earthquakes by various kinds of seismograph. One single instrument at a
particular station, e.g. a Milne seismograph, will enable the distance of
the epicentre to be calculated. From the results of three stations, the
precise locality can practically always be told. With additional or
particular forms of instruments, this may even be possible by means of the
records at one station. Earthquake waves are found to consist of distinctly
defined types. The first to arrive are the preliminary tremors or
first-phase waves, then the second-phase waves, next the third-phase or
large waves, and lastly the concluding waves, consisting largely of
'echoes' or reflected vibrations. The speed of the preliminary tremors is
found to be only about 2 miles per second for very short distances, but for
a quadrant of the earth's surface they travel at an average of about 7
miles per second, a speed which is only slightly exceeded for still greater
distances. The second-phase waves travel with a little under two-thirds of
these velocities. These two classes of wave have been proved to travel
through the earth, approximately along chords, but with the path slightly
bent, convex towards the earth's centre. The first-phase waves are
longitudinal, or waves of compression; the second-phase are transverse, or
waves of distortion. The greater speed for greater distances is due to the
track being more through the earth's interior and less through its outer
portions, as the interior transmits wave-motion much more rapidly than the
crust. The rigidity at some depth from the surface has been shown to be of
the same order of magnitude as the rigidity of steel. The third-phase waves
are of much longer vibration period and wide amplitude, and have been
compared to a groundswell on the sea. Their time of passage from the
epicentre to any place is proportional to the distance measured round the
earth's surface, and it is clear that they travel on the surface, and not
through the interior. Their speed is nearly 2 miles per second. The
difference in time between the arrival of the preliminary tremors at any
station and the arrival of the second-phase waves, or between the
second-phase and third-phase waves, enables the distance of the epicentre
to be easily found, as these differences, of course, become greater with
increasing distance.
The number of earthquakes has been found to be enormously greater than was
at one time supposed; in fact, small tremors are occurring daily in one
part or another of the earth. Great and destructive shocks are generally
preceded by minor shocks in the same district, and they are always followed
for months afterwards by a series of gradually lessening after-shocks.
Among the most remarkable earthquakes of modern times were those which
destroyed Lima in 1746, and Lisbon in 1755; more recently destructive
earthquakes visited Calabria in 1857, Peru and Ecuador in 1868, the Island
of Ischia in 1884, Japan in 1896, North India and Calabria in 1905, San
Francisco in 1906, Messina and Reggio in 1908. One of the greatest
earthquakes of recent times was that which visited the provinces of Kansu
and Shensi in North-West China, on 16th Dec., 1920. (See
_Seismograph_.)--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Milne, _Earthquakes and other
Earth-Movements_; C. Davison, _A Study of Recent Earthquakes_; C. G. Knott,
_The Physics of Earthquake Phenomena_.
EARTHS, a term applied in geology to certain loosely aggregated siliceous
and aluminous materials, the detritus of pre-existing rocks. In chemistry
the term earth is given to certain metallic oxides, such as the 'alkaline
earths' lime, baryta, and strontia; also to alumina and a series known as
the 'rare earths'. The earths were regarded as simple bodies until Sir H.
Davy proved them to be compounds of oxygen with metals.
EARTH-SHINE, in astronomy, a name given to the faint light visible on the
part of the moon not directly illuminated by the sun, due to the
illumination of that portion by the sunlight which the earth reflects on
her. It is most conspicuous when the illuminated part of the disc is small,
as soon after new moon. This phenomenon is popularly described as 'the old
moon in the new moon's arms'.
EARTH-TONGUE. See _Geoglossum_.
EARTHWORKS (in fortification) are military works formed chiefly of earth
and designed either as permanent or temporary defences. They are cheaper,
more easily repaired, and expose their defenders to less risk from broken
stone than stone-works. See _Entrenchments_.
EARTHWORM, the name applied to segmented worms (Annelids) that burrow in
the soil, and belong to the ord. Oligochaeta, a subdivision of the
bristle-worms (Chaetopoda). They have a long, cylindrical body, divided by
transverse furrows into numerous rings. The mouth is destitute of jaws, and
they have no eyes, tentacles, or other head appendages. They are
hermaphrodite. The commonest British forms are chiefly species of Lumbricus
and Allolobophora. They feed on earth and various kinds of animal and
vegetable matter, and move by the contractions of successive parts of the
body aided by a double row of bristles. They are of great service to the
agriculturist by loosening the soil and increasing its depth. This is
chiefly the result of their mode of nourishment, since they deposit the
soil they have swallowed, after digestion, in heaps called _worm castings_
which bring up rich fine soil to the surface, gradually covering the upper
layer sometimes to the extent of several inches.
EAR-TRUMPET, an artificial instrument for aiding the collection of the
vibrations or waves of sound, and carrying them in an intensified form to
the internal parts of the ear. They are generally made of tin, vulcanite,
or gutta-percha, and are of various forms. A small kind known as
ear-cornets or acoustic auricles, attached to the ear by a spring, is
sometimes used in slight cases of deafness.
[Illustration: Earwig (_Forfic[)u]la auricularia_). Male and female]
EARWIG (_Forfic[)u]la_), a common orthopterous insect whose name is derived
from its supposed habit of insinuating itself into the ears of persons.
This is practically impossible, yet the notion is widely spread, as appears
from the names given to the earwig in different languages, as in Fr.
_perceoreille_ (pierce-ear), in Ger. _ohrenh[:o]hler_ (ear-borer). Much
damage is sustained by gardeners from the depredations of these insects
among fruit and tender vegetables, which constitute their proper food. The
earwig is about three-quarters of an inch in length, having the wings
folded under very short and truncate elytra or wing-cases, and the
extremity of the abdomen armed with a horny forceps.
EASEMENT, in law, a right or privilege which one proprietor may have to use
the land of another in connection with the needs of his own land, as the
use of a way, a water-course, &c. The right to an easement may be acquired
either by grant or by uninterrupted enjoyment for a period of years.
EAST, one of the four cardinal points, being the point in the heavens where
the sun is seen to rise at the equinox, or the corresponding point on the
earth; that point of the horizon lying on the right hand when one's face is
turned towards the north pole. By _the East_, in an indefinite sense, is
often meant Syria, Arabia, Persia, India, and the eastern part of the world
generally.
EASTBOURNE, a municipal borough and flourishing watering-place of England,
county of Sussex, on the English Channel, near Beachy Head; also a
parliamentary division of Sussex. The town is handsomely built, having fine
parades and well-planted walks and drives. Pop. 52,544.
EAST CAPE, the most easterly point of Asia, projecting into Behring's
Strait nearly opposite Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska.
EASTER, the festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ, observed in
the Roman Catholic, the Greek, Anglican, Lutheran, and other branches of
the Christian Church. By the first Christians it was considered to continue
the feast of the _passover_, at which the paschal lamb, a type of Christ,
was sacrificed. Hence its name in Greek (_pascha_), French (_p[^a]ques_),
and other Romance languages is taken from the Hebrew _pesach_, passover.
The English name, according to the Venerable Bede, comes from the
Anglo-Saxon _Eostre_ (from Teutonic _Austr[=o]_), a goddess of light or
spring, whose festival was celebrated in April. There was long a dispute in
the Christian Church as to the proper time for holding Easter, the
Christians of the East celebrating it on the same day as that on which the
Jewish passover fell, that is, the 14th of Nisan (hence they were called
_quarto decimani_), while the majority of the Church celebrated it on the
Sunday next after this day. The controversy was decided by the Council of
Nice (Nicaea) in 325, which settled that it was to be reckoned as at
present, namely, that Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon which
happens upon or next after the 21st of March; and if the full moon happens
on a Sunday, Easter-day is the Sunday after, but, properly speaking, for
the 'full moon' in the above the 'fourteenth day of the moon' should be
substituted.--Cf. Sir J. G. Frazer, _The Golden Bough_.
EASTER DUES, or OFFERINGS, in the Church of England, certain dues paid to
the parochial clergy by the parishioners at Easter as a compensation for
the tithe for personal labour.
EASTER EGGS. The egg was anciently a symbol of the mother goddess and of
birth: the sun emerged from the cosmic egg. The Saxon goddess Easter was a
life-giver. On Easter Day, the day of Christ's resurrection, eggs (Pasche
eggs) were dyed in symbolic colours, and boiled hard to be rolled or used
in egg-breaking contests. The Jews have eggs at the Passover Feast.
EASTER ISLAND, or RAPANUI (discovered by the Dutch Admiral Roggeven, on
Easter, 6th April, 1722), an island, 12 miles long, in the South Pacific
Ocean, long. 109deg 17' W., lat. 27deg 6' S., and utilized for grazing
sheep and cattle. It now belongs to Chile, from which it is 2000 miles
distant. Pop. 250 in 1916. The Routledge Expedition reported, in 1919, that
the inhabitants are of mixed Polynesian and Melanesian origin. Their
ancient bird-cult shows very close resemblances to that of the Solomon
Islands. Numerous gigantic stone images of a soft 'volcanic ash' were being
worshipped when the island was first visited by Europeans in the eighteenth
century. Some still lie partly constructed in a crater quarry. These images
date back a few centuries, and resemble those made until recently in wood
on this island and elsewhere in Oceania, and bear symbols used on these and
in tattooing. Local legends of the earliest settlements from distant
islands and of local tribal wars still survive. The present inhabitants are
undoubtedly descendants of the image-makers and worshippers. Cf. K.
Routledge, _The Mystery of Easter Island_.
EASTERN BENGAL AND ASSAM, a province of India, under a Lieutenant-Governor,
formed in 1905 by disjoining from Bengal the three divisions of Chittagong,
Dacca, and Rajshahi (with the exception of Darjeeling) and uniting Assam
with them, as also the state of Cooch Behar. It was formed in order to
provide for the better government both of the area belonging to it and of
that of Bengal, which was regarded as having become rather unwieldy, its
population being still 54 millions. On 1st April, 1912, however, Assam was
separated from Eastern Bengal and reconstituted. Its area is about 53,000
sq. miles, and the pop. nearly 6,750,000.
EASTERN CHURCHES, a collective term for the Greek, Armenian, Coptic,
Abyssinian, Syrian, and other kindred Churches, as distinguished from the
Latin, or Western Church.
EASTERN QUESTION, THE, an international political problem which occupied
the attention of European statesmen during the last two centuries, and even
since 1453, when the Turks established their empire and gained sway over
the Balkans. It deals with the relations of the Balkan nationalities,
Turkey, and the Great Powers to each other. Russia, Germany, Austria,
Greece, France, Italy, and Great Britain were all interested in the Near
East and in the Eastern Question ever since the Treaty of Kutshuk-Kainardji
in 1774. The Levantine commerce and the Mediterranean ports were, and still
are, of vital importance not only to Russia, but also to the Balkan States
and to the neighbouring European powers. The occupation of Egypt by Great
Britain, the Russo-Turkish War of 1878, the proclamation of Bulgaria's
independence, the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria in 1908,
all contributed to the complication of the Eastern Question. This
complication was further increased by Italy's occupation of Tripoli in
1911, by the Balkan Wars (1912-3), and by the construction of the Bagdad
Railway with the aid of German capital. It is no exaggeration to say that
the Eastern Question was one of the causes which led to the outbreak of the
European War of 1914. The Peace Treaties of Versailles, S[`e]vres, and St.
Germain have not yet settled the Eastern Question, and the peace in the
Near East is still a problem which occupies the attention of European
diplomatists.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. A. Phillips, _Modern Europe_; R. W. Seton
Watson, _The Rise of Nationality in the Balkans_.
EASTERN RUMELIA. See _Bulgaria_.
EASTER TERM, one of the four regular terms of the courts of common law in
England, beginning on the 19th April, and continuing till the middle or end
of May.--In Oxford University, a term beginning 13th April, ending 27th
May; in Cambridge, beginning 18th April, and ending 24th June.
[Illustration: Silver Rupee of East India Company, 1675]
EAST INDIA COMPANY, a great English company, originally simply a trading
association, which played an important part in the history of Hindustan. It
was formed in 1599 in London, with a subscribed capital of about L30,000,
for the purpose of trade with the East Indies. A charter was granted to it
by Queen Elizabeth on 31st December, 1600, for fifteen years, renewable for
a similar period. In this charter the Company is styled, "The Governor and
Company of the Merchants of London trading into the East Indies". The first
voyages resulted in large profits. In 1609 the charter was renewed by James
I, and made perpetual, reserving power to the Crown to recall it at three
years' notice. Additional power was granted to the Company of seizing and
confiscating ships and goods of contraband traders, either in the British
dominions or in any of the places where they were authorized to trade.
Among the motives which had induced the Company to press for this renewal
of their charter was the necessity they had experienced from the jealousy
of the Dutch and Portuguese to send out vessels fitted not only for trade,
but for defence and indeed attack. Accordingly Captain Best, who commanded
the eighth expedition, attacked four Portuguese war galleons, convoying 200
sail of merchantmen, off Surat, and gained a complete victory, which so
impressed the Great Mogul that he immediately made a treaty with Captain
Best, giving the English full liberty to trade in his dominions. This
treaty was concluded on 6th Feb., 1613. It was followed at once by a
resolution of the Company to trade on a joint-stock. L429,000 was raised as
capital, and apportioned in fitting out four voyages for 1613, 1614, 1615,
1617. In 1617 and 1618 the Company was so enlarged as to include 954
proprietors, while a new joint-stock of L1,600,000 was subscribed. In 1619
a treaty was made with the Dutch, by which the two companies were to work
in harmony for twenty years; but in 1629 the Dutch massacred the leading
members of the English factory at Amboyna. In the feeble reigns of James
and Charles I, however, the outrage remained unredressed, and the English
Company, ill supported by the Crown, was often reduced to great straits.
Their trade, impeded by the Dutch, became unprofitable, and, to add to
their difficulties, Charles I in 1635 gave a licence to a rival company. At
length, under Cromwell, the Company received a new charter. A territorial
footing had been acquired in Madras in 1640, to which settlement was given
the control of all the factories in Bengal and the Coromandel coast, the
Supreme Council in India still remaining at Surat. A new charter, granted
by Charles II in 1660, enlarged the powers of the Company, giving it
political and judicial authority in the factories and colonies established
by it, with the right to appoint governors. On the Revolution of 1688 the
Company was involved in new difficulties, and in 1692 the Commons presented
an address to the Crown praying for their dissolution. At this time, by an
accidental failure to pay a tax upon their stock, the Company formally
forfeited their charter, and were compelled to accept its renewal with the
important proviso of a reservation to the Crown of the right to alter or
modify its conditions. The maximum stock to be held by any individual was
fixed at L10,000, every L1000 of which was to give a vote, while the right
of membership was thrown open to all British subjects. The Scottish
Parliament also sanctioned a company, but a war with Spain and the bitter
opposition of the English Parliament made difficulties under which this
company succumbed. Meantime the misconduct of the English company had so
strengthened its enemies that, in spite of all its opposition, a resolution
in favour of the formation of a new company passed the House of Commons on
4th May, 1698, and this company was actually constituted by Act 9 William
III cap. xliv. This Act provided for the extinction of the old company, but
an amalgamation was eventually arranged in 1708. The possessions of the old
company at the time of amalgamation, upon which the valuation of L330,000
was placed in 1700, included a large number of places in India, a footing
having been by this time acquired in each of the three presidencies,
besides possessions in Persia, Cochin-China, and Sumatra. The dividends of
the Company rose rapidly after the amalgamation, and finally settled at 8
per cent; and it procured without difficulty, at various periods, a
prolongation of its exclusive privileges until 1780, still with three
years' notice. In the meantime the French possessions had, as well as the
English, been growing in power and importance in the East, and on the
outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession in 1741 commenced those
struggles (Clive being the first great English leader) by which a
mercantile company was led on to establish British supremacy over nearly
the whole of India. In 1766 the right of the Company to acquire territorial
possessions formed a subject of parliamentary inquiry; and the question of
the political rights of the Company being thus opened up, the ministry
began to act on their view of it by sending out a Crown plenipotentiary to
India. A regulating Act was passed in 1773 remodelling the powers of the
Company, and placing it completely under the control of Parliament,
providing for the establishment by the Crown of courts of judicature in
India. The charter, which expired in 1780, was renewed till 1791. The
Renewal Act provided that the Company, which was already bound to submit to
the Government all dispatches received from India, should submit for
approval all dispatches proposed to be transmitted thither. In 1784 another
Act established a board, afterwards known as the Board of Control, to
superintend, direct, and control all acts, operations, and concerns
relating to the civil and military government or revenues of India. The
board was to consist of a principal Secretary of State, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and four Privy Councillors nominated by the Crown. The
directors of the Company were bound to submit all their papers except those
referring to commercial matters to this board, and obey its instructions.
From this time the political power of the Company was little more than
nominal. While the right of nominating the servants of the Company was
still left to the directors, the absolute right of recall was vested in the
Crown. A subsequent Declaratory Bill regulated the power of the Board of
Control to send out troops at the expense of the Company. In 1813 the
charter was renewed on condition that the right of exclusive trade should
be restricted to China, while the India trade should be thrown open to all
British subjects. A Church establishment for India was also provided by
this Act. The appointment of governors-general, governors, and
commanders-in-chief was no longer to be valid without the direct sanction
of the Crown. The renewal of the Company's charter in 1834 took place amid
continued opposition to their mercantile, and even to their legislative
privileges. It continued them in all their possessions except the Island of
St. Helena, put an end to the exclusive right of trade with China, and
enacted that the Company should with all convenient speed close their
commercial business, and make sale of all their property not retained for
Government purposes; all their other property was to be held in trust for
the Crown, which was to take over their debts and guarantee their dividend
out of the revenues of India. The stock was valued at L6,000,000, which was
to bear interest at 10 per cent, and be redeemable after 30th April, 1874,
on payment of L12,000,000. The Company was now fairly in liquidation, and
on the outbreak of the mutiny of 1857 it was felt indispensable to vest the
government of India directly in the Crown, and this was accordingly done in
1858. Henceforth the Company existed only for the purpose of receiving
payment of its capital, and of the dividends due upon capital until its
repayment.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Bruce, _Annals of the East India Company_; Sir
W. W. Hunter, _History of British India_; W. Cunningham, _Growth of English
Industry and Trade in Modern Times_; J. Macpherson, _The History and
Management of the East India Company_; W. Foster and F. C. Danvers,
_Letters received by the East India Company from its Servants in the East_
(6 vols.).
EAST INDIES, the name loosely applied to Hindustan, the Indo-Chinese
peninsula, and a portion of the Eastern Archipelago, but excluding the
Philippine Islands, New Guinea, and Australia.
EASTLAKE, Sir Charles Lock, English painter, president of the Royal
Academy, born at Plymouth 17th Nov., 1793, died at Pisa 23rd Dec., 1865. He
studied at the Royal Academy, London, and at Paris. In 1817 he visited
Italy and Greece, and painted besides other pictures his _Pilgrims arriving
in Sight of Rome_. In 1830 he was elected member of the Royal Academy, and
in 1850 became its president, receiving at the same time the honour of
knighthood. From 1843 to 1847 he was keeper of the National Gallery, of
which he was afterwards director for about ten years. Sir Charles is also
known as a writer on art by his _Materials for a History of Oil-painting_.
Among his most noteworthy pictures are: _Lord Byron's Dream_ (in the Tate
Gallery), _Greek Fugitives_, _Escape of the Carrara Family_, _Christ
blessing Little Children_, _Christ lamenting over Jerusalem_.
EAST LONDON, a seaport on the east coast of Cape Province, at the mouth of
the Buffalo River, now an important outlet for the produce of this region,
connected by railway with Cape Town. Pop. 20,867.
EAST MAIN, a considerable river of Canada, having a westward course to
James Bay, the southern extension of Hudson Bay, and forming the boundary
between Quebec province and Ungava territory.
EASTON, a city of Pennsylvania, United States, at the junction of the
Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, 75 miles S.W. of New York. It contains
iron-foundries, tanneries, and breweries. Pop. 32,000.
EAST RIVER, a strait in New York State, separating New York from Brooklyn
and connecting Long Island Sound with New York Bay, about 20 miles long.
The Brooklyn Bridge, and the Williamsburg, Queensboro, and Manhattan
Bridges now cross the river.