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* SOLENHOTEN STONE. 328 SOLICITOR-GENERAL. stone aggregate about 50 feet in thickness and arc found in the lower portions of the quarries, many of which are 100 feet deep. ilost of the lithographic limestone used in the world is obtained from this district. See Arch^e- OPTEKVX. SOLENOID (from Gk auX-qmeiSris, sole- inicidCs, pipe-shaped, grooved, from auX-qv, solen, pipe, channel + eidos, cidos, form). A cylindri- cal coil of wire used for producing magnetic effects by electric currents. The coil when traversed by a current possesses all the qualities of a magnet. See !M.gxetism. SO'LENT. The west portion of the strait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of England (ilap: England, EG). It is 17 miles long by 2 to 5 miles wide, is a favorite yachting ground, and afl'ords safe anchorage. Hurst Castle guards its entrance on the southwest. SOLETJRE, soTer'. The French name of Solothurn (q.v. ). SOLEY, sO'li, James RussELt, (1850—). An American jurist and author. He graduated at Harvard in 1870 and was admitted to the bar in Washington, D. C. From 1872 to 1882 he was professor of history and law at the Naval Acad- emy at Annapolis. From I87(i to 1890 he was professor in the United States Navy. In 1882 he was transferred to Washington to arrange the Naval Library, and until 1890 was engaged in preparing the Naval Records of the Civil War. From 1S90 to 1893 he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He afterwards practiced law in New York, and was coiuisel for Venezuela at the Paris arbitration of the Venezuela-British Gui- ana boundary in 1899. His publications include: History of the yaval Academy (1876) ; Foreign Systems of Naval Education ('l880) ; The Block- ade and the Cruisers, in the "Campaigns of the Civil War Series" (1883); with Commodore Schley, Rescue of Greely (1885); Botis of 1812 (1887); and Admiral Porter (1903), in the "Great Commanders Series." He also edited Avtohiorjraphy of Commodore Morris (1880), and contributed to The Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (1887), and F. Win- sor's Vorrofj're and Critical History of Atnerica. SOLFATARA, sdl'fa-tii'ra (It. solfatara, from solfo, sulphur). A dormant volcano near Naples. The word is used as a common name for a volcanic vent which emits only vaporous mate- rials. Volcanoes after periods of violent activity frequently pass into a stage of gaseous eruption when steam, sulphuretcd hydrogen, carbon diox- ide, and hydrochloric acid arc given off. usually without explosive effects. Sulphur and chlorides are sometimes deposited around the vents as sub- limation products. Solfataras are quite nume- rous in the old volcanic regions of Italy. The Soufri6re on the island of Saint Vincent is a notable example of a solfatara which at times becomes violently eruptive. SOLFEGGIO, s61-fed'j6. See Soi.MlZ.TION. SOLFERINO, sftl'frre'nd. A village in the Province of Jlantua, Italy, 20 miles northwest of Mantua (Jlap: Italy, E 2). It is famous as the scene of a bloody battle on .June 24, 1859, in which the allied French and Sardinians, under Napoleon III., defeated the Austrians. The Tower of San Martino, conunanding a splendid view, and containing a military museum, com- memorates this victory, which was decisive in securing Italian independence. SOLICITOR. Under the laws of Great Brit- ain, a pcrsun duly admitted to practice law under the provisions of the Solicitor's Acts, and who thereby becomes an officer of the Supreme Court and entitled to certain privileges and inuiiunities. Before the Judicature Act (1873) the term was applied only to persons who conducted litigation in the Court of Chancery, but by the above act all solicitors, attorneys, and proctors authorized to practice in an_y division of the High Court of ■Justice are known as solicitors of the Supreme Coiu-t. The Incorporated Law Society was ap- pointed 'Registrar of Solicitors' in 1843. and in 1877 that society was gi'en control of the exami- nation of candidates for admission as solicitors. Candidates nnist serve an articled clerkship under a practicing solicitor for five years, and pass three rigid examinations, unless they are university graduates, writers to the signet, or Scotch solicitors or advocates, in which cases tliree years is suflicient. A barrister of five years' standing may procure himself to be disbarred, and on passing the final examination be admitted as a solicitor. Colonial solicitors of seven years' standing are exempted from this examination if they have already passed one in their own colony. Each solicitor must obtain annually a certificate of his right to practice from the Registrar of Solicitors. A solicitor can practice in the High Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords, Pri-y Council, and all inferior courts. They have a monopoly on certain legal business, as. for example, the attestation of documents re- quired by the Land Transfer Act. A solicitor has a general lien on his client's papers for his chaiges; has peculiar and extensive powers with reference to binding his client in litigation which he conducts; and has certain personal privileges, as exemption from service in the militia, etc. The fees and costs of solicitors are fixed and regu- lated by statute in great detail and must be ob- served. Special provisions are made for the collection of these statutory fees. They are held to a strict accountability for reasonable skill in advice and the management of any matters in- trusted to them, and are liable for any negligence or lack of reasonable skill and learning whereby a client is prejudiced. As a solicitor is an officer of the court the latter can exercise sunnnary jurisdiction over him in case of a breach of duty. A solicitor who permits another to practice in his name will be disbarred and can never be read- mitted. Where a solicitor is struck off the rolls for other misconduct, he may be suliscquently readmitted in the discretion of the court. Con- sult, Christian, A fihort History of Solicitors (ISOlj) ; Cordery, on Solicitors (1888). SOLICITOR-GENERAL. One of the im- portant law officers of the English Crown, ap- pointed by letters patent. He is always a mem- ber of the House of Conunons, and is ex officio a Minister of the Crown and a member of the General Council of the bar. He is not. however, a member of the Cabinet. He is next in rank to the Attorney-General and represents him in his absence. His term of office expires with the fall of the Ministry of which he is a member. The Solicitor-General of Scotland is next in rank to the Lord Advocate.