Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/81

Rh sale, under a penalty of 20. Sales by auction usually take place under certain conditions, which, it is the duty of the auctioneer to read to the bidders before the sale begins. To complete a sale by auction there must be a bidding by, or on behalf of, a person capable of making a contract, and an acceptance thereof by the auctioneer, and until the bidding is accepted both vendor and bidder are free, and may retract if they choose. If due notice is given, an agent may be employed to bid on behalf of the seller, but the employment of several bidders is improper, and if the sale is declared to be without reserve, any bidding on the behalf of the seller will vitiate the sale. Puffing, it has been said, is illegal, even if there be only one puffer. On the other hand, any hindrance to a free sale, either by a bidder deterring competitors from offering against him, or by an engagement among the competitors to refrain from bidding, in order to keep down the price of the goods and then share the profit, is a fraud upon the vendor. Two persons, however, may agree not to bid against each other. Auctioneers are entitled by their licence to act as appraisers also.

 AUDÆUS, or, a reformer of the 4th century, by birth a Mesopotamian. He suffered much persecution from the Syrian clergy for his fearless censure of their irregular lives, and was expelled from the church. He was afterwards banished into Scythia, where he gained many followers and established the monastic system. He died there at an advanced age, about 370 A.D. The Audseans celebrated the feast of Easter on the same day as the Jewish Passover, and they were also charged with attributing to the Deity a human shape. They appear to have founded this opinion on Genesis i. 26.

 AUDE, a southern department of France, forming part of the old province of Languedoc, bounded on the E. by the Mediterranean, N. by the departments of Herault and Tarn, N.W. by Upper Garonne, W. by Ariege, and S. by that of Eastern Pyrenees. It lies between lat. 4.2 40 and 34 30 N., and is 80 miles in length from E. to W., and 60 miles in breadth from N. to S. Area, 2341 square miles. The department of Aude is traversed on its western boundary from S. to N. by a mountain range of medium height, which unites the Pyrenees with the Southern Cevennes ; and its northern frontier is occupied by the Black Mountains, the most western part of the Cevennes chain. The Corbieres, a branch of the Pyrenees, runs in a S.W. and N.E. direction along the southern district. The Aude, its principal river, has almost its entire course in the department. Its principal affluents on the left are the Fresquel, Orbiel, Argent-Double, and Cesse; on the right, the Guette, Salse, and Orbieu. The canal of Lan guedoc, which unites the Atlantic with the Mediterranean, traverses the department from E. to &quot;W. The lowness of the coast causes a series of large lagunes, the chief of which are those of Bages, Sigean, Narbonne, Palme, and Leucate. The climate is variable, and often sudden in its alterations. The wind from the N.W., known as the Cers, blows with great violence, and the sea breeze is often laden with pesti lential effluvia from the lagunes. Various kinds of wild animals, as the chamois, bear, wild boar, wolf, fox, and badger, inhabit the mountains and forests ; game of all kinds is plentiful ; and the coast and lagunes abound in fish. Mines of iron, copper, lead, manganese, cobalt, and antimony exist in the department ; and, besides the beauti ful marbles of Cascastel and Caunes, there are quarries of lithographic stone, gypsum, limestone, and slate. The coal mines are for the most part abandoned. The moun tains contain many mineral springs, both cold and thermal. The agriculture of the department is in a very flourishing condition. The meadows are extensive and well watered, and are pastured by numerous flocks and herds. The grain produce, consisting mainly of wheat, oats, rye, and Indian corn, considerably exceeds the consumption, and the vine yards yield an abundant supply of both white and red wines. Olives and almonds are also extensively cultivated, and the honey of Aude is much esteemed. Besides impor tant manufactures of woollen and cotton cloths, combs, jet ornaments, and casks, there are paper-mills, distilleries, tanneries, and extensive iron and salt works. The chief town is Carcassonne, and the department is divided into the four arrondissements of Carcassonne, Limoux, Nar bonne, and Castelnaudary. Population in 1872, 285,927.

 AUDEBERT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a distinguished French naturalist and artist, was born at Rochefort in 1759. He studied painting and drawing at Paris, and gained con siderable reputation as a miniature painter. In 1787 he was employed to make drawings of some objects in a natural history collection, and was also a contributor in the preparation of the plates for Olivier s Histoire des Imectes. He thus acquired a taste for the study of natural history, and devoted himself with great eagerness to the new pursuit. In 1800 appeared his first original work, L Histoire Naturelle des Singes, des Maids, et des Galeopi- tkeques, illustrated by 62 folio plates, drawn and engraved by himself. The colouring in these plates was unusually beautiful, and was laid on by a method devised by the author himself. Audebert died in 1800, but he had left complete materials for another great work, Histoire des Colibris, des Oiseaux-Mouches, des Jacamares, et des Pro merops, which was published in 1802. 200 copies were printed in folio, 100 in large quarto, and 15 were printed with the whole text in letters of gold. Another work, left unfinished, was also published after the author s death, L ffi-stoire des Grimpereaux, et des Oiseaux de Paradis. The last two works also appeared together in two volumes with the title Oiseaux dores ou d, reflets metalliques, 1802.

 AUDITOR, a person appointed to examine the accounts kept by the financial officers of the Crown, public corpora tions, or private persons, and to certify as to their accuracy. The multifarious statutes regulating the audit of public accounts have been superseded by the 29 and 30 Viet. c. 39, which gives power to the Queen to appoint a &quot; comp troller and auditor-general,&quot; with the requisite staff to examine and verify the accounts prepared by the different departments of the public service. In examining accounts of the appropriation of the several supply grants, the comp troller and auditor-general &quot; shall ascertain first whether the payments which the account department has charged to the grant are supported by vouchers or proofs of pay ments ; and second, whether the money expended has been applied to the purpose or purposes for which such grant was intended to provide.&quot; The Treasury may also submit certain other accounts to the audit of the comptroller- general. All public moneys payable to the Exchequer are to be paid to the &quot; account of Her Majesty s Exchequer &quot; at the Bank of England, and daily returns of such payments must be forwarded to the comptroller. Quarterly accounts of the income and charge of the consolidated fund are to be prepared and transmitted to the comptroller, who, in case of any deficiency in the consolidated fund, may certify to the bank to make advances. The accounts of local boards, poor-law unions, &c., must be passed in a similar manner by an official auditor. It is the duty of the auditor to disallow all illegal payments, and surcharge them upon the person making or authorising them ; but such disallow ances may be removed by ccrtiorari into the Court of Queen s Bench, or an appeal may be made to the local Government Board. In municipal corporations two burgesses must be chosen annually as auditors of the accounts. 