INDICATOR. 684 INDICTMENT. This pencil boars against a slip of paper attached to a drum, which rotates back ami forth on its axis for a di.stanee and with motion which corresponds exactly to the stroke and movement of the engine piston. In operation the indicator piston rises and falls with the rise and fall of the steam pressure in the cylinder, and th« pencil point is thus given a vertical movement >Vhose magnitude corresponds to the intensity of the steam pressure. At the same time the rota- tion of the <lnnu gives the paper a horizontal movement under the |H'ncil jioiut. corresponding in magnitude and speed to the engine-piston movement, so that the result of the two opera- FlU. '2. INDICATOB UIAUUIM. tions is the inscription of a loop-shaped diagram on the paper. These diagrams enable the steam engineer familiar with their use to cahulate the power of the engine, to examine and adjust the actions of the engine valves, and to make certain inferences concerning the transformation of heat into work, and the inlluence of the metal of the cylinder on that operation. A concise treatise on the subject of indicators and indicator dia- grams is Peabodv. Tlie litcain Engine Indicator (New York, liino"). INDICTION, indik'shun (Lat. indict io. im- position of a tax, period of fifteen years, from wdiccrc, to declare, from in, in -r diccrc, to say, Skt. diif. to show). A period or cycle of fifteen years, the origin of which is involved in obscu- rity. It began to be used in reckoning time, chiefly by ecclesiastical historians, during the. life of Athanasius ; it Avas afterwards adopted by the Popes, through whose influence it came to be so generally employed during the Mid- dle Ages, that the dates of charters and ]iub- lic deeds of this period are expressed in in-« dictions as well as in years of the Christian Era. The time from which reckoning by in- dictions commenced is, according to some. S<'p- tember 1.5, 312: according to the IJreeks of the Eastern Empire. 8<'ptcmbcr 1. ."ilS; but when this method was adopted by the Popes, it was ordered to be reckoned as commencing .January 1, 31.3. The latter, which is now alone used, is called the Papal iudiction. If we reckon back- ward to the commencement of the Christian Era, it will be seen that 1 a.d. does not corre- spond to the first, but to the fourth year of an indietion — hence, if to any given year of the Christian Era three be added, ami the sum divided by fifteen, the quotient will give the position of that year in an indk-tion — e.g. 1880 A.D. was the eighth year of an indietion. INDICTIO PASCHALIS, In-dik'shI-6 pfls- ka'lis ( Lat.. Easter diil.irationK A custom that arose in the early Christian Church of Alexan- dria of announcing on Epiphany the days on which Easter would fall. Later this declaration was called the Indirtio fcfttorum mohilium. the announcement of the movable feasts, because the time when these should be celebrated depended upon the appointment of the days for Easter. The custom soon l)ecamc general; the fourth Syn<Hl at Orleans (541) issued a formal order for the oliscrvaiice in its first canon. INDICTMENT, indit'mfnt (from OF. cndi- ttr, cndictcr, indiirr, indictcr, to accuse, Latin indictarc, frequentative of indiccrc, to proclaim, from in, in -f- diccrc, to say, Skt. rfi/i, to show). The formal written accusation of crime against a person, presented on oath by a grand jury (q.v.). and upon which he is tried by a |K'tit jury. In Scotland an indictment is also the accusation on which a prisoner is tried; but it runs in the name of the lord advo- cate, addressed to the prisoner. In England a prisoner is not entitled, before trial, to a copy of the indictment or a list of the witnesses against him except in case of treason. An indictment dilTers from an information (q.v.) in that it is the act of a grand jury, while an information is the written accusation of crime by the law otliccr of the Crown or of the State. It difl'crs from presentment (q.v.) in that the latter is an aceusatiim by the grand jury of its own motion, and without any charge of crime, or any bill of indictment being laid before it. In the I'nited States persons who are accused of felonies or grave misdemeanors can be brought to trial only upon an indictment which a grand jury has declared to lie 'a true hill.' When a criminal court is convened, and the grand jury has been duly constituted and instructed, the State's attorney, or some other duly qualified oflicer, lays before them drafts of indictment against the alleged ofTenders, and furnishes them with the names of the witnesses whose testimony is relied upon to support the accusation. The-' witnesses the grand jurj- examines ex parte, i< to determine the guilt or innocence of the ai cused, but to ascertain whether there is or is not prima facie evidence of guilt suflicient to warrait their trial. If twelve or more members of tl grand jury pronounce in the aflirmativc. t)i presentment, with the words 'a true hill' indorsed upon the back thereof, is sent to the court : and. upon the charges therein contained, carefully set forth in the indictment subsequently prepared, the accused is put upon trial before a petit jury. The indictment is prefaced by a 'caption.' in which are set forth the name, term, and place of meeting of the court, the names of the justices. and the fact that the grand jury was lawfulh constituted. Then comes a full and particular description of the alleged crime; the name of the accused must he given if known; and if not, In- must be descrit)cd in such a way as to make his identity sure. The time and place of the com mission of the crime must also >e stated, though it is not always necessary to conviction that the.se particulars should be exactly supported as charged. In some eases, however, a failure upon this point is fatal to the indictment. In trials for perjury the exact day when the ofTense was committed must be named. To prove that the crime was committed on .some other day will not avail. In cases of murder the death must lie described as occurring within a year and a day of the time when the alleged fatal injury was inflicted. When several persons have been concerned in the commission of a crime, they mav be indicted either jointly or separately. It is usual to describe the alleged ofTense in dilTcrcnt
