Edwardian Conservatism and the Constitution: The Thought of Lord Hugh Cecil

This article presents an analysis of the political thought of Lord Hugh Cecil. It argues that in order to understand Cecil's thought it is necessary to emphasize the role of the constitution in his thinking. There are three reasons for this. First, his opposition to Chamberlain's tariff reform campaign was rooted in a view of the detrimental effects the policy would have on politics, evidence for which Cecil saw in the tactics used by the tariff reformers. Second, because his opposition to the Parliament Bill and to the home rule proposals, which lay behind the removal of the house of lords' veto, was similarly rooted in what he saw as the unconstitutional nature of these measures. Third, because Cecil was an active proponent of constitutional reforms that were designed to ensure that the second chamber could still exercise a restraining influence on government and so stand up for the interests of what he saw as the moderate majority of the people.     

The Members of the House of Lords and the Hanoverian Succession

This essay examines what happened in August and September 1714, from the death of Queen Anne on 1 August to the swearing-in of the new privy council on 1 October, specifically from the perspective of the membership of the house of lords. It confirms that most members were present in London during this period and active in parliament, the privy council, the regency, and politics generally. Very few were absent without a good reason.     

‘A Reward for so Meritorious an Action’ ? Lord Hervey's Summons to the House of Lords and Walpole's Management of the Upper Chamber (1727–42)

In 1733 Lord Hervey was summoned to the house of lords early. The move has traditionally been seen as part of an effort by Walpole to increase his ministry's strength in the upper chamber in spite of objections voiced by allies such as the duke of Newcastle. This essay seeks to reconsider the circumstances of the move and question more broadly the management of the Lords during the ‘Robinocracy’.     

A Great Electioneer and His Motives Reconsidered: The 4th Duke of Newcastle

The 4th duke of Newcastle (1785–1851) is recognized as one of the most prominent peers with electoral influence in early-19th-century Britain. This essay considers the way in which he deployed that influence and the purposes to which it was turned. The essay explains why Newcastle became a leading symbol of the campaign for parliamentary reform and details the nature of his opposition to the bill which eventually became the ‘Great’ Reform Act of 1832. In some respects, Newcastle was an atypical electioneer, because he was less overtly concerned with the desire for office, patronage, or income. On the other hand, the methods by which that influence was deployed, and the anti-reform purposes to which it was turned, meant that he was inevitably numbered among the reactionary forces opposing political change in this period.     

Spacing Palestine through the home

This paper explores connections that can be made between houses, homes and violence in Palestine, and representational consequences of making such connections. Drawing on ethnographic field research in Birzeit, I put recent work on critical geographies of home into conversation with geographies and geopolitics of Palestine. I criticise the tendency to represent Palestinian geographies almost entirely through the lens of the Israeli Occupation. While such studies have a great deal of value both academically and politically, this paper augments such work by developing a different focus and a different representational approach. I use detailed ethnographic vignettes and interviews to engage with the domestic practices that make particular Birzeiti homes. These intimate domestic encounters underpin my argument that there is a need for more work that apprehends Palestinian geographies as complexities that bear a relation to, but are not fully determined by, the Israeli Occupation.     

论中国古代离婚的法律效力

离婚问题在中国古代历朝婚姻制度中都是无法回避的话题。从身份权、子女的抚养权、财产所有权以及再婚等四个方面考量中国古代离婚产生的相关法律效力,可见离婚制度虽历经千百年的发展,但始终保持着内在的连续性和统一性。同时,也可看出在中国古代离婚并不仅仅是个人生活方式的选择,而是会直接影响到社会伦理道德的根基和国家政权的稳定,因此各朝统治者都通过法律规制以期把离婚带来的负面影响最小化,从而服务于国家长治久安的统治目的。     

明代勋爵承袭与勋臣宗族活动初探

明代公、侯、伯勋爵承袭遵照一套完整的勘验制度,以诰券、宗图为准,由五府、吏部执行。在这种制度的整肃下,勋贵家族组织在形式上向上古封建宗法礼制靠拢,部分族众的宗族意识不断提高,明皇朝的统治秩序与政权合理性亦借此彰显。但随着明代中后期勋臣家族生齿日繁,兼之勋爵袭封制度出现纰漏与畸变,勋贵子弟争袭爵位的现象频繁发生,宗族的秩序性受到冲击,勋臣宗族组织僵化复古,依附于国家强权而缺乏自我调节功能的特性暴露无遗。     

唐苏同家族墓出土陶质彩绘天王俑胎体的科学分析

In April 2021, several exquisitely decorated figurines of Heavenly Kings were unearthed from the Tang Dynasty tombs of Su Tong's family in Xianyang, Shanxi Province. However, for each figurine, the outer side was unevenly red and black, and the center and interior of the body black, and the mechanical properties extremely poor (disintegrated by water). To scientifically restore and conserve the polychrome pottery figurines of Heavenly Kings, we carried out scientific analyses of their materials and their firing process. The composition, structure, firing temperature and mechanical properties of the figurine remnants were determined and analyzed using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, an X-ray diffractometer, a simultaneous thermal analyzer, a thermal dilatometer, an X - ray photoelectron spectrometer, a universal testing machine and a hardness tester. The experimental results show that 1) the figurines were made of fusible clay containing quartz, albite, calcite, muscovite, clinochlore and other minerals; 2) the figurines were sintered between 300 ~400 °C in an oxidizing atmosphere, the internal sintering degree being lower than that of the external surface and the uneven atmosphere leading to the differences in color among various parts of a figurine ; 3 ) the mechanical strength of the figurines was low, with a flexural strength of about 2 MPa and a hardness of 54 〜71 HD. The study provides a scientific basis for the effective conservation and reasonable preservation of the polychrome pottery figurines of Heavenly Kings and of other similar kinds of cultural relics. © 2023, Sciences of Conservation and Archaeology. All Rights Reserved.     

制度对于区域产业发展的影响研究——上海与深圳高科技产业发展比较

制度决定了交易成本,对于经济增长至关重要。产权确定了人与人之间使用稀缺资源的相互关系。有效率的产权应该具有排他性,根据排他性的程度产权可以分为私有产权与公有产权。制度和产权的变迁具有路径依赖特性。政府在制度和产权安排方面具有几乎垄断性的优势。上海与深圳的高科技产业发展比较,支持和验证了以上理论假设和判断。上海的高科技产业具有更大的规模和更广的行业门类,而深圳的高科技产业则具有更强的技术创新能力和更好的经济绩效。前者归咎于上海长期以来雄厚的产业基础,而后者则显示出制度对于区域产业发展模式乃至绩效的影响。不同的制度文化背景决定了高科技产业发展的不同制度安排。制度安排上的差异进而导致两地高科技产业发展绩效不同。