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nents of CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. He was an

enemy of the SLAVE TRADE and a supporter of parliamentary reform.

Smith, W(illiam) H(enry)

(1825–1891) newsagent, politician

Building on his father’s newspaper business, Smith acquired a monopoly of outlets in railway stations from 1849. He entered PARLIAMENT in 1868 and held office under Benjamin DISRAELI (first lord of the ADMIRALTY, 1877) and Lord SAL- ISBURY (first lord of the TREASURY and leader of the HOUSE OF COMMONS, 1886). His firm of W. H. Smith flourished, becoming a leading retailer in the 20th century.

Smuts, Jan Christian (1870–1950) soldier, statesman

After studying law in ENGLAND, Smuts returned to his native SOUTH AFRICA and fought in the BOER WAR. He was a major figure in the formation of the Union of South Africa (1910). A member of the British war CABINET (1917–18) and a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference, he became prime minister of South Africa (1919–24). He served again in 1939 and took the country, against considerable protest, into WORLD WAR II. A member of Winston CHURCHILL’s war cabinet (1940–45), he resigned as premier in 1948 and was replaced by Afrikaner leadership, which introduced the policy of “apartheid,” the systematic separation of races and oppressive regimentation of black people.

Snowden, Philip Snowden, first viscount (1864–1937)

Labour politician

A self-taught radical socialist from Yorkshire, Snowden was a publicist for the INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY and became its national chairman in 1903. Entering PARLIAMENT in 1906, he was an advocate of pacifism and temperance, and he pushed for higher TAXATION, believing that

wealth should be “conscripted” to pay for war. Soon recognized as the leading Labour financial

expert, he served as CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE-

QUER in 1924, producing a BUDGET that might well have come from the Liberals. In 1929 he again served as chancellor, his economic views still in an orthodox mode. When the DEPRESSION came, he was unprepared to condone government spending. He joined Ramsay MACDONALD in the newly formed National Government of 1931 and criticized his former colleagues. He resigned in 1932 when the government aban-

doned FREE TRADE at the OTTAWA CONFERENCE.

Soane, Sir John (1753–1837) architect

Educated as an architect in the school of the ROYAL ACADEMY, Soane traveled in Italy and developed a neoclassical style, employed in the construction of several country houses. He won the competition for the design of a new BANK OF ENGLAND (1788), and he was given commissions by PARLIAMENT and Chelsea Hospital for new buildings. He became professor of architecture at the Royal Academy in 1806. Little of his work survives, except the rebuilt Dulwich Picture Gallery and his house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which now contains the Sir John Soane Museum.

Social and Liberal Democrat Party See

LIBERAL PARTY.

Social Democratic Federation (SDF)

Henry HYNDMAN, a wealthy Marxist convert and a writer for the Pall Mall Gazette, founded the Democratic Federation, a small and contentious group of socialists, in 1881. Hyndman’s England for All (1881) was a derivative work which MARX thought to be plagiarized from his Das Kapital, and thus there was little chance of a working relationship between the two. The organization also experienced defections, like that of William MORRIS in 1884. About this time the “social” was

added to the organization’s name. A small but vocal group, it organized demonstrations of the unemployed, and through association with others such as the FABIAN SOCIETY, it nurtured the theory of a workingman’s political party. Distrusted by TRADE UNIONs, the SDF was a group of energetic activists who made a small contribution to the birth of the LABOUR PARTY. By the 1920s the group had been superseded by the Communist Party of Great Britain.

socialism

The political theory and policy that the state should intervene in economic affairs for the purpose of redistribution of wealth. The term “socialism” was probably used first by Robert OWEN, who led experiments in forming “utopian” communities and cooperative societies in the early 19th century. The central concept was developed by Christian Socialists (see Charles KINGSLEY, F. D. MAURICE) in the middle of the century. By the 1880s there were competing strands of socialism: the more militant ideas of social revolution, fostered by Henry HYNDMAN and the

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION, inspired by the

work of Karl MARX; the gradual plans of social reform sponsored by the FABIAN SOCIETY; and the practical political organization of workers and middle-class allies, such as the INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY (1893) and eventually the LABOUR PARTY (1918). There was never a mass movement, nor a genuinely revolutionary party set upon seizing property and making a general redistribution. Instead, most of the varied British socialist groups promoted constitutional and progressive reform through mandated programs such as NA-

TIONAL INSURANCE, the NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, and NATIONALIZATION.

See also COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT.

Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK)

Founded in 1698, the SPCK was designed to provide better education for laymen and ministers. Thomas Bray, one of the founders, had

experienced the dearth of devotional material in the colonies, and the organization set out to supply cheap editions of BIBLES, prayer books, and other literature in large quantities, in addition to promoting CHARITY SCHOOLS and other endeavors. Though an ANGLICAN body, the SPCK was friendly to old DISSENTERS and to Christian missionary work. In 1701 a branch of the group called the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was founded to pursue the mission of the church in the colonies. The SPCK opened its first bookshop in 1835, and it continues as a religious publishing house. When it was founded, this sort of semiprivate association was a pioneer effort, one which had a considerable and lasting impact.

Solemn League and Covenant (1643)

This agreement between the Scottish estates and the English PARLIAMENT promised to reform the

church in ENGLAND and IRELAND along PRESBYTE-

RIAN lines, to preserve the constitutional liberties of the two legislatures and to make provisions for them to work together. To seal the agreement, the Scots promised an army of 20,000 to fight against the king. The military side was decisive in defeating CHARLES I, but the religious and constitutional agreements proved to be more difficult to implement. The Westminster Assembly (1643–53) did compose the Westminster Confession (1647), still the standard for the Presbyterian Church. But the adoption of the new faith in England and Ireland was never ratified.

solicitor

Agents for legal business in English courts of equity (e.g., court of CHANCERY) were given this name by the 15th century. They were comparable to the attorneys who practiced in the COM- MON LAW courts. In 1728 a law regulated the admission to both professions. When the Law Society was chartered in 1831, it took control of examinations for admission. A solicitor must pass this examination and be articled to a practicing solicitor for a period of time. The solicitor

does general legal work (property, wills, trusts, commercial cases). The solicitor in SCOTLAND has similar functions but has been known under varied older titles (e.g., writers to the signet, solicitors in the Faculty of Procurators [Glasgow], or solicitors to the Society of Advocates [Aberdeen]). These titles were collected and modernized in 1933.

See also COURTS OF LAW.

Somaliland, British

Made a PROTECTORATE in 1885, this area in the Horn of AFRICA was the scene of a holy war against the British from 1900 to 1920. During WORLD WAR II it was occupied by Italian forces and later merged with Italian Somaliland. The area gained independence as the Somali Republic in 1960.

Somers, John Somers, baron

(1651–1716)

(John Sommers) lawyer, politician

The son of an attorney, Somers attended Worcester Cathedral School; Trinity College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY; and the Middle Temple (see INNS OF COURT). He was called to the bar in 1676. One of the counsel for the SEVEN BISHOPS’ CASE in 1688, he was elected to the CONVENTION Parliament in 1689, was involved with the drafting of the DEC- LARATION OF RIGHTS, and became solicitor general. His advance up the ranks was steady: attorney general (1692), lord keeper (1693), and LORD CHANCELLOR (1697). As a leading WHIG he was dismissed in 1700. Not favored at first by Queen ANNE, he later became an adviser on the Anglo-Scottish UNION in 1707.

Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, second duke of (1406–1455)

soldier

Somerset served in France and was made lieutenant general there in 1447, but he saw the loss

of Normandy over the next three years. For this he was accused of treason by Richard of YORK, but was still King HENRY VI’s favorite adviser. He put down an uprising by York in 1452, was imprisoned when that duke became protector in 1454, and died in the first Battle of ST. ALBANS. Their feud began the Wars of the ROSES.

Somerset, Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford and duke of (1500–1552)

lord protector

Seymour’s sister Jane SEYMOUR married HENRY VIII in 1536. Seymour himself fought in the king’s forces in the wars against SCOTLAND and France. Shortly after Henry’s death, he assumed

the PROTECTORATE of his nephew EDWARD VI and

became duke of Somerset. His policies provoked rebellions by continuing wars, debasing the coinage, and pressing religious reforms. His brother Thomas SEYMOUR appeared to challenge his authority, and Edward had him executed. He was imprisoned, released briefly, but then executed by his enemies in the COUNCIL.

Somerset, Robert Carr, earl of

(1586–1645) courtier

A favorite of JAMES VI AND I, Carr had served in the Scottish court; was in the entourage that traveled to London in 1603; and became the favorite of the king, with whom he allegedly had a homosexual relationship. He subsequently received titles and honors from the king. He was involved in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, a former friend. Carr and his wife were found guilty of poisoning Overbury, but the king granted him a pardon.

Somerset case (1772)

The best-known of a series of cases concerning the right of slaveholders to seize and remove their slaves from ENGLAND. James Somerset became a public figure, his trial a closely followed event.

With the help of Granville SHARP, he had obtained a WRIT of HABEAS CORPUS, which granted him a hearing in the Court of KING’S BENCH before Chief Justice MANSFIELD. There were eight sessions, long arguments on both sides, and a controversial decision. Mansfield said that the power to take Somerset out of England had to be based on LAW, and “such a claim is not known to the laws of England.” Mansfield’s decision did not declare slavery illegal, did not free any slaves then held in England, and did not prevent the seizure of other slaves and their return to America. However, the decision was misunderstood by contemporaries and by historians, and more important, it became a beacon of hope for abolitionists.

Somme, Battle of the (1916)

A joint Anglo-French offensive was launched against entrenched German positions, in the hope that a massive assault might break through and end WORLD WAR I. General Douglas HAIG’s plan failed miserably. Nearly 60,000 British soldiers died on the first day of battle (July 1, 1916), and the attack continued until November. In the end, British and German losses stood close to 400,000 each, while the French lost 200,000. During the operation, tanks had been used for the first time, but with little effect. The farthest advance of the allies was about eight miles; the impact of this terrible loss of life was incalculable, and it tarnished Haig’s reputation and deepened the public despair over the war’s direction.

South Africa

British entry into southern AFRICA began with the capture of the Dutch CAPE COLONY during the NAPOLEONIC WARS. The clashes between the Afrikaners (or Boers) and the British resulted in migrations and settlements of other colonies:

NATAL, TRANSVAAL, and the ORANGE FREE STATE.

There was a continuing British desire to incorporate these colonies, and that was vastly increased with the discoveries of diamonds (1868) and gold

(1886). Those resources required outside capital and labor to exploit them, and thus there was escalating contact and eventual conflict. The BOER WAR (1899–1902) resulted in a British victory, the establishment of autonomous colonies, and an eventual union of the four states. Membership in the BRITISH EMPIRE was supported at first, but by the 1930s a strong Afrikaner resistance was developing. In 1948 the National Party won the elections and introduced a comprehensive policy of racial separation and discrimination—apartheid— which in turn produced protests and violent repression by the emerging police state. South Africa resigned from the Commonwealth in 1961, becoming an independent republic. Over the next generation, mounting hostility from neighboring countries, increasing international ostracism, and persistent internal resistance brought the nation to reject the apartheid regime and install democratic institutions in 1991. The longtime leader and symbol of resistance, Nelson Mandela, was the first elected president of the new government.

Southey, Robert (1774–1843) poet, historian

The son of a draper in Bristol, Southey was expelled from Westminster school. He wrote radical plays at OXFORD UNIVERSITY, and he and Samuel Taylor COLERIDGE invented a scheme for a utopian settlement in America (which they called “Pantisocracy”). From the 1790s his poetic output surged in a variety of forms, but his RAD- ICALISM had vanished by 1810. In 1813 he was made POET LAUREATE. In addition, he wrote extensively for the Quarterly Review, and he published Life of Nelson (1813), History of Brazil (3 vols., 1810–19), Life of Wesley (1821), History of the Peninsular War (1823–32), and Lives of the British Admirals (1833).

South Sea Bubble

The South Sea Company was organized as a joint-stock venture in 1711, receiving trading privileges in South America in exchange for

loans to the government, on a basis similar to

the BANK OF ENGLAND and the EAST INDIA COM-

PANY. In 1713, as a result of the Treaty of UTRECHT, the company received the contract to supply slaves to Spanish colonies. When it proposed to take over 60 percent of the national DEBT in 1719, a speculative boom drove its shares up by more than 1,000% in six months. When the bubble burst, there was panic, and the price of the company’s stock fell rapidly. Robert WALPOLE devised a scheme to transfer some of the stock, and in the process shielded some members of the royal court from embarrassing evidence of corrupt and improper dealings. The company continued to pay dividends on government securities, gave up its trading privileges, and was eventually dissolved in 1854.

Spa Fields Riot (1816)

After the NAPOLEONIC WARS there were serious economic problems in GREAT BRITAIN, and widespread distress made radical feeling run high. In LONDON a demonstration was to be addressed by Henry HUNT on behalf of parliamentary reform when a part of the crowd attacked gunsmiths’ shops and tried to organize a march on the TOWER OF LONDON. In the trial of some of the participants, a government spy named Castles proved to be a tainted witness, and the rioters were acquitted.

Spanish Succession, War of

(1702–1713)

When Louis XIV claimed the throne of Spain for his grandson, Philip of Anjou (1701), in violation of previous treaty commitments, he also invaded the Spanish Netherlands and recognized the son of the late King JAMES VII AND II as “James III.” This led WILLIAM III to form an alliance with the United Provinces and Austria, and later Prussia and other German states. The campaigns on the continent saw the duke of MARLBOROUGH win a series of great battles (1704–08) on the Rhine, the Danube, and the frontiers of the Netherlands. In Spain the allies

were less successful. Political and financial stress at home led to Marlborough’s removal, and soon negotiations for peace began. The Treaty of UTRECHT (1713) recognized Philip as king, but he had to renounce any claim to the French throne. Spanish influence was removed from the Netherlands, and Louis said he would no longer support the STUART pretender.

Speaker of the House

At first the Speaker of the HOUSE OF COMMONS in the 14th century was chosen to address the Crown and express the opinions or decisions of the house. Soon this post came under the influence of the king, until the 17th century, when it became independent. Indeed, by the 19th century, the speaker became a strictly impartial figure, one who enforced the rules of the House (especially the rules governing debate and amendments to bills). Today the speaker receives a salary, pension, office space, and a life PEERAGE upon retirement. In the HOUSE OF LORDS the same function is carried out by the LORD CHANCELLOR.

Special Branch

The London Metropolitan POLICE first created a “Fenian Office” in 1881 to combat Irish terrorism. The Special (Irish) Branch was then used to track and record the activities of terrorists when a series of bombings created a scare in the DYNA- MITE WAR of the 1880s. The activities of this office came to include aliens of all descriptions prior to 1914 and subversives in the 1920s and ’30s as well as after 1945. The Special Branch operated beside the military intelligence unit, MI 5. That group operated within GREAT BRITAIN, conducting surveillance and counterespionage, but it had no powers of arrest and relied on the Special Branch for that service.

Speenhamland system

Due to economic distress and the high price of bread, the Berkshire JUSTICES OF THE PEACE meeting in Speenhamland in 1795 decided on a scale