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STAMFORD, an ancient town of England, in Lincolnshire ,26 miles N. of Huntingdon , and 96 N. by \V. of London.

Stamford, a town of Connecticut, in Fairfield county , a fewmiles N. of Long Island .

Stamford, or Stanford, a town of Kentucky , the capital ofLincoln county, 10 miles S.S.E. of Danville, and 40 S. by \V. otLexington.

STAMINA,in the animal-body, are those simple original partswhich existed first in the embryo or the seed, and by whose dis-tinction, augmentation, ami accretion by additional juices, the ani-mal-body at its utmost bulk is supposed to be formed.

Stamina, in botany, are those upright filaments, which, onopening a flower, we find within the corolla surrounding the pis-tillum. They are the male organs of generation, and prepare thepollen. Each stamen consists of two parts, viz. the lilamentumand the anthera. See Botany .

STAMP-ACT, an unpopular act of the British parliament,the resistance to which, and its principle, even after it was re-pealed, gave rise to the American war, and consequent revolu-tion.

Stamp-Duties, or Duties on Stamps , a branch of the per-petual revenue. See Revenue. In Great Britain there is a taximposed upon all parchment and paper, whereon any legal pro-ceedings or private instruments ot almost any nature whatsoeverare written ; and also upon licences for retailing wines of all deno-minations; upon all almanacs, newspapers, advertisements, cards,dice, &c. These imposts are very various, being higher or lower,not so much according to the value of the properly .transferred, asaccording to the nature of the deed. The highest do not exceedsix pounds upon every sheet of paper or skin of parchment; andthese high duties fall chiefly upon grants from the crown, and uponcertain law-proceedings, without any regard to the value of thesubject. There are in Great Britain no duties on the registrationof deeds or writings, except the fees of the officers w ho keep theregister, and these are seldom more than a reasonable recompencefor their labour. The crown derives no revenue from them.The stamp-duties constitute a tax which, though in some instancesit may be heavily felt, by greatly increasing the expence of allmercantile as well as legal proceedings, vet (if moderately iin-posed) is of service to the public in general, by authenticating in-struments, and rendering it much more difficult than formerly toforge deeds of any standing; since, as the officers of this branchof the revenue vary their stamps frequently, by marks perceptibleto none but themselves, a man who had forged a deed in kingWilliam’s time, must know and be able to counterfeit the stampof that date also. In some other countries the duty is laid on thecontract itself, not on the instrument in which it is contained; as,in England (besides the stamps on the indentures), a tax is laid,by statute 8 Ann. cap. 9, on every apprentice-fee ; of 6 d. in thepound if it be 50/. or under, and l.v. in the pound if a greatersum: but this tends to draw the subject into a thousand nice dis-quisitions and disputes concerning the nature of this contract, andwhether taxable or not; in which the farmers of the revenue takethe advantage, Our general method answers the purposes of thestate as well, and consults the ease of the subject much better.The first institution of the stamp-duties was by statute 5 and 0 W.and M. c. 21, and they have since, in many, been increased tofive times their original amount.

STAMPALIA , ar STAMPALIO, an island of the GrecianArchipelago, It) miles long and 5 broad, 37 miles from Natolia ,60 W. of Rhodes, and 90 N'. of Candia.

STAMP-MASTER, an officer under government, who liasthe care of the stamp-duties.

Stamp-Master is also a title of a numerous body of officers,one of whom at least is placed in each manufacturing town, to su-perintend the linen-manufacture, and see the pieces properlystamped, that justice may be done to the public.

STANCHi(), an island in the Grecian Archipelago , ancientlycalled Coos, or Cos; famous for being the birth-place of Hippo-crates, the physician, Apelles, the painter, and Philetas , thepoet.

Stanchio , the capital of the above island, 12 miles from thecoast ot Natolia , 12 N. E. of Stampalio, and 40 N. W. ofR horles.

STANCHION, [ci/miyon, Fr.] a prop ; a support. Stan-chions are small pillars of wood or iron,used for various purposes,

in a ship ; as to support the decks, the quarter-rails, the netlings,the awnings, &c. The first of these are two ranges of small co-lumns fixed under the beams, throughout, the ship’s length be-tween decks; one range being on the starboard and the other onthe larboard side of the hatchways. They are chiefly intended tosupport the weight of the artillery.

STAND, in commerce, a weight, from two hundred and a halfto three hundred, of pitch.

STANDARD, in war, is a sort of banner or flag, carried as asignal for joining together the several troops belonging to the samebody.

Standard, in commerce, the original of a weight, measure, orcoin, committed to the keeping of a magistrate, or deposited insome public place, to regulate, adjust, and try, the weights usedby particular persons in traffic. See Money.

Standard, is used among goldsmiths synonymously with ster-ling ; thus standard or sterling gold or silver, means gold or silverof equal purity with the gold or silver coin of Great Britain.

STANDLOW, or STANDON, a town in Hertfordshire , Smiles N.E. of .Hertford, and 27 N. of London . Lon. 0. 5. E.Lat. 51. 50. N.

STANHOPE, George , D.D. an eminent divine born at Her-tishorn, in Derbyshire , in 1660. His lather was rector of thatplace, vicar of St. Margaret’s church in Leicester , and chaplainto the earls of Chesterfield and Clare. His grandfather, Dr.George Stanhope, was chaplain to James I. and Charles I. chan-cellor, canon-residentiary, and a prebend of York, and was rectorof Wcldrake. He was for his loyalty driven from his home witheleven children ; and died in 1644. Our author was sent toschool, first atUppinghani, in Rutland, then at Leicester ; afterwardsremoved to Eaton; and thence chosen to King’s College in Cam-bridge . lie took the degree of B.A. in 1681 ; A.M. 1658, waselected minister of Qoi, near Cambridge , and vice-proctor 1688,and rector of Tring in Hertfordshire . He was in 1689, ap-[ pointed vicar of Lewisham , in Kent, by lord Dartmouth, towhom he had been chaplain. He was also appointed chaplainto William and Mary , and continued under queen Anne. Hecommenced D.D. July 5. 1697: and was made vicar of Deptfordand dean ot Canterbury in 1703; thrice chosen prolocutor of thelower house of convocation. He was endowed with excellentparts, and acquired a large stock of learning, with the purest dic-tion, and a just elocution. 'Flic character of the Christian and gen-tleman in him were happily united. He died March 18, 1728,aged 68. The dean was twice married: 1. to Olivia Cotton, bywhom he had one son and four daughters: 2. to a sister of SirCharles Wager , who survived him, till Oct. 1, 1730, aged 54.One of his daughters was married to a son of bishop Burnet. Hiswritings are, A Paraphrase and Comment upon the Epistles andGospels, 4 vols. 1705, 8vo: Sermons at Boyle’s Lectures, 1706,4to: 15 Sermons, 1700, 8vo: 12 Sermons, 1727, 8vo. Parson’sChristian Directory, 1716, 8vo, A Funeral-Sermon on Mr-Richard Stare bookseller, 1724, 4lo: 20 Sermons, between 1692and 1724. Private Prayers translated from the Greek of BishopAndrews, with Additions , 1730. He also published editions otEpictetus , Thomas a Kcmpis, and Rochefoucault.

Stanuoi’k, Phii.if Dormer, earl of Chesterfield, was born in1695, and educated in Trinity Hall, Cambridge ; which place heleft in 1714, when, by his own account, be was an absolute p c "dant. In this character he went abroad, where a familiarity wifi*good company soon convinced him he was totally mistaken 111almost all iiis notions: and an attentive study of the air, manner*and address, of the people of fashion, soon polished a man who- 6predominant desire was to please; and who, as it afterward ap'peared, valued exterior accomplishments beyond any other I’ 1 'man acquirement. While Lord Stanhope, he got an early seil ,in parliament; and in 1722, succeeded to his father’s estate an^titles. In 1728, ami in 1745, he was appointed ambassador exb' 11 'ordinary and plenipotentiary to Holland: which high character hsupported with the greatest‘dignity; serving his own country, ®n‘gaining the esteem of the states general. Upon his returnHolland, he was sent lord-lieutenant of Ireland ; and duringadministration there, gave general satisfaction to all parties. }left Dublin in 1746, and in October succeeded the earl of H®.rington as secretary of state, ill which post lie officiated until_T*.j6, 1748. Being seized with a deafness in 1752 that incapacity (ehim for the pleasures of society, lie from that lime led a l ,rl ' a ‘ ))C j