KFLCC Kingdom Law 2nd Ed.

CONTEMPT OP CONGRESS

258

CONTINENOIA

for his indemnity. But criminal contempts are offenses or injuries offered to the court, and a fine or imprisonment is imposed upon the con temnor for the purpose of punishment. Wyatt v. People, 17 Colo. 252, 28 Pac. 961; People v. McKane, 78 Hun, 154, 28 N. Y. Supp. 981; Schreiber v. Mfg. Co., 18 App. Div. 158, 45 N. Y. Supp. 442; Eaton Rapids v. Horner, 126 Mich 52, 85 N. W. 264; In re Nevitt, 117 Fed. 448, 54 C. C. A. 622; State v. Shepherd, 177 Mo. 205, 76 S. W. 79, 99 Am. St. Rep. 624. CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS, LEGIS LATURE, or PARLIAMENT. Whatever obstructs or tends to obstruct the due course of proceeding of either house, or grossly reflects on the character of a member of ei ther house, or imputes to him what it would be a libel to impute to an ordinary person, is a contempt of the house, and thereby a breach of privilege. Sweet CONTEMPTIBIIilTER. La t Con temptuously. In old English law. Contempt, con tempts. Fleta, lib. 2, c. 60, § 35. CONTENTIOUS. Contested; adversary; litigated between adverse or contending par ties; a judicial proceeding not merely ex parte in its character, but comprising attack and defense as between opposing parties, is so called. The litigious proceedings in ecclesi astical courts are sometimes said to belong to its "contentious" jurisdiction, in contradis tinction to what is called its "voluntary" ju risdiction, which is exercised in the grant ing of licenses, probates of wills, dispensa tions, faculties, etc. —Contentions jurisdiction. In English ec clesiastical law. That branch of the jurisdic tion of the ecclesiastical courts which is exer cised upon adversary or contentions proceedings. —Contentions possession. In stating the rule that the possession of land necessary to give rise to a title by prescription must be a "contentious" one t it is meant that it must be based on opposition to the title of the rival claimant (not in recognition thereof or subordi nation thereto) and that the opposition must be based on good grounds, or such as might be made the subject of litigation. Railroad Co. v. McFarlan, 43 N. J. LAW, 621. CONTENTMENT, CONTENEMENT. A man's countenance or credit, which' he has together with, and by reason of, his freehold; or that which is necessary for the support and maintenance of men, agreeably to their several qualities or states of Ufa Wharton; Cowell. CONTENTS. The contents of a promis sory note or other commercial instrument or chose in action means the specific sum nam ed therein and payable by the terms of the Instrument. Trading Co. v. Morrison, 178 U. S. 262, 20 Sup. Ct 869, 44 L. Ed. 1061; Sere v. Pitot, 6 Oranch, 335, 3 L. Ed. 240; Simons v. Paper Co. (C. C.) 33 Fed. 195; Barney y. Bank, 2 Fed. Cas. 894; Corbin v. Black Hawk County, 105 U. S. 659, 26 L. Ed. 1136. —Contents and not contents. In parlia mentary law. The "contents" are those who,

in the house of lords, express assent to a bill; the "not" or "non contents" dissent. May, Pari. Law, cc. 12, 357.—"Contents unknown." Words sometimes annexed to a bill of lading of goods in cases. Their meaning is that the mas ter only means to acknowledge the shipment, in good order, of the cases, as to their external condition. Clark v. Barnwell, 12 How. 273, 13 L. Ed. 985; Miller v. Railroad Co., 90 N. T. 433, 43 Am. Rep. 179; The Columbo, 6 Fed. Cas. 178. adjoin ing; having a common boundary; cotermi*- nous. CONTEST. To make defense to an ad verse claim in a court of law; to oppose, re sist, or dispute the case made by a plaintiff. Pratt v. Breckinridge, 112 Ky. 1, 65 S. W. 136; Parks v. State, 100 Ala. 634, 13 South. 756. —Contestation of suit. In an ecclesiastical cause, that stage of the suit which is reached when the defendant has answered the libel by giving in an allegation.—Contested election. This phrase has no technical or legally defined meaning. An election may be said to be con tested whenever an objection is formally urged against it which, if found to be true in fact, would invalidate it This is true both as to ob jections founded upon some constitutional pro vision and to such as are based on statutes. Robertson v. State, 109 Ind. 116, 10 N. E. 600. Roman law. Contestation of suit; the framing an issue; joinder in issue. The formal act of both the parties with which the proceedings in jure were closed when they led to a ju dicial investigation, and by which the neigh bors whom the parties brought with them were called to testify. Mackeld. Rom. Law, S 219. In old English law. Coming to an issue; the issue so produced. Crabb, Eng. Law, 216. Contestatio litis eget terminos contra dictarios. An issue requires terms of con tradiction. Jenk. Cent. 117. To constitute an issue, there must be an affirmative on one side and a negative on the other. CONTEXT. The context of a particular sentence or clause in a statute, contract will, etc., comprises those parts of the text which immediately precede and follow it. The con text may sometimes be scrutinized, to aid in the interpretation of an obscure passage. CONTIGUOUS. In close proximity; in actual close contact Touching; bounded or traversed by. The term is not synonymous with "vicinal." Plaster Co. v. Campbell, 89 Va. 396, 16 S. E. 274; Bank v. Hopkins, 47 Kan. 580, 28 Pac. 606, 27 Am. St Rep. 309; Raxedale v. Seip, 32 La. Ann. 435; Arkell v. Insurance Co., 69 N. Y. 191, 25 Am. Rep. 168. CONTINENCIA. In Spanish law. Con tinency or unity of the proceedings in a cause. White, New Recop. b. 3, tit. 6,c,l CONTERMINOUS. Adjacent; CONTESTATIO LITIS. In