Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/600

SANHEDRIN. of those priests born out of Palestine, so that none born from a suspicious or ill-famed mother should be admitted to the sacred service; and the like. By degrees the whole internal administration of the commonwealth was vested in this body, and it became necessary to establish minor courts, similarly composed, all over the country, and in Jerusalem itself. Thus we hear of two inferior tribunals at Jerusalem, each consisting of 23 men (lesser synedrion), and others of three men only. These courts, however, probably represent only smaller or larger committees chosen from the general body. Excluded from the office of judge were those born in adultery; men born of non-Israelitish parents; gamblers, usurers; those who sold fruit grown in the Sabbatical year; and, in single cases, near relatives. All these were also not admitted as witnesses. Two clerks were always present, one registering the condemnatory, the other the exculpatory votes; and, according to another opinion, there was still a third clerk who noted all the votes as a kind of check. The mode of procedure was exceedingly complicated; and such was the caution of the court, especially in matters of life and death, that capital punishment was pronounced in the rarest instances only. The general place of assembly was a certain hall (lishkat hagaziz, ‘hall of hewn stones’), probably situated at the southeast corner of one of the courts of the temple. With exception of Sabbath and feast days it met daily. The double presidency of the Nasi and Ab-beth-din appears to have been instituted to insure greater impartiality, those chosen representing the two factions or two diverging tendencies in the interpretation of the law. In questions involving civil rights, the voting began with the principal members; in questions of life and death with the younger members, so that they might not be influenced by the leaders. Twenty-three members constituted a quorum for judgments of life and death, but if the court showed a majority of only one for ‘guilty,’ the number had to be increased by two successively till the full court was formed; and only in the case of a full court was a majority of one against the prisoner sufficient for condemnation. The Sanhedrin survived the fall of Jerusalem and what it lost in authority it gained in the veneration in which it continued to be held by the Jews, both in Palestine and in the dispersion. As late as the fifth century we find an institution in Jerusalem that can be regarded as a continuation of the great Sanhedrin. Subsequently, however, we find the name applied to a body of the most eminent scholars of Babylonia—to the 70 members of the learned assemblies that occupied the first seven rows.

. Schürer, History of the Jewish People in the Times of Jesus Christ, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1886-90); Kuenen, &ldquo;Ueber die Zusammensetzung des Sanhedrins,&rdquo; in Gesammelte Abhandlungen (Freiburg, 1894); Hoffman, Der oberste Gerichtshof in der Stadt des Heiligthums (Berlin, 1878); Jelski, Die innere Einrichtung des grossen Synedrions zu Jerusalem, etc. (Breslau, 1894).  SAN IGNACIO DE AGAÑA,. See.  SAN ILDEFONSO,, or. A town in the Province of Segovia, Spain, situated 34 miles northwest of Madrid at an

elevation of nearly 4000 feet, in the region of romantic beauty on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama (Map:, C 2). The town itself is beautifully laid out with fine plazas, promenades, and gardens, and numerous monumental fountains; it has been called the Versailles of Spain. It owes its existence to the splendid palace built there in 1721-24 by Philip V., which has since been a summer residence of the Spanish Court. It is a beautiful building, the entire façade of which is faced by a row of tall columns reaching to the roof. The interior is luxuriously furnished, containing several hundred fine paintings and sculptures. The palace is surrounded by magnificent gardens with lakes, fountains, and statues. Here occurred the so-called ‘Revolution of La Granja,’ on the 12th of August, 1836, when some of the Liberal leaders compelled Queen Christina to sign a decree restoring the Constitution of 1812. Population, in 1900, 3444. See.  SAN ILDEFONSO,. A secret treaty between France and Spain, negotiated in October, 1800. France agreed to procure in Italy for the Duke of Parma, the son-in-law of Carlos IV. of Spain, a kingdom which should have a population of from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000, while Spain agreed to retrocede to France, six months after France had carried out her part of the agreement, “the colony or province of Louisiana with the same extent that it had in the hands of Spain and when France owned it, and as it should be according to subsequent treaties between Spain and other powers.” In addition the treaty contained several less important provisions. The preliminary treaty was signed on October 1st, and the exchange of ratifications took place on the 30th of the same month. The treaty was modified in some respects by a new treaty negotiated at Aranjuez, March 21, 1801 (ratification being exchanged April 11), the immediate transfer of Louisiana being provided for. The texts of the two treaties may be found in De Clercq, Recueil des traités de la France, vol. i. (Paris, 1864).  SAN ISIDRO,. The capital of the Province of Nueva Ecija, in Luzon, Philippines (Map:, E 4). It is situated on the Rio Grande de la Pampanga, 48 miles north of Manila, has a telegraph station and good road connections with Manila and other cities of Central Luzon. Population (estimated), in 1899, 7056.  SANITARY COMMISSION (from Lat. sanitas; health, from sanus, sound, healthy, sane; connected with Gk., saos, , sōs, safe, sound),. An organization formed during the Civil War primarily for the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers of the Union army. On the day on which President Lincoln's call for volunteers was issued the women of various cities in the North organized societies for the purpose of affording relief and comfort to the sick and wounded volunteers. They stated their purpose to be “to supply nurses for the sick; to bring them home when practicable; to purchase clothing, provisions, and matters of comfort not supplied by the Government; to send books and newspapers to the camps; to preserve a record of the services of each soldier; and to hold constant communication with the officers of the regiments in order that the people might be kept