Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/470

454 but obtained in 1744 possession of the electorate. The elector died soon after, and his son Maximilian Joseph recovered his dominions only by renouncing the pretensions of his father. Bavaria now remained tranquil above thirty years, until 1777, when, by the death of Maximilian, the younger line of the house of Wittelsbach, the line which had long ruled in Bavaria, became extinct. The next heir was Charles Theodore the Elector Palatine, the representative of the elder line of Wittelsbach ; but Austria unexpectedly laid claim to the succession, and took military possession of part of the country. This called into the field, oh the side of Bavaria, Frederic II. of Prussia, then advanced in years ; but, before any blood had been shed, Austria desisted from her pretensions, on obtaining from Bavaria the frontier district which bears the name of Innviertel, or the Quarter of the Inn. Bavaria again remained at peace until the great contest between Germany and France began in 1793, when she was obliged to furnish her contingent as a member, of the empire. During three years her territory was untouched ; but in the summer of 1796, a powerful French army under Moreau occupied her capital, forced her to sign a separate treaty with Franco, and to withdraw her contingent from the imperial army. The next war between France and Austria, begun in 1799, ending disastrously for the latter, the influence of France in the empire was greatly strengthened, so that, when the Austrians once more took up arms, in 1805, Bavaria was the firm ally of France, and for the first time found advantage in the connection, its elector, Maximilian Joseph, receiving from Napoleon the title of king and several additions of territory. Bavaria continued to support the French interest with her best energies till 1813, when, on condition of her late acquisitions being secured to her, she was led to join the Allies, and her forces contributed largely to the ultimate defeat of Bonaparte. In 1818 Maximilian presented his country with a constitution, of rather a mixed character, in which an attempt was made at once to satisfy the growing desire for political liberty and to maintain the kingly power. At the same time several beneficial measures, such as the abolition of. serfdom, were effected in the earlier sessions of the new parliament. In 1825 Maximilian was succeeded by his son Louis, who dis tinguished himself as a promoter of the line arts, but proved himself destitute of political capacity, and in consciousness of his disagreement with the spirit of his times, abdicated in March 1848 in favour of his son Maximilian II. It was not long before the difficulties of the new king were distinctly brought to view by the insurrection of the demo cratic party in Westphalia. By the assistance of Prussia the rising was quelled, and punishment was so ruth lessly inflicted by the tribunals that the trials became known as the bloody assizes. An anti-liberal reaction set in, and many of the political gains of former years were conseqxiently lost. In 1864 King Louis was succeeded by his son of the same name (Louis II.); and at this time the great question on the future hegemony of Germany was being agitated throughout the country. In the war of 1866 the Bavarian Government and people threw in their lot with Austria, shared in the contest, and were involved in the defeat and loss. On the withdrawal of Austria from the German confederation a change of policy was introduced, and the Government veered round to the interests of Prussia, a course which was confirmed by the Franco-German War of 1870, when Bavaria took an active pare with Prussia against the common enemy. Much ferment, however, remained in the country, and religious elements were introduced into the political discussions. The clerical, or, as it styles itself, the patriot party, is opposed to Prussian influence, and contends for &quot; particu larism,&quot; wishing to maintain a greater degree of independ ence for Bavaria than seems to be compatible with imperial unity. For a number of years the Government has been in the hands of the Liberal party. Thus a series of the most important measures have been passed with a liberal tendency, and the country is being gradually assimilated to the more advanced states of Northern Germany. The focus of the Liberal party is the Palatinate of the Rhine, while the &quot; patriots &quot; are mainly recruited from the districts of Old Bavaria. The decisive triumph of the former was marked by the treaty of November 23, 1870, between Bavaria and the Confederation of Northern Germany, which was followed by the recognition of the king of Prussia as the head of a new German empire. At the same time a greater degree of independence was granted to Bavaria than to the other members of the Confederation; it was freed from the domiciliary surveil lance of the empire, and allowed to retain the administration of its own postal and telegraph systems, while its army has a separate organization, and during peace is under the command of the Bavarian kins.  

 BAXAR, or, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Behar, district of Shahabad, on the south bank of the Ganges, in 25 32 N. lat, 84 3 E. long. The fort, though of small size, was important from its commanding the Ganges, but is now dismantled. The place is distinguished by a celebrated victory gained on the 23d October 1764 by the British forces under Major (afterwards Sir Hector) Munro, over the united armies of Suja-ud-Daulah and Kasim Ali Khan. The action raged from 9 o clock till noon, when the enemy gave way. Pursuit was, however, frustrated by Suja-ud-Daulah sacrificing a part of his army to the safety of the remainder. A bridge of boats had been con structed over a stream about 2 miles distant from the field of battle, and this the enemy destroyed before their rear had passed over. Through this act 2000 troops were drowned, or otherwise lost; but destructive as was this proceeding, it was, says Major Munro, &quot; the best piece of generalship Suja-ud-Daulah showed that day, because if I had crossed the rivulet with the army, I should either have taken or drowned his whole army in the Karamndsa, and come up with his treasure and jewels, and Kasim Ali Khan s jewels, which I was informed amounted to between two and three millions.&quot; Population in 1872, 13,446.  BAXTER,, an able metaphysician, the son of a merchant in Old Aberdeen, was born in 1686 or 1687, and educated at King s College there. After leaving the university he acted for some years as tutor to various young gentlemen, among others to Lord Gray, Lord Blantyre, and Mr Hay of Drummelzier. In 1733 he published, in quarto, but without date, An Inquiry into the Nature of the Human Soul, wherein its immateriality is deduced from the principles of reason and philosophy. In 1741 he went abroad with Mr Hay, and resided several years at Utrecht, from which place he made excursions into Flanders, France, and Germany. He returned to Scotland in 1747, and resided at Whittingham, in Haddingtonshire, till his death, which occurred on April 23, 1750. His principal work, besides the Inqui?~y, was a short dialogue entitled Matho, sive Cosmotheoria puerilis, Dialogus in quo pnma clcmenta de mundi ordine et ornatu proponuntur, &c. This was afterwards greatly enlarged, and published in English in two volumes 8vo. In 1750 was published an appendix to 