settlers (see Capt. W.
Alien, R.N., and T. R. H. Thomson, M.D., _A Narrative of the Expedition ...
to the River Niger in 1841_, London, 1848). After purchasing the site, and
concluding a treaty with the Fula emir of Nupe, he proceeded to clear the
ground, build houses, form enclosures and pave the way for a future city.
Numbers flocked to him from all neighbouring districts, and in his
settlement were representatives of almost all the tribes of West-Central
Africa. To the motley commonwealth thus formed he acted not merely as
ruler, but also as physician, teacher and priest. In less than five years
he had opened up the navigation of the Niger, made roads, and established a
market to which the native produce was brought for sale and barter. He had
also collected vocabularies of nearly fifty African dialects, and
translated portions of the Bible and prayer-book into Hausa. Once only
during his residence had he to employ armed force against the surrounding
tribes. While on his way home, on leave of absence, he died at Sierra Leone
on the 30th of November 1864. He had done much to establish British
influence on the Niger, but after his death the British government
abolished the consulate (1866), and it was through private enterprise that
some twenty years later the district where Baikie had worked so
successfully was finally secured for Great Britain (see NIGERIA).

Baikie's _Observations on the Hausa and Fulfulde_ (_i.e._ Fula) _Languages_
was privately printed in 1861, and his translation of the Psalms into Hausa
was published by the Bible Society in 1881. He was also the author of
various works concerning Orkney and Shetland. A monument to his memory was
placed in the nave of the ancient cathedral of St Magnus, Kirkwall.

BAIL,[1] in English common law, the freeing or setting at liberty of one
arrested or imprisoned upon any action, either civil or criminal, on surety
taken for his appearance on a certain day and at a place named. The surety
is termed bail, because the person arrested or imprisoned is placed in the
custody of those who bind themselves or become bail for his due appearance
when required. So he may be released by them if they suspect that he is
about to escape and surrendered to the court, when they are discharged from
further liability. The sureties must be sufficient in the opinion of the
court, and, as a rule, only householders are accepted; in criminal cases
the solicitor or an accomplice of the person