Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/706

* INFLUENZA. 620 INFORMEK. hoU-1, sanitarium, etc., be isolated. PnticntH suf- fering with tuberculosis, bronchitis, |iharynj;itis, or iias.nl catarrh should avoid niinglin;; with yrifipi' patiints. liiiii.KKiiiAriiY. Ihixhani. (Iptiii /'/i,i/.sio-,l/c(/i- ca (Leipzig, 17S4) ; .Schwiich, Uiv /ii/Zuiii^u ( Ber- lin. l.S.'}(>) : W'olir, Die liilliun:ai:i,itlcmir. ISfiil- 9i (Stuttgart, 1H<)2) : Kilson. l.a l>f (2d ed.. New Vork, 1894) ; Finklcr, "Intluenza," in Tireii- tiflh Ccniurii practice (Xew Vork, 1898). See Bactkhi. : i:i'ii)i:,iic. INFLUENZA (in animals), Epizooty, Pisk- Kye, Tyi'uoiu Kkveb, or Bii.iois Fevkr ( Fr. grippe, Cicr. I'fcrUcstaupe) . A contagious fever ntTecting the hor-ie. ass, mule, and occasionally dogs and cats. The animal is dull and indilTer- ent to surroundings, lias a rapidly developing fever, and st.mds with its head down. The eyes become |nillcd. and secrete a watery discharge, and the mucous meuibranes of the eye and mouth l)ecome redd<'ned or yellowish. Dropsical swell- ings may appear on the legs and under surface of the abd(nncn. When the di.sca.se has run its Course, which requires a period of about four days, the fever abates ns rapidly as it began. Death may occur from extreme fever, failure of the heart's action, or fnun the disintegration of the red blood-corpuscles. The most important complications of the disease are intlanuMatory processes in the lungs in about ■'iO per cent, of the cas<>s. in the brain, or laminar tissue of the feet. The majority of horses are susceptible to inllu- enza, and it is fatal in many ceases, even with the best tieatment. Since the red corpuscles are de- stroyed by the disease, bleeding should not be practiced except in strong subjei-ls. (Quinine and salicvlic acid in dram doses usually lower the tcniiK-ratiire. liatbs of alcolxd. turpentine, or hot water arc useful in relieving congcsticm of the lungs. Aconite has an almost s])ecific action in congestion of the brain. Digitalis may be used with advantage in cases of excessive weak- ness of the iieart. IN FORMA PAUPERIS. See Forma Pau- peris, In. INFORMATION ( Lat. informatio. outline, representation, from informare, to sketch, to inform, from in, in -4- forma, shajjc). In Eng- lish and American law, a summary method of in- stituting criminal proce<'diiigs at the instjince of the fiovernment, and without the process of in- dictment (((.v.). The free use of this proceeding by the Tudor and Stuart kings and its abuse by the Court of Star ('haml)er constituted one of the grave abuses of the royal prerogative at which the revolvitions of lfi45 and 1(!88 were aimed. The process was greatly restricted by act of Parliament in l(i41 ( Iti Car. I., c. 10) and lf.9:{ (4 & r. Vm. and Mar)-, c. 18). In theory, the right to institute criminal proceedings by in- formation was always limited to the classes of otl'enses known as misdemeanors, but the dis- tinction between misdemeanors and felonies was too indefinite to make this a complete safegtiard of the liberty of the subject. The Constitution of the United States (.Amendments Art. V.) re- stricts the use of informations to crimes which are not capital or of an infamous character by requiring an indictment by a grand jury in all such cases. In practice, at the present time, in England an information filed by the Attorney- General or Master of the Crown Office is resorted to only in cases of such misdemeanors as tend to disturb the peace or the (iovernment — for ex- ample, as libels on judges, magistrates, or public olliccrs, briU'ry at elections, etc. This infornia- tiim is usually called a criminal or an ex-ollicio information, and the defendant is put on his trial in the same way as imder an indictment. In form and substance it is precisely like an indictment, ditfering from it only in the fact that it is pre- sented upon tlie ollii'ial oath of n duly authorized olTicer of the tiovcrnmcnt. ami not. upon present- nicnt i)y a grand jury. There are other informa tions, such as those called i/iio inirriintiK to test the vali<lity of an election or ap[iiiintmcnt lo a public oflicc. etc. An information by the .tlor- ney-Gencral in chancery is a suit <m behalf of the Crown or Ciovernment as to any misapplica- tion of i' puolic charity, or on behalf of an idiot's or lunatic's property. The term is al.so common- ly used to denote the written statement made on oath Ix'forc a justice of the peace, previous to the issuing of a summons or complaint against a per- son ciiargeil either with a crime or an olTcnso punishable summarily. There are also infornui- tions in the Court of Exchequer to recover pen- alties for ihe breach of the revenue laws. The term is not now used technically in Scotland, ex- cept in cases of dilliculty, when the court ot jus- ticiary orders informations — i.e. written argu- ments. In the United States courts actions for minor otl'enses, such as attempts (o evade the revenue laws, etc., sometintes procwd ipon information. In several of the .States, all misdemeanors, ex- cept misprision of treason (q.v.). may he prose- cuted upon information, but in the case of fel- onies indictment is everywhere necessary. In Pennsylvania and some other States it is optional to proceed by either method. Information is often the fonu of proceeding in civil cases. Ky this process a person filling a civil olliee may be brought into court to show by what authority he assumes to exercise the functions thereof, willi a view to his displacement in case it can l)C shown that his authority is insufficient, and that the office belongs to another. If an uniiicorpo rated association assumes corporate powers, it may be ousted by this process, while a legal cor- porati(m may be thus arraigned for a violation of its charter or any infraction of law. See the bibliography uncleV Cui.Ml.VAI. I,AW. and con- sult: lilacUstone's ('iiiiimcnlnriis uii the Jmus of Ell Ilia nil : ami Stephen. History of Ihe Criminal Law of Knijlaiid (London, 1S83). INFORMER. In English and American law, a person who brings a criminal accusation against another. This term is not technically applicable to the officer of the Government who presents an information (q.v.) against an of- fender, but to the person on whose 'relation' the proceeding is instituted. .At common law the informer had no private interest in the proceeil- ing instigated by him. but by statute in many classes of cases, especially in violations of the revenue laws, informers are given a right of action for a penalty imposed by the law. The term informer has thus come to be commonlv employed to describe a person entitled to enforie such iv claim or demand. In England, when the informer sues in such an action, it is called a penal or qui tnm action; but, in general, the penalty is now recoverable before justices of the peace in a summary way. In informations and