Privy

3836

Probate

the principles of government by cabinet be-
came firmly established.

Privy Seal. A M>U! of the English govern-
ment which is affixed to documents not re-
quiring the Great Seal. Sec SEAL.

Prize Fighting. Sir Boxing.

Prize Money, in the navy, is the money
resulting from the capture of an enemy's
property at sea and delivery to the govern-
ment. If the prize is lost or destroyed, the
captors receive only a bounly. In iSgy all
provisions of law authorizing the distribu-
tion of prize money or the payment of
bounty were repealed. Sec PRIZE OF WAR.
Consult Oppenhcim's International Law
(1905-6).

Prize of War is property captured by a
belligerent at sea, either from vessels of the
hostile nation or from vessels violating neu-
trality, or from subject vessels having deal-
ings with the enemy. Down to thu middle
of the i9th century not only enemy ships
and enemy goods, but neutral goods in ene-
my ships and neutral ships carrying enemy
goods were often made prize of war. The
Declaration of Paris established the rule,
now generally followed by non-signatory
powers, that the neutral flag covers enemy
goods except those contraband of war; and
that, with the same exception, neutral goods
in enemy ships are exempt from seizure. (See
CONTRABAND OF WAR.) The right to prize is
determined by a prize court according to the
rules of international law, in the absence of
provisions in the municipal law governing
such courts.

Proa, or Praut a boat used by the natives
of the Ladrone Islands and other islands in
the Malay Archipelago and the China Sea.
One side of the boat is round or bilge shaped,
while the other is flat and perpendicular. It
is also fitted with an outrigger. The sail is
triangular or lateen shaped and of great size.

Probabilism, a doctrine of Roman Catho-
lic ethics, developed mainly by Jesuit theo-
logians. It is an application of Lhc juridical
axiom that a doubtful law is not binding,
and is to the effect that when there exists
a theoretical doubt or controversy as to the
obligation of a moral law in a given case,
one may safely follow in practice a truly
probable opinion against the law, even
though the opposite opinion be more prob-
able.

Probabilities, Chances, or the Theory
of Averages. To assign a number which
measures the probability of a future event
may at first seem Impossible; and vet the

\vhoU1 business of many large insurance com-
panies is mainly based upon the methods of
assigning such a number. When it is cer-
tain that a future event \vill take place, or
will not take place, u fixed number is selected
for each fast- to indicate that then the prob-
ability amounts to certainty; and these two
measures are the limits of our scale. \Vil?
the sun rise to-morrow morning in the east?
Probability = i, certainty in favor. Will
full moon be seen to-morrow morning in the
east ? Probability ~. o, certainty against. Be-
tween these two limiting numbers, o and i,
lies the number (a proper fraction) which
measures the probability of any undecided
event. An important extension of the theory
is that the probability of two independent
events both occurring is measured by the
product of their separate probabilities. The
most important of all the applications of thr
theory of probability is in the calculation uf
life insurances and annuities. During the
early part of the i.Xth century the celebrated
London mathematician I)e Moivrc construct-
ed a formula of great simplicity which is
still available, although largely superseded
by elaborate 'tables of mortality' which have
since been compiled in all commercial coun-
tries. Some of the higher applications of the
doctrine of probability require a knowledge
of the infinitesimal calculus, and are of in-
terest only to experts.

Probang, in surgery, an instrument used
to force foreign bodies into th« stomach
when they are fixed in the esophagus so as
to cause choking.

Probate, the* proof of a will before a proper
court. Upon the death of a person leaving
a will, it is the duty of the person or persons
therein named as executors to offer the will
for probate. In most of the United States
separate courts, known as Surrogate's or
Probate Courts, are maintained for this pur-
pose. When the will is offered, a citation or
notice is issued, directed to all the heirs and
next of kin of the deceased who would have
taken his property if he had died intestate,
announcing the day on which the will is to
be probated, if no objection is made* On
th: day mentioned, the parties thus cited,
or any of them, may appear and object to
the probate of the will on various grounds.
If no objections nre interposed to the pro-
bate* or if the objections arc finally dismissed
and the will declared a valid instrument,
it is admitted to probate. See ADMINISTRA-
TOR; EXECUTOR; Witt.

Probate Court Is a tribunal exercising jur«<