ogium Phoenix Triangulum australe
*Centaurus *Hydra Pictor Vela
*Cetus Hydrus (Equuleus Volans
Chameleon Indus pictoris) (Piscis volans)
Circinus Lepus Piscis australis
(C. E.*)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The historical development of star-catalogues in general, regarded
as statistics of the co-ordinates, &c., of stars, is given in the
historical section of the article Astronomy. See also E. B. Knobel,
"Chronology of Star Catalogues," _Mem. R.A.S._ (1877).

CONSTIPATION (from Lat. _constipare_, to press closely together, whence
also the adjective "costive"), the condition of body when the faeces are
unduly retained, or there is difficulty in evacuation, tightness of the
bowels (see Digestive Organs; and Therapeutics). It may be due to
constitutional peculiarities, sedentary or irregular habits, improper
diet, &c. The treatment varies with individual cases, according to the
cause at work, laxatives, dieting, massage, &c., being prescribed.

CONSTITUENCY (from "constituent," that which forms a necessary part of a
thing; Lat. _constituere_, to create), a political term for the body of
electors who choose a representative for parliament or for any other
public assembly, for the place or district possessing the right to elect
a representative, and for the residents generally, apart from their
voting powers, in such a locality. The term is also applied, in a
transferred sense, to the readers of a particular newspaper, the
customers of a business and the like.

CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. The word constitution
(_constitutio_) in the time of the Roman empire signified a collection
of laws or ordinances made by the emperor. We find the word used in the
same sense in the early history of English law, _e.g._ the Constitutions
of Clarendon. In its modern use constitution has been restricted to
those rules which concern the political structure of society. If we take
the accepted definition of a law as a command imposed by a sovereign on
the subject, the constitution would consist of the rules which point out
where the sovereign is to be found, the form in which his powers are
exercised, and the relations of the different members of the sovereign
body to each other where it consists of more persons than