Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/619

 WHELK WHELK, a marine, univalve, gasteropod shell, of the genus buccinum (Linn.). There are about 20 living species, and more than 100 fos- sil in the miocene formations. The shell is ovate-conic, the aperture having a notch with- out a canal, and the pillar not flattened and somewhat twisted. The common whelk, or buckie (B. undatum, Linn.), is the largest, be- ing about 3 in. long, grayish or brownish white, with numerous raised lines and stria) ; it is very common on the coasts of Great Britain, where it is dredged as an article of food; it is found from low-water mark to a depth of 100 fathoms, and is distributed through the Irish, North, and Arctic seas, along the American shore from Cape Cod to Greenland, and across to the Siberi- an and Okhotsk seas ; it is found fossil in the newer pliocene of Sicily, though not now living in the Med- iterranean. The most common species on the Atlantic coast of America is the JB. olso- letum (Adams), ovate, reddish or olive brown, with a network of lines, aperture dark violet, with six whorls and apex generally ero- ded ; it is about an inch long and half an inch wide; the animal is mottled with slate color. Its movements are very active, and its food consists of dead crabs, fish, &c. ; it pre- fers muddy, still inlets, flats uncovered at low tide, and the mouths of brackish rivers. WHEWELL, William, an English philosopher, born in Lancaster, May 24, 1794, died in Cam- bridge, March 5, 1866. He graduated at Trin- ity college, Cambridge, in 1816, obtained a fellowship, and was professor of mineralogy from 1828 to 1832. In 1838 he was elected professor of moral theology or casuistry, in 1841 became master of Trinity college, and in 1855 vice chancellor of the university of Cam- bridge, when he gave up his professorship. His first publications were mathematical works for the use of students of the university. In 1833 he published "Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural Theology," being the third Bridgewater trea- tise (new ed., 1864). This was followed by philosophical works, the most important of which are : "Four Sermons on the Foundations of Morals " (1837) ; " History of the Inductive Sciences" (3 vols., 1837; 3d ed., 1857); "Phi- losophy of the Inductive Sciences" (2 vols., London, 1840; remodelled in 3 parts, 1858- '60); "Lectures on the History of Moral Phi- losophy in England" (1852; new ed., 1862); and " The Platonic Dialogues for English Read- WHIG AND TORY 595 Common Whelk (Buccinum undatum). era" (3 vols., 1859-'61). Among his other works are: ''Architectural Notes on German Churches" (1835); "Thoughts on the Study of Mathematics" (1835); "On the Principles of English University Education " (1887) "On Liberal Education "(3 parts, 1845-'52)- "Of the Plurality of Worlds" (anonymous, 1858)- and "Lectures on Political Economy" (1863). He also translated and edited numerous works. An account of his writings, with selections from his correspondence, was published by Isaac Todhunter in 1876. WHIG AND TORY, designations of Apolitical parties in English, and more lately in Ameri- can history, originally applied as terms of re- proach. The word "whig" is a contraction of " whiggamore," which in the southwestern counties of Scotland denotes a drover. In 1648 a party of Covenanters from this region at- tacked Edinburgh. " This," says Burnet, " was called the whiggamores' inroad ; and ever after all that opposed the court came in contempt to be called whiggs ; and from Scotland the word was brought into England." The term came into general use in 1679, during the struggle between the court and country parties on the bill for the exclusion of the duke of York from the line of succession. The opponents of the bill were called in contempt tories, and the friends of the duke retorted by calling their adversaries whigs. The word "tory" is de- rived from an Irish term applied, says Roger North, to " the most despicable savages among the wild Irish ;" and the name was given to the followers of the duke because he favored Irish- men. But according to other authorities, the tories were originally merely the successors of the cavaliers of the civil wars, who believed that the maintenance of a royal line was the end or the necessary means of a lawful gov- ernment, who vindicated the divine right of kings, and held high notions of prerogative. The tories subsequently took broader ground, and their leading principle became the mainte- nance of things as they have been, or at least as they are; whence Johnson gives the follow- ing definition : " One who adheres to the an- cient constitution of the state and the apostoli- cal hierarchy of the church of England." The word is now applied rather to certain tradi- tional maxims of public policy, the political successors of the tories being called conserva- tives. The whig party has generally adhered to progressive principles since it first received its distinctive name, though time and circum- stances have effected important modifications in its professions and modes of action. The whigs came into power in England with the accession of William III., and were in general the dominant party until the middle of the next century ; after which the tories predomi- nated for upward of 80 years. The agitation of the reform bill and of Catholic emancipation again brought the whigs into power, but since 1830 the settlement of old disputed issues has made the term practically obsolete; and the