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 74:0 SEARCY SEA SERPENT an enemy or cover contraband of war. So firmly is this rule or right established that th^re is no doubt or dispute about it among institutional writers, and it has never been successfully resisted in the practice of nations. During the American revolutionary war, and in 1801, the Baltic powers declared that the flag of a state was a substitute for all documen- tary proof, and excluded the right of search. They armed themselves for the purpose of de- fending and maintaining this position, but they were soon compelled to abandon it, and since that time the usual war right has been consid- ered incontrovertible. The question was once submitted in the English admiralty whether neutrals might not compel a belligerent to re- frain from exercising his right by putting their ships under the convoy of a public ship of their country. It was adjudged that the belligerent was not bound to accept such a substitution, nor indeed in any respect to vary his right of personal visitation. It may be remarked in passing that two powers sometimes regulate or restrain by treaty the right of maritime search by ships of war. The English doctrines upon the war right of search have been gen- erally admitted in this country, except as to the claim put forth by England of a right to search neutral vessels on the high seas for de- serters and other persons liable to military and naval service. The difference upon this point was one of the chief causes of the war of 1812, and the matter has never yet been specifically settled, but it cannot be supposed that the British claim will ever be reasserted. Recent modifications of belligerent rights have not materially limited or affected the right. SEARCY, a N. county of Arkansas, intersect- ed by the Buffalo fork of White river ; area in 1870, about 950 sq. m., subsequently reduced by a portion taken to form Stone county; pop. in 1870, 5,614, of whom 80 were colored. The surface is hilly and the soil productive. Extensive forests cover a large portion of the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 21,961 bushels of wheat, 263,812 of In- dian corn, 11,852 of oats, 25,008 Ibs. of tobac- co, 4,389 of wool, and 2,180 bales of cotton. There were 1,512 horses, 200 mules and asses, 1,619 milch cows, 2,886 other cattle, 2,711 sheep, and 15,682 swine. Capital, Marshall. SEA ROBIN. See GURNARD. SEARS, Bxrnas, an American clergyman, born in Sandisfield, Mass., Nov. 19, 1802. He grad- uated at Brown university in 1825, studied theology at Newton, Mass., was pastor of the first Baptist church in Hartford, Conn., for two years, and in 1829 became a professor in the Hamilton literary and theological institu- tion, now Madison university, New York. In 1833 he went to Germany to study, and on his return was appointed to a professorship in the theological seminary at Newton, and for several years was its president. In 1848 he was made secretary and executive agent of the Massachusetts board of education. In August, 1855, he was elected president of Brown university, which office he held till February, 1867, when he became general agent of the Peabody education fund. He received the degree of D. D. from Harvard university in 1841, and LL. D. from Yale college in 1862. Dr. Sears has published " Ciceroniana, or the Prussian Mode of Instruction in Latin " (1844) ; " Select Treatises of Martin Luther in 'the Ori- ginal German " (1846), with philological notes ; " Life of Luther, with special reference to its earlier Periods and the Opening Scenes of the Reformation" (1850); and a revised edition of Roget's "Thesaurus" (1854). He edited the " Christian Review " for several years. SEARS, Edmnnd Hamilton, an American clergy- man, born in Sandisfield, Mass., in 1810. He graduated at Union college in 1834, and at the Harvard divinity school in 1887. In 1839-'40 he was pastor of the first Unitarian church in Wayland, Mass., and in 1840-'47 in Lancaster, Mass. In conjunction with the Rev. Rufus El- lis, he edited for several years the "Monthly Religious Magazine," Boston ; and in 1865 he became pastor of the Unitarian church in Wes- ton, Mass. He has published " Regeneration " (Boston, 1853; 9th ed., 1878); "Pictures of the Olden Time" (1857); "Athanasia" (1857; llth ed., enlarged, 1873, with the title "Fore- glearns and Foresplendors of Immortality ") ; "The Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ" (1872) ; and " Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life" (1875). He received the de- gree of D. D. from Union college in 1871. SEA SERPENT, a marine animal, by many con- sidered fabulous, said to inhabit chiefly the northern seas, especially about the coasts of Norway and New England. The idea of a sea serpent originated in northern Europe, and was at first clearly mythological. Though hun- dreds of witnesses aver that they have seen this animal, naturalists have failed to discover any certain traces of it. For an account of its visits to Norway the reader may consult Pontoppidan's " Natural History of Norway " (fol., London, 1755), and vol. viii. of the " Nat- uralist's Library" (Edinburgh, 1841); and for its occurrence on the American coasts, vols. ii., xi., xii., and xxviii. of the "American Jour- nal of Science," the " Report of the Commit- tee of the Linnaean Society of New England " (Boston, 1817), Sir Charles Lyell's "Second Visit to the United States" (London, 1849), and Gosse's " Romance of Natural History " (London, 1860-'62). This animal is said to appear in calm weather, with a slender body from 60 to 100 ft. long, a broad snake-like head as large as that of a horse, large eyes, and a long and narrow neck, and of a general dark brown color ; some describe it as having fins. It is seen swimming at the surface, with the head and neck elevated, progressing swift- ly, apparently by a vertical undulating motion. There does not seem to be any fish to which this animal can be referred. Many fossil types of marine animals have been transmitted, with