases and the rules and limitations hereafter set down." Equality in degree is therefore not in all cases accompanied by equality in rights of succession. Neglecting the cases of wife and children already noticed, the father excludes all other next of kin. So would a mother, in default of a father surviving, but an act of 1685 enacted that in such a case the brothers and sisters, and children of brothers and sisters, of the intestate should share equally with the mother. In the absence of brothers or sisters and their representatives, the mother in the case supposed would take the whole. Mothers-in-law and stepmothers are not within the rules of consanguinity. As between a brother and a grandfather who are both in the second degree, preference is given to the brother; but a grandfather, being in the second degree, will exclude an uncle, who is in the third. An uncle and a nephew, both being in the third degree, take together. Brothers or sisters of the half blood take equally with brothers and sisters of the whole blood. The rule which prohibits representation after brothers' and sisters' children would, in a case where the next of kin were uncles or nephews, wholly exclude the children of a deceased uncle or nephew. Also, as between the son of a brother and the grandson of a brother, the latter would not be admitted by representation. Where a brother and the children of a deceased brother are the next of kin, they will take _per stirpes_, i.e. the brother will take one half, and the children of the other brother will take the other half between them. When the next of kin are all children of the deceased brothers or sisters, they will take equally _per capita_. Subject to these modifications, the personal property will be divided equally among the next of kin of equal degree, e.g. great-grandfathers would share with uncles or aunts, as being in the third degree. Failing next of kin, under these rules, the estate goes to the crown as _ultimus haeres_, a result which is more likely to happen in the case of illegitimate persons than in any other.

Personal or movable property takes its legal character from the domicile of the owner, and the distribution of an intestate's goods is therefore regulated by the law of the country in which the intestate was domiciled. A domiciled Scotsman, for example, dies intestate in England, leaving personal property in England; the administrator appointed by the court of probate will be bound to distribute the property according to the Scots rules of succession.

In the law of Scotland the free movable estate of the intestate is
divided amongst the nearest of kin, the full blood excluding the half
blood, and neither mother nor maternal relations being originally
admitted. The heir of the heritable (i.e. real) property if one of the
next of kin must collate with the next of kin if he wishes to share in
the movables. Proximity of kin is reckoned in the same order as in the
case of inheritance. The Intestate Movable Succession Act 1855 among
other changes allows the issue of a predeceasing next of kin to come
in the place of their parent in succession to an intestate, gives the
father of an intestate dying without issue one-half of the movable
property in preference to brothers and sisters, and to the mother if
the father be dead a similar preference to the extent of one-third,
and admits brothers and sisters uterine in the absence of brothers and
sisters german or consanguinean.

In the United States the English Statute of Distribution has been taken as the basis of the law for the distribution of personal property in intestacy, and its principles have been applied to real property also. "In a majority of the states the descent of real and personal property is to the same persons and in the same proportions, and the regulation is the same in substance as the English Statute of Distribution. In Georgia the real and personal property of the intestate is considered as altogether of the same nature and upon the same footing." There are many states, however, in which the distribution differs materially from the English statute. In Illinois the distribution is the same as descent of real property. In Alabama the whole goes to the widow if there are no children (_Phillips_ v. _Lawing_, 1907, 43 Southern Rep. 494). In many states the husband's share is in all cases like the widow's, as in Texas, New York and Washington. In Pennsylvania he takes an equal share with the children.

The statutes of each state of the American union must be consulted, as
no general rules can be laid down. As to the right to the intestate's
interest in community property in the states where the law of
"community"--of "acquets and gains"--prevails, see INHERITANCE.

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION (_Ilius_), in surgery, a condition in which the onward passage of the faeces is prevented. It is often associated with phenomena due to strangulation of the gut, leading to gangrene, and with systemic poisoning due to the absorption of toxins, resulting from the decomposition of the retained faeces. Intestinal obstruction may be conveniently divided into acute and chronic.

_Acute Intestinal Obstruction_ forms one of the most urgent of surgical emergencies. The following are its chief causes: (1) strangulation by bands or adhesions or through apertures; (2) volvulus; (3) the impaction of foreign bodies; (4) acute intussusception; (5) strangulation over a band or acute kinking of the gut; (6) the termination supervening on chronic obstruction; (7) congenital malformations of the intestines.

_Strangulation by Bands or Adhesions or through Apertures._--These
terms are applied to obstruction by constricting bands within the
abdomen. These may be the result of the stretching of old inflammatory
adhesions, the result of former peritonitis. These bands are commonly
situated between different parts of the mesentery or between the
mesentery and another organ such as the appendix. Two methods of
producing strangulation exist; in the first the bowel passes under an
arch or loop formed by some short constricting band and cannot return,
or if the band is long it may form a noose in which the bowel is
strangled (fig. 1); in the second the remains of a foetal structure
(Meckel's diverticulum) becoming adherent to some other organ may
ensnare the intestine in the loop. A coil of intestine may also slip
into a hole in the mesentery or omentum or find its way into a pouch
of peritoneum, forming what is known as an internal hernia. The onset
of symptoms is sudden and abrupt. The patient is seized with acute
abdominal pain associated with collapse. The pain is usually referred
to the region of the umbilicus; this localization, however, is no
guide to the situation of the lesion. Vomiting is early and
persistent, generally assuming a faecal character between the second
and the ninth day. There is no obvious tumour; constipation is
present, the abdominal walls are flaccid at first, but if no relief is
obtained become tender when peritonitis ensues. This form of
obstruction is most frequent in young people, and there is usually a
history of previous peritonitis. In cases not treated by operation the
average duration is five to seven days, and death takes place from
exhaustion or from toxaemia following peritonitis.

_Volvulus_ means a torsion or twisting of the gut. There are two chief
varieties: (1) in which the bowel is twisted upon its mesenteric axis
(fig. 2); (2) in which it is wound round another coil of intestine.
The sigmoid flexure is the situation in which volvulus most commonly
takes place, but it may occur in the caecum and small intestine. When
once present, plastic peritonitis fixes the coil in position and the
blood supply becomes obstructed. Volvulus is generally preceded by a
history of chronic constipation. The acute symptoms start abruptly and
are similar to those of internal strangulation, but the pain at first
is more intermittent in type. There is usually early tenderness over
the spot and constipation is absolute. Much distress is occasioned by
abdominal distension from flatus, which develops with remarkable
rapidity. The swelling is localized at first. Spontaneous natural cure
is unknown, and without surgical interference death is inevitable.

_Impacted Foreign Bodies._--Gall-stones may cause obstruction when
they are of large size. These gall-stones when lodged in the intestine
may there be enlarged by subsequent accretion. Leichenstern describes
such a stone with a circumference of 5 in., and Sir F. Treves removed
from the intestine of an old lady a calculus, the large size of which
was due to layers of magnesia, the patient having taken carbonate of
magnesia daily for many years. Gall-stones may give rise to
intermittent sub-acute attacks of incomplete obstruction and finally
give rise to an acute attack accompanied by severe pain and vomiting,
which is constant and early becomes faecal. The abdomen is soft and
flaccid and the affected coil is rarely to be felt. The symptoms vary
with the situation of the obstruction and are generally more urgent
the nearer to the duodenum. Foreign bodies that have been swallowed by
accident or otherwise may give rise to obstruction, though
extraordinary objects, as knives, coins, pipes, flints, &c. swallowed
by jugglers, are known to have passed by rectum without injury. In
cases where the foreign body lodges in the intestine the caecum and
duodenum are favourite situations for obstruction. In the museum of
the Royal College of Surgeons is a specimen in which the duodenum is
blocked by a mass of pins weighing nearly a pound. Foreign bodies may
remain weeks or months in situ before giving rise to serious symptoms,
the progress of the larger substances being marked by temporary
obstruction. In a case quoted by Duchaussoy the obstructing mass
consisted of over 700 cherry stones. The diagnosis of obstruction by
foreign bodies has been much simplified since the introduction of the
X-rays. Enteroliths may themselves cause obstruction. They may consist
of masses of indigestible vegetable material matted together with
faeces and mucous. In Scotland they are frequently found to consist of
husks of coarse oatmeal (aenoliths). In thin persons large enteroliths
and foreign bodies may be palpable. The symptoms are those similar to
obstruction by a large gall-stone.

_Acute Intussusception_ forms about 30% of all cases of intestinal
obstruction, and is the most common variety found in children. More
than 50% of the cases are found during the first ten years of life,
and half that amount in babies under one year; the large preponderance
is in males. By intussusception is meant an invagination or protrusion
of a part of the intestine in the lumen of the intestine immediately
below it; the lower part of the intestine may be said to have
swallowed that immediately above it. The mesentery attached to the
upper portion is necessarily dragged in with it. The condition may be
seen by referring to the diagram (fig. 3). The invaginated portion is
termed the _intussusceptum_, and the lower portion which it enters is
known as the _intussuscipiens_. It is to the constriction of the
vessels in the entering mesentery and later to their possible complete
obstruction that are due the late serious phenomena of
intussusception, e.g. gangrene or rupture of the gut. Peritonitis also
ensues, and by the formation of adhesions between the serous coats of
the entering and returning parts leads to irreducibility of the
intussusception. A cure occasionally ensues from spontaneous reduction
of the invagination, or again permanent stenosis of the intestine may
result from the adhesion of the opposed surfaces, or the occurrence of
gangrene may lead to perforation of the intestine with acute septic
peritonitis. Occasionally when there is no perforation adherence takes
place between the segments, and the gangrenous portion sloughs off and
is discharged by the rectum. The cause of intussusception is said to
be violent peristaltic action, however produced. Polypoid tumours or
masses of worms, or masses of irritating ingesta, are said to lead to
its occurrence. X. Dolore and R. Leriche contend that the primary
factor is congenital mobility of the caecum. They state that in 48% of
foeti the caecum is mobile in half, fixation gradually going on; while
in 8.5% of adults it retains its mobility. They thus endeavour to
account for the fact that in 300 collected cases 204 occurred in
children less than one year old. Intussusception is met with in four
chief situations: (a) the ileo-caecal, which is said to be the most
frequent, constituting 44% of all cases (Treves); (b) the enteric
variety, involving the small intestine; (c) the colic form; (d) the
ileo-colic, the ileum being invaginated through the ileo-caecal valve.
Intussusception may be acute or chronic, sometimes lasting
intermittently for years. The acute form is the most common. In young
children an attack occurs with severe pain, at first paroxysmal but
later continuous; vomiting is less early and less continuous than in
strangulation by bands, and diarrhoea tenesmus, much straining and the
passage of blood mucus from the anus are common. Collapse soon
supervenes. Early in the case the abdomen is but little distended, and
in about half the cases a distinct tumour can be felt. In some cases
the invaginated gut may be felt protruding through the sphincter.
Chronic intussusception occurs more frequently in adults than in
children; the symptoms may resemble chronic enteritis and be so masked
that the nature of the illness remains undiagnosed until an acute
attack supervenes, or the patient succumbs to the diarrhoea, vomiting
and haemorrhage.

_Congenital Malformations of the Intestines._--Cases have been
recorded in which the small intestine ended in a blind pouch.
Imperforate anus is a fairly frequent occurrence in young infants, but
attention is usually called to the condition. Partial strictures of
the intestine, if the stricture be not too narrow, may pass unnoticed
for years, and final complete obstruction may result from a blockage
of the stricture by some foreign substance such as a plug of hard
faecal matter or a fruit stone.

_Treatment of Acute Intestinal Obstruction._--Early diagnosis and
early laparotomy are essential, and it is important to operate before
the patient is poisoned by the absorption of toxins from the bowel. To
administer purgatives is worse than useless. Of massage and abdominal
taxis Sir F. Treves says: "These are to be condemned, as they may
rupture the already moribund bowel and make effective a threatened
perforation. These measures are for the most part feeble excuses for
avoiding or delaying the operation." The operation may be undertaken
in one or two stages, and includes the opening and evacuation of the
distended intestines and the search for and reduction or removal of
the obstruction.

_Chronic Intestinal Obstruction._--The causes of chronic obstruction are very numerous, and may be divided into the following groups: (1) intra-intestinal conditions, i.e. the impaction of foreign bodies and impaction of faeces; (2) affections of the intestinal wall such as stricture, new growths in the intestine, particularly those of a malignant type, adhesions or matting together of the intestines from peritonitis or kinking of the gut from disease of the mesenteric glands; (3) chronic intussusception; (4) compression of the bowel by a tumour or bands developing outside the intestine. Of these the commonest are malignant growths and faecal impaction.

The general symptoms of chronic obstruction are more or less alike. The patient is attacked with gradually increasing constipation, which may alternate with diarrhoea which is generally set up by the irritation of the retained faeces. In obstruction due to malignant growths the character of the motions is changed, they become scybalous, pipe-like or flattened. The abdomen becomes distended, and at intervals severe symptoms may supervene, consisting of pain and vomiting with complete constipation owing to some temporary complete obstruction. The attacks usually pass off, and relief may be obtained naturally or by the administration of a purgative, but they have a tendency to recur and in malignant disease to increase to complete obstruction. Finally a seizure may persist and take on all the characters of an acute attack, and death may supervene from exhaustion, perforation or peritonitis, unless immediately treated. When it arises from simple stricture no tumour is to be felt, but in malignant disease the tumour may be frequently palpated, unless during an acute attack when the abdomen is much distended with gas.

_Faecal Impaction_ is not uncommon in adult females who have suffered
from chronic constipation. The common seat of the blockage is in the
colon, chiefly in the sigmoid flexure and in the rectum, but it may
occur in the caecum. The accumulation may form a doughy tumour which
in parts may be nodular and intensely hard. The causes are due to the
state of the contents of the bowel itself, to congenital or acquired
weakness and diminished expulsive power of the bowel, or to painful
affections of the anus, fissures, piles and painful bladder
affections. The acute symptoms are always preceded by a prolonged
period of malaise; the breath is offensive and the tongue foul, and
the temperature may be raised from the absorption of toxins. Faecal
impaction requires the regular and repeated administration of large
enemata, given through a long tube, together with the administration
of calomel and belladonna. Large impacted masses in the rectum may be
broken up and removed by a scoop.

_Strictures of the Intestinal Wall._--Simple strictures are
infrequent, and are dealt with by the operation of lateral
anastomosis. They follow dysenteric or tuberculous ulceration or the
passage of gall-stones. Stricture due to carcinoma of the intestinal
wall occurs usually in the old or middle-aged, and the symptoms come
on insidiously. As soon as the condition is diagnosed an attempt
should be made to remove the tumour if freely movable, or if this is
not possible to afford relief by short-circuiting the intestine or by
colotomy.

_Chronic Intussusception_ has been frequently mistaken in the
diagnosis for rectal polypus, cancer, tuberculous peritonitis, &c.
(Treves). If diagnosed it may be reduced by inflation with air, but
frequently too many adhesions are present for this to be possible, and
laparotomy with excision of the mass should be undertaken; the results
are said to be very encouraging.

Compression of the bowel due to a tumour or bands external to the
bowel may occasionally give rise to obstruction. An exploratory
operation should be undertaken for the excision of the tumour, or the
separation of adhesions and release of the bowel, or if the intestines
are much matted together by peritonitis an intestinal anastomosis may
give relief. Obstruction due to paralysis of the muscular coat of the
intestine has been described (adynamic obstruction), but its existence
is a subject of dispute. (H. L. H.)

INTESTINE (Lat. _intestinus_, internal, usually in neuter plural _intestina_, from _intus_, within), in anatomy, the lower part of the alimentary canal; in man and mammals divided into the smaller intestine, from the pylorus to the iliocaecal valve, and the larger, reaching from the caecum and colon to the end of the rectum. The word is frequently applied to the whole of the alimentary canal in invertebrates. (See ALIMENTARY CANAL.)

INTOXICATION (Lat. _toxicare_, _intoxicare_, to smear with poison, _toxicum_, an adaptation of Gr. [Greek: toxikon], sc. [Greek: pharmakon], a poison smeared on arrows; [Greek: toxon], bow), poisoning, or the action of poisons, whether of drugs, bacterial products, or other toxic substances, and hence the condition resulting from such poisoning, particularly the disorder of the nervous system produced by excessive drinking of alcohol (see INEBRIETY and DRUNKENNESS).

INTRA, a town of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Novara, on the W. shore of Lake Maggiore, 685 ft. above sea-level, 12 m. N. of Arona by steamer. Pop. (1901) 6924. It is situated between two torrents, which afford water-power for cotton and silk mills, hat factories, foundries, &c.; these chiefly belong to Swiss proprietors, who have fine villas with beautiful gardens. The church is a large edifice of 1708-1751.

INTRADOS (a French term, Lat. _intra_, within, Fr. _dos_, back), in architecture, the under-curved surface or soffit of an arch (q.v.).

INTRANSIGENT (adopted from the Fr. _intransigeant_, taken, through the Spanish _intransigente_, from the Lat. _in_, not, and _transigere_, to come to an understanding), one whose attitude is that of an irreconcilable. The term is used chiefly of politicians of an advanced type; those in complete antagonism to the existing form of government; but is especially applied on the continent of Europe to members of legislatures holding extreme Radical views. In this sense the word was first used in the political troubles which arose in Spain in the years 1873-1874. Intransigentism implies an attitude of uncompromising disagreement with political opponents. The word is also used non-politically, in the sense of intractability and intolerance.

INTRINSIC (through Fr. _intrinsique_, from Lat. _intrinsecus_, inwardly; _inter_, within, _secus_, following, from root of _sequi_, to follow), an adjective originally applied to something internal or inside another, but now ordinarily used to express a quality inherent in or inseparable from a person, thing or abstract conception. In anatomy the term is, however, still used of a muscle which has both its origin and insertion in the organ in which it is found.

INTROSPECTION (from Lat. _introspicere_, to look within), in psychology, the process of examining the operations of one's own mind with a view to discovering the laws which govern psychic processes. The introspective method has been adopted by psychologists from the earliest times, more especially by Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and English psychologists of the earlier school. It possesses the advantage that the individual has fuller knowledge of his own mind than that of any other person, and is able therefore to observe its action more accurately under systematic tests. On the other hand it has the obvious weakness that in the total content of the psychic state under examination there must be taken into account the consciousness that the test is in progress. This consciousness necessarily arouses the attention, and may divert it to such an extent that the test as such has little value. Such psychological problems as those connected with the emotions and their physical concomitants are especially defective in the introspective method; the fact that one is looking forward to a shock prepared in advance constitutes at once an abnormal psychic state, just as a nervous person's heart will beat faster when awaiting a doctor's diagnosis. The purely introspective method has of course always been supplemented by the comparison of similar psychic states in other persons, and in modern psycho-physiology it is of comparatively minor importance.

See PSYCHOLOGY, ATTENTION, &c.; a clear statement will be found in G.
F. Stout's _Manual of Psychology_ (1898), i. 14.

INTUITION (from Lat. _intueri_, to look at), in philosophy, a term applied to immediate or direct apprehension. The truth of a theorem in geometry is demonstrated by a more or less elaborate series of arguments. This is not the case, according to the intuitionalist school of philosophy, with the apprehension of universal principles, which present themselves as necessarily true in their own right, without any sort of proof. The fact that things which are equal to the same things are equal to one another is apprehended directly or immediately without demonstration. Similarly in ethics the intuitional school holds that the principles of right and wrong are immediately apprehended without reference to any other criterion and without any appeal to experience. Ethical intuitionalism sometimes goes even farther, and holds that the conscience when faced with any particular action at once assigns to it a definite moral value. Such a view presupposes that the moral quality of an action has, as it were, concrete reality which the special faculty of conscience immediately recognizes, much in the same way as a barometer records atmospheric pressure. The intuitionalist view is attacked mainly on the ground that it is false to the facts of experience, and it is maintained that many of the so-called immediate a priori judgments are in point of fact the result of forgotten processes of reasoning, and therefore a posteriori. Minor grounds of attack are found in the difficulty of discovering in certain primitive peoples any intuitive conception of right and wrong, and in the great differences which exist between moral systems in different countries and ages.

INULIN (C6H10O5)(x), in chemistry, a starch-like carbohydrate, known also as alantin, menyanthin, dahlin, synanthrin and sinistrin. It occurs in many plants of the large genus _Compositae_, to which the elicampane (Lat. _inula_) belongs; and forms a white tasteless powder, sparingly soluble in cold water, very soluble in hot water and insoluble in alcohol. It is not coloured blue by iodine; and it reduces ammoniacal silver and gold solutions, but not Fehling's solution. Heated with water or dilute acids, it is converted into laevulose.

INVAR, an alloy of nickel and steel, characterized by an extremely small coefficient of thermal expansion; it is specially useful in the construction of pendulums and of geodetic measuring apparatus, in fact, in all mechanical devices where it is an advantage to avoid temperature compensation. The name was chosen as expressing the invariability of its dimensions with heat. (See CLOCK; GEODESY.)

INVARIABLE PLANE, in celestial mechanics (see ASTRONOMY), that plane on which the sum of the moments of momentum of all the bodies which make up a system is a maximum. It derives its celebrity from the demonstration by Laplace that to whatever mutual actions all the bodies of a system may be subjected, the position of this plane remains invariable.

A conception of it may be reached in the following way. Suppose that
from the centre of gravity of the solar system (instead of which we
may, if we choose, take the centre of the sun), lines or radii
vectores be drawn to every body of the solar system. As the planet
revolves around the centre, each radius vector describes a surface of
which the area swept over in a unit of time measures the areal
velocity of the planet. The constancy of this velocity in the case of
the sun and a single planet is formulated in Kepler's second law. Next
pass any plane through the centre of motion and project the area just
defined upon that plane. We shall thus have a projected areal
velocity, the product of which by the mass of the planet is the moment
of momentum of the latter. Form this product for every body or mass of
matter in the system, and the sum of the moments is then invariable
whatever be the direction of the plane of projection. In the case of a
single body revolving around the sun this plane is that of its orbit.
When all the bodies of the system are taken into account, the
invariable plane is a certain mean among the planes of all the orbits.

In the case of the solar system the moment of Jupiter is so
preponderant that the position of the invariable plane does not
deviate much from that of the orbit of Jupiter. The influence of
Saturn comes next in determining it, that of all the other planets is
much smaller. The latest computation of the position of this plane is
by T. J. J. See, whose result for the position of the invariable plane
is inclination to ecliptic 1 deg. 35' 7".74, longitude of node on
ecliptic 106 deg. 8' 46".7 (Eq. 1850).

INVENTORY (post-class. Lat. _inventarium_, a list or repertory, from _invenire_ to find), a detailed list, schedule or enumeration in writing, of goods and chattels, credits and debts, and sometimes also of lands and tenements.

(i) In law, perhaps its earliest, and certainly its most important use has been in connexion with the doctrine of "benefit of inventory," derived by many legal systems from the _beneficium inventarii_ of Roman law, according to which an heir might enter on his ancestor's inheritance without being liable for the debts attaching to it or to the claims of legatees beyond the value--previously ascertained by "inventory"--of the estate. The benefit of inventory exists in Scots law, in France (_benefice d'inventaire_), in Italy, Mauritius (_Civil Code_, Art. 774), Quebec (_Civil Code_, Art. 660), St Lucia (_Civil Code_, Art. 585), Louisiana (_Civil Code_, Arts. 1025 et seq.), and under the Roman Dutch law in Ceylon. In South Africa benefit of inventory is superseded by local legislation.

(ii.) In many systems of law, the duty is imposed on executors and administrators of making an "inventory" of the estate of the testator or intestate, in order to secure the property to the persons entitled to it. In England this duty was created by statute in 1529. In modern practice an inventory is not made unless called for, but the court may order it _ex officio_, and will do so on the application of any really interested party. Similar provisions for an inventory of the estate of deceased persons are made in Scots law (Probate and Legacy Duties Act 1808 (s. 38), and Executors (Scotland) Act 1900 (s. 5), and in most of the British colonies. In Scotland, prior to the Finance Act 1894 (which imposed a tax, called "estate duty," on the principal value of all property, heritable or movable, passing on death), the stamp duty on movable property was termed "inventory duty."

In the United States, the duty of preparing an inventory is generally
imposed on executors and administrators; see Kent, _Commentaries on
American Law_ (new ed., 1896), ii. 414, 415; and cf. Gen. Stats. of
Connecticut, 1888, s. 578; New York Stats. s. 2714; New Jersey
(Orphans Court, s. 58).

(iii.) An analogous duty of preparing an "inventory" is imposed in many countries on guardians and curators. In Scotland judicial factors are charged with a similar statutory duty (Act of Sederunt, Nov. 25th, 1857, under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1856) as regards the estate of insolvent debtors.

(iv.) In Scots law, the term "inventory" is also applied to a list of documents made up for any purpose, e.g. the _inventory of process_ or the _inventory of documents_, in an action, and the _inventory of title-deeds_ produced on a judicial sale of lands.

(v.) In England an "inventory" of the personal chattels comprised in the security is required to be annexed to a bill of sale (Bills of Sale Act 1882, s. 5). See also EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS.

INVERARAY, a royal and municipal burgh, the county town of Argyllshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 1369. It lies on the southern shore of a bay, where the river Aray enters Loch Fyne, 40 m. directly N.W. of Glasgow, and 85 m. by water. The town consists of one street running east and west, and a row of houses facing the bay. Near the church stands an obelisk in memory of the Campbells who were hanged, untried, for their share in the Argyll expedition of 1685 in connexion with the duke of Monmouth's rebellion. The ancient market-cross, 8 ft. high, supposed to have been brought from Iona in 1472, is a beautiful specimen of the Scottish sculptured stones. The chief industry is the herring fishery, the herring of Loch Fyne being celebrated. The town originally stood on the north side of the bay, clustering round the ancient baronial hold, attributed to Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow, "the Singular," who flourished at the end of the 14th century, but it was removed to its present site in the middle of the 18th century. Inveraray was erected into a burgh of barony in 1472; and Charles I., while a prisoner in Carisbrooke Castle, raised it to a royal burgh in 1648. Much has been done for it by the ducal house of Argyll, whose seat, Inveraray Castle, is about 1 m. from the town. This handsome square structure, built between 1744 and 1761 from designs by Robert Adam, consists of two storeys, with a round overtopping tower at each corner. Some fine tapestry and valuable relics were destroyed by fire in 1877, but the damage to the castle was repaired in 1880. The earls and dukes of Argyll were great planters of trees--mainly larch, spruce, silver fir and New England pines--and their estates around Inveraray are consequently among the most luxuriantly wooded in the Highlands. Duniquoich, a finely timbered conical hill about 900 ft. high, adjoins the castle on the north and is a picturesque landmark.

INVERCARGILL, the chief town of Southland county, South Island, New Zealand, 139 m. by rail S.W. by W. from Dunedin. Pop. (1906) 7299. It lies on a deep estuary of the south coast named New River Harbour, which receives several streams famous for trout-fishing. It is the centre of the large grazing and farming district of Southland; and has a number of factories, including breweries, foundries, woollen mills and timber-works. The plan of the town is rectangular, with wide streets; and there is a fine open reserve. The harbour is deep and well sheltered, but the greater part of the trade passes through the neighbouring Bluff Harbour, on which is Campbelltown, 17 m. S. of Invercargill by rail. Bluff Harbour is the port of call and departure for steamers for Melbourne and Hobart. Exports are wool, preserved meat and timber. The district of Southland was surveyed in 1841, but was reported unfavourable, and settlement was delayed till 1857. Southland was a separate province between 1860 and 1870, but, failing financially as such, rejoined the parent province of Otago. Invercargill became a municipality in 1871, and there are five suburban municipalities. The town is the regular starting-point of a journey to the famous lakes Wakatipu and Te Anau, which are approached by rail.

INVERELL, a town of Gough county, New South Wales, Australia, on the Macintyre river, 341 m. N. of Sydney, with which it is connected by rail. Pop. (1901) 3293. It is the centre of a prosperous agricultural district producing, chiefly, wheat and maize; the vine is also largely grown and excellent wine is made. Silver, tin and diamond mines are worked near the town. Inverell became a municipality in 1872.

INVERKEITHING, a royal and police burgh of Fifeshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 1676. It is situated on an inner bay of the shore of the Firth of Forth, 3(1/2) m. S.E. of Dunfermline and 13(1/4) m. N.W. of Edinburgh by the North British railway, via the Forth Bridge. The chief industries are tanning, shipbuilding, milling, paper-making, rope-making and brick-making. With Stirling, Dunfermline, Culross and Queensferry, Inverkeithing returns one member to parliament (the Stirling district burghs). It received its charter from David I. St Peter's, the parish church, dates from the 12th century, but having been nearly destroyed by fire was rebuilt in 1826 in the Gothic style, the ancient tower, however, being preserved. Sir Samuel Greig, the father of the Russian navy and designer of the fortifications at Cronstadt, was born at Inverkeithing in 1735. About half-way towards Dunfermline the battle of Inverkeithing or Pitreavie took place on the 20th of July 1650, when Cromwell's forces defeated the Royalists. A mile and a half to the south lies NORTH QUEENSFERRY (pop. 594), the first railway station on the north side of the Forth Bridge. A little to the west lies the bay of ST MARGARET'S HOPE, which in 1903 was acquired by the government as the site for the naval base of Rosyth, so named from the neighbouring ruined castle of ROSYTH, once the residence of Queen Margaret, wife of Malcolm Canmore. On the west side of the Forth Bridge, in the fairway, lies the rocky islet of BIMAR with a lighthouse, and immediately to the east is the island of INCHGARVIE (Gaelic, "the rough island"), which once contained a castle used as a State prison, the ruins of which were removed to make way for one of the piers of the Forth Bridge.

INVERNESS, a royal, municipal and police burgh, seaport and county town of Inverness-shire, Scotland. Pop. (1891), 19,303; (1901) 21,238. It lies on both banks, though principally on the right, of the Ness; and is 118 m. N. of Perth by the Highland railway. Owing to its situation at the north-eastern extremity of Glen More, the beauty of its environment and its fine buildings, it is held to be the capital of the Highlands; and throughout the summer it is the headquarters of an immense tourist traffic. The present castle, designed by William Burn (1789-1870), dates from 1835, and is a picturesque structure effectively placed on a hill by the river's side; it contains the court and county offices. Of the churches, the High or Parish church has a square tower surmounted with a steeple, containing one of the bells which Cromwell removed from Fortrose cathedral. On the left bank of the river stands St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, in the Decorated Gothic, erected in 1866 from designs by Dr Alexander Ross. Among the schools are the High School, the collegiate school, the school of science and art, and the Royal Academy, incorporated by royal charter in 1792. Other public buildings are the museum, public library, observatory, the northern infirmary, the district asylum, an imposing structure at the base of Dunain Hill (940 ft.), the Northern Counties Blind Institute, the Highland Orphanage and the Town Hall, opened in 1882. In front of the last stands the Forbes Memorial Fountain, and near it is the old town cross of 1685, at the foot of which, protected since the great fire of 1411, is the lozenge-shaped stone called Clach-na-Cudain (Stone of the Tubs), from its having served as a resting-place for women carrying water from the river. The old gaol spire, slightly twisted by the earthquake of 1816, serves as a belfry for the town clock. Half a mile to the west of the Ness is the hill of Tomnahurich (Gaelic, "The Hill of the Fairies"), upon which is one of the most beautifully-situated cemeteries in Great Britain. The open spaces in the town include Victoria park, Maggot Green and the ground where the Northern Meeting--the most important athletic gathering in Scotland--is held at the end of September. Inverness is the great distributing centre for the Highlands. Its industries, however, are not extensive, and consist mainly of tweed (tartan) manufactures, brewing, distilling, tanning, soap and candle-making; there are also nurseries, iron-foundries, saw-mills, granite works, and the shops of the Highland Railway Company. There is some shipbuilding and a considerable trade with Aberdeen, Leith, London and the east coast generally, and by means of the Caledonian Canal with Glasgow, Liverpool and Ireland. The Caledonian Canal passes within 1 m. of the town on its western side. In Muirtown Basin are wharves for the loading and unloading of vessels, and at Clachnaharry the Canal enters Beauly Firth. There is little anchorage in the Ness, but at Kessock on the left bank of the river-mouth, where there are piers, a breakwater and a coastguard station, there are several acres of deep water. The river at Inverness is crossed by four bridges, two of them for pedestrians only, and a railway viaduct. The town, which is governed by a provost, bailies and council, unites with Forres, Fortrose and Nairn (Inverness Burghs) in sending one member to parliament.

Inverness was one of the chief strongholds of the Picts, and in 565 was visited by Columba with the intention of converting the Pictish king Brude, who is supposed to have resided in the vitrified fort on Craig Phadrick (550 ft.), 1(1/2) m. W. of the town. The castle is said to have been built by Malcolm Canmore, after he had razed to the ground the castle in which Macbeth according to tradition murdered Duncan, and which stood on a hill 1/2 m. to the north-east. William the Lion (d. 1214) granted the town four charters, by one of which it was created a royal burgh. Of the Dominican abbey founded by Alexander III. in 1233 hardly a trace remains. On his way to the battle of Harlaw in 1411 Donald of the Isles burned the town, and sixteen years later James I. held a parliament in the castle to which the northern chieftains were summoned, of whom three were executed for asserting an independent sovereignty. In 1562, during the progress undertaken to suppress Huntly's insurrection, Queen Mary was denied admittance into the castle by the governor, who belonged to the earl's faction, and whom she afterwards therefor caused to be hanged. The house in which she lived meanwhile stands in Bridge Street. Beyond the northern limits of the town Cromwell built a fort capable of accommodating 1000 men, but with the exception of a portion of the ramparts it was demolished at the Restoration. In 1715 the Jacobites occupied the royal fortress as barracks, and in 1746 they blew it up.

INVERNESS-SHIRE, a highland county of Scotland, bounded N. by Ross and Cromarty, and the Beauly and Moray Firths, N.E. by the shires of Nairn and Elgin, E. by Banff and Aberdeen shires, S.E. by Perthshire, S. by Argyllshire and W. by the Atlantic. It includes the Outer Hebrides south of the northern boundary of Harris, and several of the Inner Hebrides (see HEBRIDES) and is the largest shire in Scotland. It occupies an area of 2,695,037 acres, or 4211 sq. m., of which more than one-third belongs to the islands. The county comprises the districts of Moidart, Arisaig and Morar in the S.W., Knoydart in the W., Lochaber in the S., Badenoch in the S.E. and the Aird in the N. Excepting comparatively small and fertile tracts in the N. on both sides of the river Ness, in several of the glens and on the shores of some of the sea lochs, the county is wild and mountainous in the extreme and characterized by beautiful and in certain respects sublime scenery. There are more than fifty mountains exceeding 3000 ft. in height, among them Ben Nevis (4406), the highest mountain in the British Isles, the extraordinary assemblage of peaks forming the Monadhliadh mountains in the S.E., Ben Alder (3757) in the S., and the grand group of the Cairngorms on the confines of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff.

In the north-west the Beauly river (16 m. long) is formed by the confluence of the Farrar and the Glass. The Enrick (18 m.), rising in Loch-nan-Eun, takes a north-easterly direction for several miles, and then flowing due east falls into Loch Ness, just beyond Drumnadrochit, close to the ruined keep of Castle Urquhart. The Ness (7 m.), a fine stream for its length, emerges from Loch Dochfour and enters the sea to the north of Inverness. The Moriston (19 m.), flows out of Loch Clunie, and pursuing a course E. by N.E. falls into Loch Ness 4 m. south of Mealfourvounie (2284 ft.) on the western shore opposite Foyers. The Lochy (9 m.), issuing from the loch of that name, runs parallel with the Caledonian Canal and enters Loch Linnhe at Fort William. The Spean (18 m.), flowing westwards from Loch Laggan, joins the Lochy as it leaves Loch Lochy. The Nevis (12 m.), rising at the back of Ben Nevis, flows round the southern base of the mountain and then running north-westwards enters Loch Linnhe at Fort William. The Leven (12 m.), draining a series of small lochs to the north-west of Rannoch, flows westward to Loch Leven, forming during its course the boundary between the shires of Inverness and Argyll. The Dulnain (28 m.), rising in the Monadhliath Mountains, flows north-eastwards and enters the Spey near Grantown, falling in its course nearly 2000 ft. The Truim (15(1/2) m.), rising close to the Perthshire frontier, flows N.N.E. into the Spey. Three great rivers spring in Inverness-shire, but finish their course in other counties. These are the Spey, which for the first 60 m. of its course belongs to the shire; the Findhorn (70 m.), rising in the Monadhliath Mountains a few miles N.W. of the source of the Dulnain; and the Nairn (38 m.), rising within a few miles of Loch Farraline. The two falls of Foyers--the upper of 40 ft., the lower of 165 ft.--are celebrated for their beauty, but their volume is affected, especially in drought, by the withdrawal of water for the works of the British Aluminium Company, which are driven by electric power derived from the river Foyers, the intake being situated above the falls. Other noted falls are Moral on the Enrick and Kilmorack on the Beauly.

The number of hill tarns and little lakes is very great, considerably more than 200 being named. Loch Ness, the most beautiful and best known of the larger lakes, is 22(1/2) m. long, 1(3/4) m. broad at its widest point (Urquhart Bay), has a drainage area of 696 m., and, owing to its vast depth (751 ft.), uniformity of temperature, and continual movement of its waters, never freezes. It is the largest body of fresh water in Great Britain, and forms part of the scheme of the Caledonian Canal. A few miles S.W. is Loch Oich (4 m. long), also utilized for the purposes of the Canal, which reaches its summit level (105 ft.) in this lake. To the S.W. of it is Loch Lochy (9(1/2) m.), which is also a portion of the Canal. Loch Arkaig (12 m.) lies in the country of the Camerons, Achnacarry House, the seat of Lochiel, the chief of the clan, being situated on the river Arkaig near the point where it issues from the lake. The old castle was burnt down by the duke of Cumberland, but a few ruins remain. After Culloden Prince Charles Edward found shelter in a cave in the "Black Mile," as the road between Lochs Arkaig and Lochy is called. Loch Quoich (6 m.) lies N. by W. of Loch Arkaig, and Loch Garry (4(1/2) m.) a few miles to the N.E.; Loch Morar (11(1/2) m. long by 1(1/2) broad) is only about 600 yds. from the sea, to which it drains by the river Morar, which falls over a rocky barrier, at the foot of which is a famous salmon pool. The loch is 1017 ft. deep and is thus the deepest lake in the United Kingdom. It contains several islands, on one of which Lord Lovat was captured in 1746. Loch Laggan (7 m.) and Loch Treig (5(1/2) m.) in the south of the county are both finely situated in the midst of natural forests. The principal salt-water lochs on the Atlantic seaboard are Loch Hourn ("Hell's Lake," so named from the wild precipices rising sheer from the water), running inland for 14 m. from the Sound of Sleat and separating Glenelg from Knoydart; and Loch Nevis (14 m.), a few miles farther south.

The parallel roads of Glen Roy, a glen with a north-easterly to south-westerly trend, a few miles east of Loch Lochy, presented a problem that long exercised the minds of geologists. At heights of 1148 ft., 1067 ft. and 835 ft., there run uninterruptedly along each side of the glen terraces of a width varying from 3 to 30 ft. Local tradition ascribes them to the Ossianic heroes, and John Playfair (1748-1819) argued that they were aqueducts. The fact that they occur also in the neighbouring Glen Gloy and Glen Spean, however, disposes of an artificial origin. John MacCulloch (1773-1835) propounded the theory that they were lacustrine and not marine, and Agassiz followed him with the suggestion that the water had been held up by a barrier of glacier ice. This view is now generally accepted, and the roads may therefore be regarded as the gently sloping banks of lakes dammed up by glacier ice. Glen More-nan-Albin, or the Great Glen, is a vast "fault," or dislocation, 62 m. in length, through which Thomas Telford constructed (1804-1822) the Caledonian Canal connecting Loch Linnhe and the Moray Firth. Glen More is said to be liable to shocks of earthquake, and Loch Ness was violently agitated at the time of the great Lisbon earthquake (1755).

Among the glens renowned for beauty are Glen Urquhart and Glen Moriston to the west of Loch Ness, Glen Feshie in the east, and Glen Nevis at the southern base of Ben Nevis. Glen Garry, to the west of Loch Oich, gave its name to the well-known cap or "bonnet" worn both in the Highlands and Lowlands. In Glen Finnan, at the head of Loch Shiel, Prince Charles Edward raised his standard in 1745, an incident commemorated by a monument erected in 1815 by Alexander Macdonald of Glenaladale. The great straths or valleys are in the north and east, the chief among them being Strathfarrar, Strathglass and Strathnairn, and the heads of Strathearn and Strathspey.