HALF-BLOOD. 470 HALIBURTON. parent only in common, as half-brothers, etc. When two persons have the same father, but not the same mother, they are said to be consanguin- eous : wlien they have the same mother only, they are called uterine brothers or sisters. In the succession to real property in England, the lialf-blood relations by the father's side succeed after the full-blood relations; and next, but at a considerable interval, the half-blood relations by the mother's side. This is a modification of the common-law rule, however, as by that law per- sons of the half-blood were excluded entirely from the line of descent and were not capable of inheritinc; from each other. In Scotland, also, the half-blood consanguineous succeed to heritable estates in the same way, though not in identically the same order ; but the half-blood uterine never succeed in any event. In England, as regards personal estate, the half-blood on both sides succeed indiscriminately, and share equally with the full-blood. But iii Scotland the half-blood siicceed to movable projierty only after all the full-blood and their descendants are exhausted, and then the half-blood by the father's side suc- ceed in exclusion of the half-blood by the mother's side, who do not come in until the succession reaches a distant point, viz. w'here the nearest re- lations are uncles and aunts paternal, or their descendants, in which case only the half-blood uterine after the mother's death take half the propertv, and the paternal relatives the other half. The common-law disability of the half-blood for- merly existed in the United States : but has every- where been wholly or partially removed by statute. In some States the modern English rule has been adopted, brothers or sisters of the half-blood suc- ceeding after those of full blood, while in others no distinction whatever is made between them. It is to be observed that the distinction between the whole and half blood exists only in determin- ing the relationship of brothers and sisters 1o one another and for the purpose of determining the descent of property from one of these to the other, all children being equally related to a common parent. See CoNS.?sGrixiTT : Descent. HALF-BBEEDS. A political nickname ap- plied, in ISSl and the years immediately follow- ing, to members of a faction in the Republican Party in the State of New York, which favored the Administration in the controversy between President Garfield and Senators Piatt and Conk- ling, and opposed the regular Republican candi- date for the (iovernor.ship of the State. Folger, thus bringing about the election of the Demo- cratic candidate, Grover Cleveland. The name was given in derision, as denoting those who were but half Republican, by the nembers of the opposite faction denominated 'Stalwarts' (q.v.). The term was also used to some extent in other States. HALF MOON, TnE. The name of the ship in which Henry Hudson, commissioned by the Dutch East India Company, in 1609, undertook his voy- age in search of the Northwest Passage, and in which he skirted the New England coast and sailed up the Hudson River. HALF MOON, The. A former tavern in Al- dersgate, London, once the resort of many liter- ary men. Its present designation. 'Shakespeare's House,' is without foundation. HALF PAY. See Pay and Allowances. HALFSNIPE. The British 'jacksnipe' (q.v.). HALFWAY COVENANT. The designation given to a peculiar modilication of church-mem- bership which arose in early New England. Ac- cording to the view prevalent in the Congrega- tional churches of New England at their founda- tion, the only proper members of a local church were men and women of personal Christian faith and experience, and their minor children. The growth to maturity of the children of the first settlers raised the question of the permanent ecclesiastical status of such children. Were they still members, though lacking a personal Chris- tian experience? The question was answered in the afiirmative by many early New England min- isters, by a ministerial convention which met at the request of Connecticut and summons of Mas- sachusetts in 1657, and by a sjTiod of the Jlassa- chusetts churches in 1062. It was held by them that such as were members themselves in in- fancy by reason of their parents' membership were still sufTiciently members when of mature years, even if not of conscious Christian experi- ence to transmit the same degree of membership in turn to their children, and to have their chil- oren baptized. To bring their children for bap- tism they must enter into a 'covenant' with the church to submit to its discipline, and give an intellectual assent, at least, to the main truths of Christianity. In the absence, however, of a personal Christian experience they were not fit to partake of the communion. Hence the name ■halfway,' or halfway into full church member- ship. The ascription of a political significance to the system (increased access to the franchise) is without foundation. The system was the occa- sion of long controversy in New England; it was opposed by .Jonathan Edwards and his disciples, and died out in the early part of the nineteenth century. Consult: Walker. Creeds and Platforms of Congrefiationalism (New York, 1S93). HAL'HED, Nathaniel BKA.SSEY (1751-1830). An Englisli Orientalist, born at Westminster. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and after- wards went to India, where, at the instance of Warren Hastings, he translated a digest of the Sanskrit law-books, under the title A Code of flentoo Law. etc. ( 1776) . This work went through tliree editions, and was translated into French in 1778. After his return to England in 1785 he was elected to Parliament, of which body he continued a member until 1795. His other pub- lications include: A (Irannnar of the Bengal Lan- guage (1778): and A Xarrative of the Events . . . in Bombay and Bengal Relative to the Mahratta Empire (1779). ♦ HALIBURTON, Thomas Chandler (1796- 18651. A British-American humorist, who wrote under the pen-name of 'Sam Slick.' He was born at indsor, N. S., and was educated at King's College, in his native town. He was called to the bar in 1820; was raised to the bench of the CoDimon Pleas in 1828 ; and became judge of the Supreme Court in 1842. In 1856 he retired from the bench, and took up his residence in England. In 1858 he received the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford, and in 1859 entered Parlia- ment as Conservative member for Launceston. llaliburton is best known as the author of Sam .S7/f',-, the name of a Yankee clock-maker and peddler, whose quaint drollery, imsophisticated wit, knowledge of human nature, and aptitude in
