Act 1899 are other codes of law designed for incorporation in special

acts creating companies for the construction of railways or the supply

of water, gas or electric light. A distinguishing feature of these

companies is that, being sanctioned by the legislature for undertakings

of public utility, the policy of the law will not allow them to be

broken up or destroyed by creditors. It gives creditors only a

charge--by a receiver--on the earnings of the undertaking--the "fruit of

the tree."

_3. British Companies Abroad._

The status of British companies trading abroad, so far as Germany,

France, Belgium, Greece, Italy and Spain are concerned, is expressly

recognized in a series of conventions entered into between those

countries and Great Britain. The value of the convention with France has

been much impaired by the interpretation put upon the words of it by the

court of cassation in _La Construction Lim_. According to this case the

nationality of a company depends not on its place of origin but on where

it has its centre of affairs, its principal establishment. The result is

that a company registered in Britain under the Companies Acts may be

transmuted by a French court into a French company in direct violation

of the convention. The convention with Germany, which is in similar

terms to that with France, has also been narrowed by judicial

construction. The "power of exercising all their rights" given by the

convention to British companies has been construed to mean that a

British company will be recognized as a corporate body in Germany, but

it does not follow from the terms of the convention that any British

company may as a matter of course establish a branch and carry on

business within the German empire. It must still get permission to

trade, permission to hold land. It must register itself in the communal

register. It must pay stamp duties.

Foreign companies may found an affiliated company or have a branch

establishment in Italy, provided they publish their memorandum and

articles and the names of their directors. Where no convention exists

the status of an immigrant corporation depends upon international

comity, which allows foreign corporations, as it does foreign persons,

to sue, to make contracts and hold real estate, in the same way as

domestic corporations or citizens; provided the stranger corporation

does not offend against the policy of the state in which it seeks to

trade.

There is, however, a growing practice now for states to impose by

express legislation conditions on foreign corporations coming to do

business within their territory. These conditions are mainly directed to

securing that the immigrant corporation shall make known its

constitution and shall be amenable to the jurisdiction of the courts of

the country where it trades. Thus, by the law of Western Australia--to

take a typical instance,--a foreign company is not to commence or carry

on business until it empowers some person to act as its attorney to sue

and be sued and has an office or place of business within the state, to

be approved of by the registrar, where all legal proceedings may be

served. New Zealand, Manitoba and many other states have adopted similar

precautions; and by the Companies Act 1907, s. 35; C.A. 1908, s. 274

foreign companies having a place of business within the United Kingdom

are required to file with the registrar of joint stock companies a copy

of the company's charter or memorandum and articles, a list of

directors, and the names and addresses of one or more persons authorized

to accept service of process. Special conditions of a more stringent

nature are often imposed in the case of particular classes of companies

of a quasi-public character, such as banking companies, building

societies or insurance companies. Regulations of this kind are

perfectly legitimate and necessary. They are in truth only an

application of the law of vagrancy to corporations, and have their

analogy in the restrictions now generally imposed by states on the

immigration of aliens.

_4. Company Law outside the United Kingdom._

_Australia._--Company law in Australia and in New Zealand follows very

closely the lines of company legislation in the United Kingdom.

In New South Wales the law is consolidated by Act No. 40 of 1899,

amended 1900 and 1906. In Victoria the law is contained in the Acts Nos.

1074 of 1890 and 355 of 1896; in Queensland in a series of Acts--No. 4

of 1863, No. 18 of 1899, No. 10 of 1891, No. 24 of 1892, No. 3 of 1893,

No. 19 of 1894 and No. 21 of 1896; in South Australia in No. 56 of 1892,

amended by No. 576 of 1893; in Tasmania by Nos. 22 of 1869, 19 of 1895

and 3 of 1896; in Western Australia by No. 8 of 1893, amended 1897 and

1898.

In New Zealand the law was consolidated in 1903.

_Canada._--The act governing joint stock companies in Canada is the

Companies Act 1902, amended 1904. It empowers the secretary of state by

letters patent to grant a charter to any number of persons not less than

five for any objects other than railway or telegraph lines, banking or

insurance.

Applicants must file an application--analogous to the British memorandum

of association--showing certain particulars--the purposes of

incorporation, the place of business, the amount of the capital stock,

the number of shares and the amount of each, the names and addresses of

the applicants, the amount of stock taken by each and the amount and

mode of payment. Other provisions may also be embodied. A company cannot

commence business until 10% of its authorized capital has been

subscribed and paid for. The word "limited" as part of the company's

name is--as in the case of British companies--to be conspicuously

exhibited and used in all documents. The directors are not to be less

than three or more than fifteen, and must be holders of stock. Directors

are jointly and severally liable to the clerks, labourers and servants

of the company for six months' wages. Borrowing powers may be taken by a

vote of holders of two-thirds in value of the subscribed stock of the

company.

_South Africa._--In Cape Colony the law is contained in No. 25 of 1892,

amended 1895 and 1906; it follows English law.

In Natal the law is contained in Nos. 10 of 1864, 18 of 1865, 19 of 1893

and 3 of 1896.

In the Orange Free State in Law Ch. 100 and Nos. 2 and 4 of 1892.

For the Transvaal see Nos. 5 of 1874, 6 of 1874, 1 of 1894 and 30 of

1904.

In Rhodesia companies are regulated by the Companies Ordinance 1895--a

combination of the Cape Companies Act 1892, and the British Companies

Acts 1862-1890.

_France._--There are two kinds of limited liability companies in

France--the _societe en commandite_ and the _societe anonyme_. The

_societe en commandite_ corresponds in some respects to the British

private company or limited partnership, but with this difference, that

in the _societe en commandite_ the managing partner is under unlimited

liability of creditors; the sleeping partner's liability is limited to

the amount of his capital. The French equivalent of the English ordinary

joint stock company is the _societe anonyme_. The minimum number of

subscribers necessary to form such a company is (as in the case of a

British trading company) seven, but, unlike a British company, the

_societe anonyme_ is not legally constituted unless the whole capital is

subscribed and one-fourth of each share paid up. Another precaution

unknown to British practice is that assets, not in money, brought into a

company are subject to verification of value by a general meeting. The

minimum nominal value of shares, where the company's capital is less

than 200,000 fcs., is 25 fcs.; where the capital is more than 200,000

fcs., 100 fcs. The _societe_ is governed by articles which appoint the

directors, and there is one general meeting held every year. A _societe

anonyme_ may, since 1902, issue preference shares. The doctrine that a

corporation never dies has no place in French law. A _societe anonyme_

may come to an end.

_Germany._--In Germany the class of companies most nearly corresponding

to English companies limited by shares are "share companies"

(_Aktiengesellschaften_) and "commandite companies" with a share capital

(_Kommanditgesellschaften auf Aktien_). Since 1892 a new form of

association has come into existence known by the name of partnership

with limited liability (_Gesellschaften mit beschrankter Haftung_),

which has largely superseded the commandite company.

[Sidenote: The "share company."]

In forming this paid-up company certain preliminary steps have to be

taken before registration:--

1. The articles must be agreed on;

2. A managing board and a board of supervision must be appointed;

3. The whole of the share capital must be allotted and 25%, at least,

must be paid up in coin or legal tender notes;

4. Reports on the formation of the company must be made by certain

persons; and

5. Certain documents must be filed in the registry.

In all cases where shares are issued for any consideration, not being

payment in full in cash, or in which contracts for the purchase of

property have been entered into, the promoters must sign a declaration

in which they must state on what grounds the prices agreed to be given

for such property appear to be justified. In the great majority of cases

shares are issued in certificates to bearer. The amount of such a

share--to bearer--must as a general rule be not less than L50, but

registered shares of L10 may be issued. Balance sheets have to be

published periodically.

Limited partnerships.

Partnerships with limited liability may be formed by two or more

members. The articles of partnership must be signed by all the members,

and must contain particulars as to the amount of the capital and of the

individual shares. If the liability on any shares is not to be satisfied

in cash this also must be stated. The capital of a limited partnership

must amount to L1000. Shares must be registered. Insolvent companies in

Germany are subject to the bankruptcy law in the same manner as natural

persons.

For further information see a memorandum on German companies printed in

the appendix to the _Report of Lord Davey's Committee on the Amendment

of Company Law_, pp. 13-26.

_Italy._--Commercial companies in Italy are of three kinds:--(1) General

partnerships, in which the members are liable for all debts incurred;

(2) companies in _accomodita_, in which some members are liable to an

unlimited extent and others within certain limits; (3) joint stock

companies, in which the liability is limited to the capital of the

company and no member is liable beyond the amount of his holding. None

of these companies needs authority from the government for its

constitution; all that is needed is a written agreement brought before

the public in the ways indicated in the code (Art. 90 et seq.). In joint

stock companies the trustees (directors) must give security. They are

appointed by a general meeting for a period not exceeding four years

(Art. 124). The company is not constituted until the whole of its

capital is subscribed, and until three-tenths of the capital at least

has been actually paid up. When a company's capital is diminished by

one-third, the trustees must call the members together and consult as to

what is to be done.

An ordinary meeting is held once at least every year. Shares may not be

made payable "to bearer" until fully paid up (Art. 166). A company may

issue debentures if this is agreed to by a certain majority (Art. 172).

One-twentieth, at least, of the dividends of the company must be added

to the reserve fund, until this has become equal to one-fifth of the

company's capital (Art. 182). Three or five assessors--members or

non-members--keep watch over the way in which the company is carried on.

_United States._--In the United States the right to create corporations

is a sovereign right, and as such is exercisable by the several states

of the Union. The law of private corporations must therefore be sought

in some fifty collections or groups of statutory and case-made rules.

These collections or groups of rules differ in many cases essentially

from each other. The acts regulating business corporations generally

provide that the persons proposing to form a corporation shall sign and

acknowledge an instrument called the articles of association, setting

forth the name of the corporation, the object for which it is to be

formed, the principal place of business, the amount of its capital

stock, and the number of shares into which it is to be divided, and the

duration of its corporate existence. These articles are filed in the

office of the secretary of state or in designated courts of record, and

a certificate is then issued reciting that the provisions of the act

have been complied with, and thereupon the incorporators are vested with

corporate existence and the general powers incident thereto. This

certificate is the charter of the corporation. The power to make bylaws

is usually vested in the stockholders, but it may be conferred by the

certificate on the directors. Stockholders remain liable until their

subscriptions are fully paid. Nothing but money is considered payment of

capital stock except where property is purchased. Directors must usually

be stockholders.

The right of a state to forfeit a corporation's charter for misuser or

non-user of its franchises is an implied term of the grant of

incorporation. Corporations are liable for every wrong they commit, and

in such cases cannot set up by way of protection the doctrine of _ultra

vires_.

See for authorities _Commentaries on the Law of Private Corporations_,

by Seymour D. Thompson, LL.D., 6 vols.; Beach on _Corporations_, and

the _American Encyclopaedia of Law_. (E. MA.)

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, a term employed to designate the study of the

structure of man as compared with that of lower animals, and sometimes

the study of lower animals in contra-distinction to human anatomy; the

term is now falling into desuetude, and lingers practically only in the

titles of books or in the designation of university chairs. The change

in terminology is chiefly the result of modern conceptions of zoology.

From the point of view of structure, man is one of the animals; all

investigations into anatomical structure must be comparative, and in

this work the subject is so treated throughout. See ANATOMY and ZOOLOGY.

COMPARETTI, DOMENICO (1835- ), Italian scholar, was born at Rome on the

27th of June 1835. He studied at the university of Rome, took his degree

in 1855 in natural science and mathematics, and entered his uncle's

pharmacy as assistant. His scanty leisure was, however, given to study.

He learned Greek by himself, and gained facility in the modern language

by conversing with the Greek students at the university. In spite of all

disadvantages, he not only mastered the language, but became one of the

chief classical scholars of Italy. In 1857 he published, in the

_Rheinisches Museum_, a translation of some recently discovered

fragments of Hypereides, with a dissertation on that orator. This was

followed by a notice of the annalist Granius Licinianus, and one on the

oration of Hypereides on the Lamian War. In 1859 he was appointed

professor of Greek at Pisa on the recommendation of the duke of

Sermoneta. A few years later he was called to a similar post at

Florence, remaining emeritus professor at Pisa also. He subsequently

took up his residence in Rome as lecturer on Greek antiquities and

greatly interested himself in the Forum excavations. He was a member of

the governing bodies of the academies of Milan, Venice, Naples and

Turin. The list of his writings is long and varied. Of his works in

classical literature, the best known are an edition of the _Euxenippus_

of Hypereides, and monographs on Pindar and Sappho. He also edited the

great inscription which contains a collection of the municipal laws of

Gortyn in Crete, discovered on the site of the ancient city. In the

_Kalewala and the Traditional Poetry of the Finns_ (English translation

by I. M. Anderton, 1898) he discusses the national epic of Finland and

its heroic songs, with a view to solving the problem whether an epic

could be composed by the interweaving of such national songs. He comes

to a negative conclusion, and applies this reasoning to the Homeric

problem. He treats this question again in a treatise on the so-called

Peisistratean edition of Homer (_La Commissione omerica di Pisistrato_,

1881). His _Researches concerning the Book of Sindib[=a]d_ have been

translated in the _Proceedings_ of the Folk-Lore Society. His _Vergil

in the Middle Ages_ (translated into English by E. F. Benecke, 1895)

traces the strange vicissitudes by which the great Augustan poet became

successively grammatical fetich, Christian prophet and wizard. Together

with Professor Alessandro d'Ancona, Comparetti edited a collection of

Italian national songs and stories (9 vols., Turin, 1870-1891), many of

which had been collected and written down by himself for the first time.

COMPASS (Fr. _compas_, ultimately from Lat. _cum_, with, and _passus_,

step), a term of which the evolution of the various meanings is obscure;

the general sense is "measure" or "measurement," and the word is used

thus in various derived meanings--area, boundary, circuit. It is also

more particularly applied to a mathematical instrument ("pair of

compasses") for measuring or for describing a circle, and to the

mariner's compass.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Compass Card.]

The mariner's compass, with which this article is concerned, is an

instrument by means of which the directive force of that great magnet,

the Earth, upon a freely-suspended needle, is utilized for a purpose

essential to navigation. The needle is so mounted that it only moves

freely in the horizontal plane, and therefore the horizontal component

of the earth's force alone directs it. The direction assumed by the

needle is not generally towards the geographical north, but diverges

towards the east or west of it, making a horizontal angle with the true

meridian, called the magnetic variation or declination; amongst mariners

this angle is known as the variation of the compass. In the usual

navigable waters of the world the variation alters from 30 deg. to the

east to 45 deg. to the west of the geographical meridian, being westerly

in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, easterly in the Pacific. The vertical

plane passing through the longitudinal axis of such a needle is known as

the magnetic meridian. Following the first chart of lines of equal

variation compiled by Edmund Halley in 1700, charts of similar type have

been published from time to time embodying recent observations and

corrected for the secular change, thus providing seamen with values of

the variation accurate to about 30' of arc. Possessing these data, it is

easy to ascertain by observation the effects of the iron in a ship in

disturbing the compass, and it will be found for the most part in every

vessel that the needle is deflected from the magnetic meridian by a

horizontal angle called the deviation of the compass; in some directions

of the ship's head adding to the known variation of the place, in other

directions subtracting from it. Local magnetic disturbance of the needle

due to magnetic rocks is observed on land in all parts of the world, and

in certain places extends to the land under the sea, affecting the

compasses on board the ships passing over it. The general direction of

these disturbances in the northern hemisphere is an attraction of the

north-seeking end of the needle; in the southern hemisphere, its

repulsion. The approaches to Cossack, North Australia; Cape St Francis,

Labrador; the coasts of Madagascar and Iceland, are remarkable for such

disturbance of the compass.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Admiralty Compass (Frame and Needles).]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Thomson's (Lord Kelvin's) Compass (Frame and

Needles).]

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Section of Thomson's Compass Bowl. C, aluminium

cap with sapphire centre; N, N', needles; P, pivot stem with pivot.]

The compass as we know it is the result of the necessities of

navigation, which have increased from century to century. It consists of

five principal parts--the card, the needles, the bowl, a jewelled cap

and the pivot. The card or "fly," formerly made of cardboard, now

consists of a disk either of mica covered with paper or of paper alone,

but in all cases the card is divided into points and degrees as shown in

fig. 1. The outer margin is divided into degrees with 0 deg. at north

and south, and 90 deg. at east and west; the 32 points with half and

quarter points are seen immediately within the degrees. The north point

is marked with _fleur de lis_, and the principal points, N.E., E., S.E.,

&c., with their respective names, whilst the intermediate points in the

figure have also their names engraved for present information. The arc

contained between any two points is 11 deg. 15'. The mica card is

generally mounted on a brass framework, F F, with a brass cap, C, fitted

with a sapphire centre and carrying four magnetized needles, N, N, N, N,

as in fig. 2. The more modern form of card consists of a broad ring of

paper marked with degrees and points, as in fig. 1, attached to a frame

like that in fig. 3, where an outer aluminium ring, A A, is connected by

32 radial silk threads to a central disk of aluminium, in the centre of

which is a round hole designed to receive an aluminium cap with a highly

polished sapphire centre worked to the form of an open cone. To direct

the card eight short light needles, N N, are suspended by silk threads

from the outer ring. The magnetic axis of any system of needles must

exactly coincide with the axis passing through the north and south

points of the card. Single needles are never used, two being the least

number, and these so arranged that the moment of inertia about every

diameter of the card shall be the same. The combination of card, needles

and cap is generally termed "the card"; on the continent of Europe it is

called the "rose." The section of a compass bowl in fig. 4 shows the

mounting of a Thomson card on its pivot, which in common with the pivots

of most other compasses is made of brass, tipped with osmium-iridium,

which although very hard can be sharply pointed and does not corrode.

Fig. 4 shows the general arrangement of mounting all compass cards in

the bowl. In fig. 5 another form of compass called a liquid or spirit

compass is shown partly in section. The card nearly floats in a bowl

filled with distilled water, to which 35% of alcohol is added to prevent

freezing; the bowl is hermetically sealed with pure india-rubber, and a

corrugated expansion chamber is attached to the bottom to allow for the

expansion and contraction of the liquid. The card is a mica disk, either

painted as in fig. 1, or covered with linen upon which the degrees and

points are printed, the needles being enclosed in brass.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Liquid Compass.

A, Bowl, partly in section. N, Hole for filling, with screw plug.

B, Expansion chamber. O, O, Magnetic needles.

D, The glass. P, Buoyant chamber.

G, Gimbal ring. Q, Iridium pivot.

L, Nut to expand chamber when R, Sapphire cap.

filling bowl. S, Mica card.]

M, Screw connector.

Great steadiness of card under severe shocks and vibrations, combined

with a minimum of friction in the cap and pivot, is obtained with this

compass. All compasses are fitted with a gimbal ring to keep the bowl

and card level under every circumstance of a ship's motion in a seaway,

the ring being connected with the binnacle or pedestal by means of

journals or knife edges. On the inside of every compass bowl a vertical

black line is drawn, called the "lubber's point," and it is imperative

that when the compass is placed in the binnacle the line joining the

pivot and the lubber's point be parallel to the keel of the vessel.

Thus, when a degree on the card is observed opposite the lubber's point,

the angle between the direction in which the ship is steering and the

north point of the compass or course is at once seen; and if the

magnetic variation and the disturbing effects of the ship's iron are

known, the desired angle between the ship's course and the geographical

meridian can be computed. In every ship a position is selected for the

navigating or standard compass as free from neighbouring iron as

possible, and by this compass all courses are shaped and bearings taken.

It is also provided with an azimuth circle or mirror and a shadow pin or

style placed in the centre of the glass cover, by either of which the

variable angle between the compass north and true north, called the

"total error," or variation and deviation combined, can be observed. The

binnacles or pedestals for compasses are generally constructed of wood

about 45 in. high, and fitted to receive and alter at pleasure the

several magnet and soft iron correctors. They are also fitted with

different forms of suspension in which the compass is mounted to obviate

the mechanical disturbance of the card caused by the vibration of the

hull in ships driven by powerful engines.

The effects of the iron and steel used in the construction of ships upon

the compass occupied the attention of the ablest physicists of the 19th

century, with results which enable navigators to conduct their ships

with perfect safety. The hull of an iron or steel ship is a magnet, and

the distribution of its magnetism depends upon the direction of the

ship's head when building, this result being produced by induction from

the earth's magnetism, developed and impressed by the hammering of the

plates and frames during the process of building. The disturbance of the

compass by the magnetism of the hull is generally modified, sometimes

favourably, more often unfavourably, by the magnetized fittings of the

ship, such as masts, conning towers, deck houses, engines and boilers.

Thus in every ship the compass needle is more or less subject to

deviation differing in amount and direction for every azimuth of the

ship's head. This was first demonstrated by Commander Matthew Flinders

by experiments made in H.M.S. "Investigator" in 1800-1803, and in 1810

led that officer to introduce the practice of placing the ship's head on

each point of the compass, and noting the amount of deviation whether to

the east or west of the magnetic north, a process which is in full

exercise at the present day, and is called "swinging ship." When

speaking of the magnetic properties of iron it is usual to adopt the

terms "soft" and "hard." Soft iron is iron which becomes instantly

magnetized by induction when exposed to any magnetic force, but has no

power of retaining its magnetism. Hard iron is less susceptible of being

magnetized, but when once magnetized it retains its magnetism

permanently. The term "iron" used in these pages includes the "steel"

now commonly employed in shipbuilding. If an iron ship be swung when

upright for deviation, and the mean horizontal and vertical magnetic

forces at the compass positions be also observed in different parts of

the world, mathematical analysis shows that the deviations are caused

partly by the permanent magnetism of hard iron, partly by the transient

induced magnetism of soft iron both horizontal and vertical, and in a

lesser degree by iron which is neither magnetically hard nor soft, but

which becomes magnetized in the same manner as hard iron, though it

gradually loses its magnetism on change of conditions, as, for example,

in the case of a ship, repaired and hammered in dock, steaming in an

opposite direction at sea. This latter cause of deviation is called

sub-permanent magnetism. The horizontal directive force on the needle on

board is nearly always less than on land, sometimes much less, whilst in

armour-plated ships it ranges from .8 to .2 when the directive force on

land = 1.0. If the ship be inclined to starboard or to port additional

deviation will be observed, reaching a maximum on north and south

points, decreasing to zero on the east and west points. Each ship has

its own magnetic character, but there are certain conditions which are

common to vessels of the same type.

Instead of observing the deviation solely for the purposes of correcting

the indications of the compass when disturbed by the iron of the ship,

the practice is to subject all deviations to mathematical analysis with

a view to their mechanical correction. The whole of the deviations when

the ship is upright may be expressed nearly by five co-efficients, A, B,

C, D, E. Of these A is a deviation constant in amount for every

direction of the ship's head. B has reference to horizontal forces

acting in a longitudinal direction in the ship, and caused partly by the

permanent magnetism of hard iron, partly by vertical induction in

vertical soft iron either before or abaft the compass. C has reference

to forces acting in a transverse direction, and caused by hard iron. D

is due to transient induction in horizontal soft iron, the direction of

which passes continuously under or over the compass. E is due to

transient induction in horizontal soft iron unsymmetrically placed with

regard to the compass. When data of this character have been obtained

the compass deviations may be mechanically corrected to within

1 deg.--always adhering to the principal that "like cures like." Thus the

part of B caused by the permanent magnetism of hard iron must be

corrected by permanent magnets horizontally placed in a fore and aft

direction; the other part caused by vertical soft iron by means of bars

of vertical soft iron, called Flinders bars, before or abaft the

compass. C is compensated by permanent magnets athwart-ships and

horizontal; D by masses of soft iron on both sides of the compass, and

generally in the form of cast-iron spheres, with their centres in the

same horizontal plane as the needles; E is usually too small to require

correction; A is fortunately rarely of any value, as it cannot be

corrected. The deviation observed when the ship inclines to either side

is due--(1) to hard iron acting vertically upwards or downwards; (2) to

vertical soft iron immediately below the compass; (3) to vertical

induction in horizontal soft iron when inclined. To compensate (1)

vertical magnets are used; (3) is partly corrected by the soft iron

correctors of D; (2) and the remaining part of (3) cannot be

conveniently corrected for more than one geographical position at a

time. Although a compass may thus be made practically correct for a

given time and place, the magnetism of the ship is liable to changes on

changing her geographical position, and especially so when steaming at

right angles or nearly so to the magnetic meridian, for then

sub-permanent magnetism is developed in the hull. Some vessels are more

liable to become sub-permanently magnetized than others, and as no

corrector has been found for this source of deviation the navigator must

determine its amount by observation. Hence, however carefully a compass

may be placed and subsequently compensated, the mariner has no safety

without constantly observing the bearings of the sun, stars or distant

terrestrial objects, to ascertain its deviation. The results of these

observations are entered in a compass journal for future reference when

fog or darkness prevails.

Every compass and corrector supplied to the ships of the British navy is

previously examined in detail at the Compass Observatory established by

the admiralty at Deptford. A trained observer acting under the

superintendent of compasses is charged with this important work. The

superintendent, who is a naval officer, has to investigate the magnetic

character of the ships, to point out the most suitable positions for the

compasses when a ship is designed, and subsequently to keep himself

informed of their behaviour from the time of the ship's first trial. A

museum containing compasses of various types invented during the 19th

century is attached to the Compass Observatory at Deptford.

The mariner's compass during the early part of the 19th century was

still a very imperfect instrument, although numerous inventors had

tried to improve it. In 1837 the Admiralty Compass Committee was

appointed to make a scientific investigation of the subject, and

propose a form of compass suitable alike for azimuth and steering

purposes. The committee reported in July 1840, and after minor

improvements by the makers the admiralty compass, the card of which is

shown in figs. 1 and 2, was adopted by the government. Until 1876,

when Sir William Thomson introduced his patent compass, this compass

was not only the regulation compass of the British navy, but was

largely used in other countries in the same or a modified form. The

introduction of powerful engines causing serious vibration to compass

cards of the admiralty type, coupled with the prevailing desire for

larger cards, the deviation of which could also be more conveniently

compensated, led to the gradual introduction of the Thomson compass.

Several important points were gained in the latter: the quadrantal

deviation could be finally corrected for all latitudes; frictional

error at the cap and pivot was reduced to a minimum, the average

weight of the card being 200 grains; the long free vibrational period

of the card was found to be favourable to its steadiness when the

vessel was rolling. The first liquid compass used in England was

invented by Francis Crow, of Faversham, in 1813. It is said that the

idea of a liquid compass was suggested to Crow by the experience of

the captain of a coasting vessel whose compass card was oscillating

wildly until a sea broke on board filling the compass bowl, when the

card became steady. Subsequent improvements were made by E. J. Dent,

and especially by E. S. Ritchie, of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1888 the

form of liquid compass (fig. 5) now solely used in torpedo boats and

torpedo boat destroyers was introduced. It has also proved to be the

most trustworthy compass under the shock of heavy gun fire at present

available. The deflector is an instrument designed to enable an

observer to reduce the deviations of the compass to an amount not

exceeding 2 deg. during fogs, or at any time when bearings of distant

objects are not available. It is certain that if the directive forces

on the north, east, south and west points of a compass are equal,

there can be no deviation. With the deflector any inequality in the

directive force can be detected, and hence the power of equalizing the

forces by the usual soft iron and magnet correctors. Several kinds of

deflector have been invented, that of Lord Kelvin (Sir William

Thomson) being the simplest, but Dr Waghorn's is also very effective.

The use of the deflector is generally confined to experts.

_The Magnetism of Ships._--In 1814 Flinders first showed (see

Flinders's _Voyage_, vol. ii. appx. ii.) that the abnormal values of

the variation observed in the wood-built ships of his day was due to

deviation of the compass caused by the iron in the ship; that the

deviation was zero when the ship's head was near the north and south

points; that it attained its maximum on the east and west points, and

varied as the sine of the azimuth of the ship's head reckoned from the

zero points. He also described a method of correcting deviation by

means of a bar of vertical iron so placed as to correct the deviation

nearly in all latitudes. This bar, now known as a "Flinders bar," is

still in general use. In 1820 Dr T. Young (see Brande's _Quarterly

Journal_, 1820) investigated mathematically the magnetism of ships. In

1824 Professor Peter Barlow (1776-1862) introduced his correcting

plate of _soft_ iron. Trials in certain ships showed that their

magnetism consisted partly of hard iron, and the use of the plate was

abandoned. In 1835 Captain E. J. Johnson, R.N., showed from

experiments in the iron steamship "Garry Owen" that the vessel acted

on an external compass as a magnet. In 1838 Sir G. B. Airy

magnetically examined the iron steamship "Rainbow" at Deptford, and

from his mathematical investigations (see _Phil. Trans._, 1839)

deduced his method of correcting the compass by permanent magnets and

soft iron, giving practical rules for the same in 1840. Airy's and

Flinders's correctors form the basis of all compass correctors to this

day. In 1838 S. D. Poisson published his _Memoir on the Deviations of

the Compass caused by the Iron in a Vessel_. In this he gave equations

resulting from the hypothesis that the magnetism of a ship is partly

due to the permanent magnetism of hard iron and partly to the

transient induced magnetism of soft iron; that the latter is

proportional to the intensity of the inducing force, and that the

length of the needle is infinitesimally small compared to the distance

of the surrounding iron. From Poisson's equations Archibald Smith

deduced the formulae given in the _Admiralty Manual for Deviations of

the Compass_ (1st ed., 1862), a work which has formed the basis of

numerous other manuals since published in Great Britain and other

countries. In view of the serious difficulties connected with the

inclining of every ship, Smith's formulae for ascertaining and

providing for the correction of the heeling error with the ship

upright continue to be of great value to safe navigation. In 1855 the

Liverpool Compass Committee began its work of investigating the

magnetism of ships of the mercantile marine, resulting in three

reports to the Board of Trade, all of great value, the last being

presented in 1861.

See also MAGNETISM, and NAVIGATION; articles on Magnetism of Ships and

Deviations of the Compass, _Phil. Trans._, 1839-1883, _Journal United

Service Inst._, 1859-1889, _Trans. Inst. Nav. Archit._,

1860-1861-1862, _Report of Brit. Assoc._, 1862, _London Quarterly

Rev._, 1865; also _Admiralty Manual_, edit. 1862-1863-1869-1893-1900;

and Towson's _Practical Information on Deviations of the Compass_

(1886). (E. W. C.)

_History of the Mariner's Compass._

The discovery that a lodestone, or a piece of iron which has been

touched by a lodestone, will direct itself to point in a north and south

position, and the application of that discovery to direct the navigation

of ships, have been attributed to various origins. The Chinese, the

Arabs, the Greeks, the Etruscans, the Finns and the Italians have all

been claimed as originators of the compass. There is now little doubt

that the claim formerly advanced in favour of the Chinese is

ill-founded. In Chinese history we are told how, in the sixty-fourth

year of the reign of Hwang-ti (2634 B.C.), the emperor Hiuan-yuan, or

Hwang-ti, attacked one Tchi-yeou, on the plains of Tchou-lou, and

finding his army embarrassed by a thick fog raised by the enemy,

constructed a chariot (Tchi-nan) for indicating the south, so as to

distinguish the four cardinal points, and was thus enabled to pursue

Tchi-yeou, and take him prisoner. (Julius Klaproth, _Lettre a M. le

Baron Humboldt sur l'invention de la boussole_, Paris, 1834. See also

Mailla, _Histoire generale de la Chine_, tom. i. p. 316, Paris, 1777.)

But, as other versions of the story show, this account is purely

mythical. For the south-pointing chariots are recorded to have been

first devised by the emperor Hian-tsoung (A.D. 806-820); and there is no

evidence that they contained any magnet. There is no genuine record of a

Chinese marine compass before A.D. 1297, as Klaproth admits. No

sea-going ships were built in China before 139 B.C. The earliest

allusion to the power of the lodestone in Chinese literature occurs in a

Chinese dictionary, finished in A.D. 121, where the lodestone is defined

as "a stone with which an attraction can be given to a needle," but this

knowledge is no more than that existing in Europe at least five hundred

years before. Nor is there any nautical significance in a passage which

occurs in the Chinese encyclopaedia, _Poei-wen-yun-fou_, in which it is

stated that under the Tsin dynasty, or between A.D. 265 and 419, "there

were ships indicating the south."

The Chinese, Sir J. F. Davis informs us, once navigated as far as India,

but their most distant voyages at present extend not farther than Java

and the Malay Islands to the south (_The Chinese_, vol. iii. p. 14,

London, 1844). According to an Arabic manuscript, a translation of which

was published by Eusebius Renaudot (Paris, 1718), they traded in ships

to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea in the 9th century. Sir G. L. Staunton,

in vol. i. of his _Embassy to China_ (London, 1797), after referring to

the early acquaintance of the Chinese with the property of the magnet to

point southwards, remarks (p. 445), "The nature and the cause of the

qualities of the magnet have at all times been subjects of contemplation

among the Chinese. The Chinese name for the compass is _ting-nan-ching_,

or needle pointing to the south; and a distinguishing mark is fixed on

the magnet's southern pole, as in European compasses upon the northern

one." "The sphere of Chinese navigation," he tells us (p. 447), "is too

limited to have afforded experience and observation for forming any

system of laws supposed to govern the variation of the needle.... The

Chinese had soon occasion to perceive how much more essential the

perfection of the compass was to the superior navigators of Europe than

to themselves, as the commanders of the 'Lion' and 'Hindostan,' trusting

to that instrument, stood out directly from the land into the sea." The

number of points of the compass, according to the Chinese, is

twenty-four, which are reckoned from the south pole; the form also of

the instrument they employ is different from that familiar to Europeans.

The needle is peculiarly poised, with its point of suspension a little

below its centre of gravity, and is exceedingly sensitive; it is seldom

more than an inch in length, and is less than a line in thickness. "It

may be urged," writes Mr T. S. Davies, "that the different manner of

constructing the needle amongst the Chinese and European navigators

shows the independence of the Chinese of us, as theirs is the worse

method, and had they copied from us, they would have used the better

one" (Thomson's _British Annual_, 1837, p. 291). On the other hand, it

has been contended that a knowledge of the mariner's compass was

communicated by them directly or indirectly to the early Arabs, and

through the latter was introduced into Europe. Sismondi has remarked

(_Literature of Europe_, vol. i.) that it is peculiarly characteristic

of all the pretended discoveries of the middle ages that when the

historians mention them for the first time they treat them as things in

general use. Gunpowder, the compass, the Arabic numerals and paper, are

nowhere spoken of as discoveries, and yet they must have wrought a total

change in war, in navigation, in science, and in education. G.

Tiraboschi (_Storia della letteratura italiana_, tom. iv. lib. ii. p.

204, et seq., ed. 2., 1788), in support of the conjecture that the

compass was introduced into Europe by the Arabs, adduces their

superiority in scientific learning and their early skill in navigation.

He quotes a passage on the polarity of the lodestone from a treatise

translated by Albertus Magnus, attributed by the latter to Aristotle,

but apparently only an Arabic compilation from the works of various

philosophers. As the terms _Zoron_ and _Aphron_, used there to signify

the south and north poles, are neither Latin nor Greek, Tiraboschi

suggests that they may be of Arabian origin, and that the whole passage

concerning the lodestone may have been added to the original treatise by

the Arabian translators.

Dr W. Robertson asserts (_Historical Disquisition concerning Ancient

India_, p. 227) that the Arabs, Turks and Persians have no original name

for the compass, it being called by them _Bossola_, the Italian name,

which shows that the thing signified is foreign to them as well as the

word. The Rev. G. P. Badger has, however, pointed out (_Travels of

Ludovico di Varthema_, trans. J. W. Jones, ed. G. P. Badger, Hakluyt

Soc, 1863, note, pp. 31 and 32) that the name of Bushla or Busba, from

the Italian _Bussola_, though common among Arab sailors in the

Mediterranean, is very seldom used in the Eastern seas,--_Dairah_ and

_Beit el-Ibrah_ (the Circle, or House of the Needle) being the ordinary

appellatives in the Red Sea, whilst in the Persian Gulf

_Kiblah-n[=a]meh_ is in more general use. Robertson quotes Sir J.

Chardin as boldly asserting "that the Asiatics are beholden to us for

this wonderful instrument, which they had from Europe a long time before

the Portuguese conquests. For, first, their compasses are exactly like

ours, and they buy them of Europeans as much as they can, scarce daring

to meddle with their needles themselves. Secondly, it is certain that

the old navigators only coasted it along, which I impute to their want

of this instrument to guide and instruct them in the middle of the

ocean.... I have nothing but argument to offer touching this matter,

having never met with any person in Persia or the Indies to inform me

when the compass was first known among them, though I made inquiry of

the most learned men in both countries. I have sailed from the Indies to

Persia in Indian ships, when no European has been aboard but myself. The

pilots were all Indians, and they used the forestaff and quadrant for

their observations. These instruments they have from us, and made by our

artists, and they do not in the least vary from ours, except that the

characters are Arabic. The Arabs are the most skilful navigators of all

the Asiatics or Africans; but neither they nor the Indians make use of

charts, and they do not much want them; some they have, but they are

copied from ours, for they are altogether ignorant of perspective." The

observations of Chardin, who flourished between 1643 and 1713, cannot be

said to receive support from the testimony of some earlier authorities.

That the Arabs must have been acquainted with the compass, and with the

construction and use of charts, at a period nearly two centuries

previous to Chardin's first voyage to the East, may be gathered from the

description given by Barros of a map of all the coast of India, shown to

Vasco da Gama by a Moor of Guzerat (about the 15th of July 1498), in

which the bearings were laid down "after the manner of the Moors," or

"with meridians and parallels very small (or close together), without

other bearings of the compass; because, as the squares of these

meridians and parallels were very small, the coast was laid down by

these two bearings of N. and S., and E. and W., with great certainty,

without that multiplication of bearings of the points of the compass

usual in our maps, which serves as the root of the others." Further, we

learn from Osorio that the Arabs at the time of Gama "were instructed in

so many of the arts of navigation, that they did not yield much to the

Portuguese mariners in the science and practice of maritime matters."

(See _The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama_, Hakluyt Soc, 1869; note to

chap. xv. by the Hon. H. E. J. Stanley, p. 138.) Also the Arabs that

navigated the Red Sea at the same period are shown by Varthema to have

used the mariner's chart and compass (_Travels_, p. 31).

Again, it appears that compasses of a primitive description, which can

hardly be supposed to have been brought from Europe, were employed in

the East Indies certainly as early as several years previous to the

close of the 16th century. In William Barlowe's _Navigator's Supply_,

published in 1597, we read:--"Some fewe yeeres since, it so fell out

that I had severall conferences with two East Indians which were brought

into England by master Candish [Thomas Cavendish], and had learned our

language: The one of them was of Mamillia [Manila] in the Isle of Luzon,

the other of Miaco in Japan. I questioned with them concerning their

shipping and manner of sayling. They described all things farre

different from ours, and shewed, that in steade of our Compas, they use

a magneticall needle of sixe ynches long, and longer, upon a pinne in a

dish of white _China_ earth filled with water; In the bottome whereof

they have two crosse lines, for the foure principall windes; the rest of

the divisions being reserved to the skill of their Pilots." Bailak

Kibdjaki, also, an Arabian writer, shows in his _Merchant's Treasure_, a

work given to the world in 1282, that the magnetized needle, floated on

water by means of a splinter of wood or a reed, was employed on the

Syrian seas at the time of his voyage from Tripoli to Alexandria (1242),

and adds:--"They say that the captains who navigate the Indian seas use,

instead of the needle and splinter, a sort of fish made out of hollow

iron, which, when thrown into the water, swims upon the surface, and

points out the north and south with its head and tail" (Klaproth,

_Lettre_, p. 57). E. Wiedemann, in _Erlangen Sitzungsberichte_ (1904, p.

330), translates the phrase given above as splinter of wood, by the term

wooden cross. Furthermore, although the sailors in the Indian vessels in

which Niccola de' Conti traversed the Indian seas in 1420 are stated to

have had no compass, still, on board the ship in which Varthema, less

than a century later, sailed from Borneo to Java, both the mariner's

chart and compass were used; it has been questioned, however, whether in

this case the compass was of Eastern manufacture (_Travels of

Varthema_, Introd. xciv, and p. 249). We have already seen that the

Chinese as late as the end of the 18th century made voyages with

compasses on which but little reliance could be placed; and it may

perhaps be assumed that the compasses early used in the East were mostly

too imperfect to be of much assistance to navigators, and were therefore

often dispensed with on customary routes. The Arab traders in the Levant

certainly used a floating compass, as did the Italians before the

introduction of the pivoted needle; the magnetized piece of iron being

floated upon a small raft of cork or reeds in a bowl of water. The

Italian name of _calamita_, which still persists, for the magnet, and

which literally signifies a frog, is doubtless derived from this

practice.

The simple water-compass is said to have been used by the Coreans so

late as the middle of the 18th century; and Dr T. Smith, writing in the

_Philosophical Transactions_ for 1683-1684, says of the Turks (p. 439),

"They have no genius for Sea-voyages, and consequently are very raw and

unexperienced in the art of Navigation, scarce venturing to sail out of

sight of land. I speak of the natural _Turks_, who trade either into the

_black Sea_ or some part of the _Morea_, or between _Constantinople_ and

_Alexandria_, and not of the Pyrats of _Barbary_, who are for the most

part Renegado's, and learnt their skill in Christendom. ... The Turkish

compass consists but of 8 points, the four Cardinal and the four

Collateral." That the value of the compass was thus, even in the latter

part of the 17th century, so imperfectly recognized in the East may

serve to explain how in earlier times that instrument, long after the

first discovery of its properties, may have been generally neglected by

navigators.

The Arabic geographer, Edrisi, who lived about 1100, is said by Boucher

to give an account, though in a confused manner, of the polarity of the

magnet (Hallam, _Mid. Ages_, vol. iii. chap. 9, part 2); but the

earliest definite mention as yet known of the use of the mariner's

compass in the middle ages occurs in a treatise entitled _De

utensilibus_, written by Alexander Neckam in the 12th century. He speaks

there of a needle carried on board ship which, being placed on a pivot,

and allowed to take its own position of repose, shows mariners their

course when the polar star is hidden. In another work, _De naturis

rerum_, lib. ii. c. 89, he writes,--"Mariners at sea, when, through

cloudy weather in the day which hides the sun, or through the darkness

of the night, they lose the knowledge of the quarter of the world to

which they are sailing, touch a needle with the magnet, which will turn

round till, on its motion ceasing, its point will be directed towards

the north" (W. Chappell, _Nature_, No. 346, June 15, 1876). The

magnetical needle, and its suspension on a stick or straw in water, are

clearly described in _La Bible Guiot_, a poem probably of the 13th

century, by Guiot de Provins, wherein we are told that through the

magnet (_la manette_ or _l'amaniere_), an ugly brown stone to which iron

turns of its own accord, mariners possess an art that cannot fail them.

A needle touched by it, and floated by a stick on water, turns its point

towards the pole-star, and a light being placed near the needle on dark

nights, the proper course is known (_Hist. litteraire de la France_,

tom. ix. p. 199; Barbazan, _Fabliaux_, tom. ii. p. 328). Cardinal

Jacques de Vitry, bishop of Acon in Palestine, in his _History_ (cap.

89), written about the year 1218, speaks of the magnetic needle as "most

necessary for such as sail the sea";[1] and another French crusader, his

contemporary, Vincent de Beauvais, states that the adamant (lodestone)

is found in Arabia, and mentions a method of using a needle magnetized

by it which is similar to that described by Kibdjaki. In 1248 Hugo de

Bercy notes a change in the construction of compasses, which are now

supported on two floats in a glass cup. From quotations given by Antonio

Capmany (_Questiones Criticas_) from the _De contemplatione_ of Raimon

Lull, of the date 1272, it appears that the latter was well acquainted

with the use of the magnet at sea;[2] and before the middle of the 13th

century Gauthier d'Espinois alludes to its polarity, as if generally

known, in the lines:--

"Tous autresi comme l'aimant decoit [detourne]

L'aiguillette par force de vertu,

A ma dame tor le mont [monde] retenue

Qui sa beaute connoit et apercoit."

Guido Guinizzelli, a poet of the same period, writes:--"In those parts

under the north are the mountains of lodestone, which give the virtue to

the air of attracting iron; but because it [the lodestone] is far off,

[it] wishes to have the help of a similar stone to make it [the virtue]

work, and to direct the needle towards the star."[3] Brunetto Latini

also makes reference to the compass in his encyclopaedia _Livres dou

tresor_, composed about 1260 (Livre i. pt. ii. ch. cxx.):--"Por ce

nagent li marinier a l'enseigne des estoiles qui i sont, que il apelent

tramontaines, et les gens qui sont en Europe et es parties deca nagent a

la tramontaine de septentrion, et li autre nagent a cele de midi. Et qui

n'en set la verite, praigne une pierre d'aimant, et troverez que ele a

ij faces: l'une qui gist vers l'une tramontaine, et l'autre gist vers

l'autre. Et a chascune des ij faces la pointe d'une aguille vers cele

tramontaine a cui cele face gist. Et por ce seroient li marinier deceu

se il ne se preissent garde" (p. 147, Paris edition, 1863). Dante

(_Paradiso_, xii. 28-30) mentions the pointing of the magnetic needle

toward the pole star. In Scandinavian records there is a reference to

the nautical use of the magnet in the _Hauksbok_, the last edition of

the _Landnamabok_ (Book of the Colonization of Iceland):--"Floki, son of

Vilgerd, instituted a great sacrifice, and consecrated three ravens

which should show him the way (to Iceland); for at that time no men

sailing the high seas had lodestones up in northern lands."

Haukr Erlendsson, who wrote this paragraph about 1300, died in 1334; his

edition was founded on material in two earlier works, that of Styrmir

Karason (who died 1245), which is lost, and that of Hurla Thordson (died

1284) which has no such paragraph. All that is certain is a knowledge of

the nautical use of the magnet at the end of the 13th century. From T.

Torfaeus we learn that the compass, fitted into a box, was already in

use among the Norwegians about the middle of the 13th century (_Hist.

rer. Norvegicarum_, iv. c. 4, p. 345, Hafniae, 1711); and it is probable

that the use of the magnet at sea was known in Scotland at or shortly

subsequent to that time, though King Robert, in crossing from Arran to

Carrick in 1306, as Barbour writing in 1375 informs us, "na nedill had

na stane," but steered by a fire on the shore. Roger Bacon (_Opus majus_

and _Opus minus_, 1266-1267) was acquainted with the properties of the

lodestone, and wrote that if set so that it can turn freely (swimming on

water) it points toward the poles; but he stated that this was not due

to the pole-star, but to the influence of the northern region of the

heavens.

The earliest unquestionable description of a pivoted compass is that

contained in the remarkable _Epistola de magnete_ of Petrus Peregrinus

de Maricourt, written at Lucera in 1269 to Sigerus de Foncaucourt.

(First printed edition Augsburg, 1558. See also Bertelli in

Boncompagni's _Bollettino di bibliografia_, t. i., or S. P. Thompson in

_Proc. British Academy_, vol. ii.) Of this work twenty-eight MSS. exist;

seven of them being at Oxford. The first part of the epistle deals

generally with magnetic attractions and repulsions, with the polarity of

the stone, and with the supposed influence of the poles of the heavens

upon the poles of the stone. In the second part Peregrinus describes

first an improved floating compass with fiducial line, a circle

graduated with 90 degrees to each quadrant, and provided with movable

sights for taking bearings. He then describes a new compass with a

needle thrust through a pivoted axis, placed in a box with transparent

cover, cross index of brass or silver, divided circle, and an external

"rule" or alhidade provided with a pair of sights. In the Leiden MS. of

this work, which for long was erroneously ascribed to one Peter Adsiger,

is a spurious passage, long believed to mention the variation of the

compass.

Prior to this clear description of a pivoted compass by Peregrinus in

1269, the Italian sailors had used the floating magnet, probably

introduced into this region of the Mediterranean by traders belonging to

the port of Amalfi, as commemorated in the line of the poet Panormita:--

"Prima dedit nautis usum magnetis Amalphis."

This opinion is supported by the historian Flavius Blondus in his

_Italia illustrata_, written about 1450, who adds that its certain

origin is unknown. In 1511 Baptista Pio in his _Commentary_ repeats the

opinion as to the invention of the use of the magnet at Amalfi as

related by Flavius. Gyraldus, writing in 1540 (_Libellus de re

nautica_), misunderstanding this reference, declared that this

observation of the direction of the magnet to the poles had been handed

down as discovered "by a certain Flavius." From this passage arose a

legend, which took shape only in the 17th century, that the compass was

invented in the year 1302 by a person to whom was given the fictitious

name of Flavio Gioja, of Amalfi.

From the above it will have been evident that, as Barlowe remarks

concerning the compass, "the lame tale of one Flavius at Amelphus, in

the kingdome of Naples, for to have devised it, is of very slender

probabilitie"; and as regards the assertion of Dr Gilbert, of Colchester

(_De magnete_, p. 4, 1600), that Marco Polo introduced the compass into

Italy from the East in 1260,[4] we need only quote the words of Sir H.

Yule (_Book of Marco Polo_):--"Respecting the mariner's compass and

gunpowder, I shall say nothing, as no one now, I believe, imagines Marco

to have had anything to do with their introduction."

When, and by whom, the compass card was added is a matter of conjecture.

Certainly the _Rosa Ventorum_, or _Wind-rose_, is far older than the

compass itself; and the naming of the eight principal "winds" goes back

to the Temple of the Winds in Athens built by Andronicus Cyrrhestes. The

earliest known wind-roses on the _portulani_ or sailing charts of the

Mediterranean pilots have almost invariably the eight principal points

marked with the initials of the principal winds, Tramontano, Greco,

Levante, Scirocco, Ostro, Africo (or Libeccio), Ponente and Maestro, or

with a cross instead of L, to mark the east point. The north point,

indicated in some of the oldest compass cards with a broad arrow-head or

a spear, as well as with a T for Tramontano, gradually developed by a

combination of these, about 1492, into a _fleur de lis_, still

universal. The cross at the east continued even in British compasses

till about 1700. Wind-roses with these characteristics are found in

Venetian and Genoese charts of early 14th century, and are depicted

similarly by the Spanish navigators. The naming of the intermediate

subdivisions making up the thirty-two points or rhumbs of the compass

card is probably due to Flemish navigators; but they were recognized

even in the time of Chaucer, who in 1391 wrote, "Now is thin Orisonte

departed in xxiiii partiez by thi azymutz, in significacion of xxiiii

partiez of the world: al be it so that ship men rikne thilke partiez in

xxxii" (_Treatise on the Astrolabe_, ed. Skeat, Early English Text Soc.,

London, 1872). The mounting of the card upon the needle or "flie," so as

to turn with it, is probably of Amalphian origin. Da Buti, the Dante

commentator, in 1380 says the sailors use a compass at the middle of

which is pivoted a wheel of light paper to turn on its pivot, on which

wheel the needle is fixed and the star (wind-rose) painted. The placing

of the card at the bottom of the box, fixed, below the needle, was

practised by the compass-makers of Nuremberg in the 16th century, and by

Stevinus of Bruges about 1600. The gimbals or rings for suspension

hinged at right-angles to one another, have been erroneously attributed

to Cardan, the proper term being _cardine_, that is hinged or pivoted.

The earliest description of them is about 1604. The term _binnacle_,

originally _bittacle_, is a corruption of the Portuguese abitacolo, to

denote the housing enclosing the compass, probably originating with the

Portuguese navigators.

The improvement of the compass has been but a slow process. _The Libel

of English Policie_, a poem of the first half of the 15th century, says

with reference to Iceland (chap. x.)--

"Out of Bristowe, and costes many one,

Men haue practised by nedle and by stone

Thider wardes within a litle while."

Hakluyt, _Principal Navigations_, p. 201 (London, 1599).

From this it would seem that the compasses used at that time by English

mariners were of a very primitive description. Barlowe, in his treatise

_Magnetical Advertisements_, printed in 1616 (p. 66), complains that

"the Compasse needle, being the most admirable and usefull instrument of

the whole world, is both amongst ours and other nations for the most

part, so bungerly and absurdly contrived, as nothing more." The form he

recommends for the needle is that of "a true circle, having his Axis

going out beyond the circle, at each end narrow and narrower, unto a

reasonable sharpe point, and being pure steele as the circle it selfe

is, having in the middest a convenient receptacle to place the capitell

in." In 1750 Dr Gowan Knight found that the needles of merchant-ships

were made of two pieces of steel bent in the middle and united in the

shape of a rhombus, and proposed to substitute straight steel bars of

small breadth, suspended edgewise and hardened throughout. He also

showed that the Chinese mode of suspending the needle conduces most to

sensibility. In 1820 Peter Barlow reported to the Admiralty that half

the compasses in the British Navy were mere lumber and ought to be

destroyed. He introduced a pattern having four or five parallel straight

strips of magnetized steel fixed under a card, a form which remained the

standard admiralty type until the introduction of the modern Thomson

(Kelvin) compass in 1876. (F. H. B.; S. P. T.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Adamas in India reperitur ... Ferrum occulta quadam natura ad se

trahit. Acus ferrea postquam adamantem contigerit, ad stellam

septentrionalem ... semper convertitur, unde valde necessarius est

navigantibus in mari.

[2] Sicut acus per naturam vertitur ad septentrionem dum sit tacta a

magnete.--Sicut acus nautica dirigit marinarios in sua navigatione.

[3] Ginguene, _Hist. lit. de l'Italie_, t. i. p. 413.

[4] "According to all the texts he returned to Venice in 1295 or, as

is more probable, in 1296."--Yule.

COMPASS PLANT, a native of the North American prairies, which takes its

name from the position assumed by the leaves. These turn their edges to

north and south, thus avoiding the excessive mid-day heat, while getting

the full benefit of the morning and evening rays. The plant is known

botanically as _Silphium laciniatum_, and belongs to the natural order

Compositae. Another member of the same order, _Lactuca Scariola_, which

has been regarded as the origin of the cultivated lettuce (_L. sativa_),

behaves in the same way when growing in dry exposed places; it is a

native of Europe and northern Asia which has got introduced into North

America.

COMPAYRE, JULES GABRIEL (1843- ), French educationalist, was born at

Albi. He entered the Ecole Normale Superieure in 1862 and became

professor of philosophy. In 1876 he was appointed professor in the

Faculty of Letters of Toulouse, and upon the creation of the Ecole

normale d'institutrices at Fontenay aux Roses he became teacher of

pedagogy (1880). From 1881 to 1889 he was deputy for Lavaur in the

chamber, and took an active part in the discussions on public education.

Defeated at the elections of 1889, he was appointed rector of the

academy of Poitiers in 1890, and five years later to the academy of

Lyons. His principal publications are his _Histoire critique des

doctrines de l'education en France_ (1879); _Elements d'education

civique_ (1881), a work placed on the index at Rome, but very widely

read in the primary schools of France; _Cours de pedagogie theorique et

pratique_ (1885, 13th ed., 1897); _The Intellectual and Moral

Development of the Child_, in English (2 vols., New York, 1896-1902);

and a series of monographs on _Les Grands Educateurs_.

COMPENSATION (from Lat. _compensare_, to weigh one thing against

another), a term applied in English law to a number of different forms

of legal reparation; e.g. under the Forfeiture Act 1870 (s. 4), for loss

of property caused by felony, or--under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886--to

persons whose property has been stolen, destroyed or injured by rioters

(see RIOT). It is due, under the Agricultural Holdings Acts 1883-1906,

for agricultural improvements (see LANDLORD AND TENANT; cf. also

Allotments and Small Holdings), and under the Workmen's Compensation Act

1906 to workmen, in respect of accidents in the course of their

employment (see EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY); and under the Licensing Act 1904,

to the payments to be made on the extinction of licences to sell

intoxicants. The term "Compensation water" is used to describe the

water given from a reservoir in compensation for water abstracted from a

stream, under statutory powers, in connexion with public works (see

WATER SUPPLY). As to the use of the word "compensation" in horology, see

CLOCK; WATCH.

Compensation, in its most familiar sense, is however a _nomen juris_ for

the reparation or satisfaction made to the owners of property which is

taken by the state or by local authorities or by the promoters of

parliamentary undertakings, under statutory authority, for public

purposes. There are two main legal theories on which such appropriation

of private property is justified. The American may be taken as a

representative illustration of the one, and the English of the other.

Though not included in the definition of "eminent domain," the necessity

for compensation is recognized as incidental to that power. (See Eminent

Domain, under which the American law of compensation, and the closely

allied doctrine of _expropriation pour cause d'utilite_ publique of

French law, and the law of other continental countries, are discussed.)

The rule of English constitutional law, on the other hand, is that the

property of the citizen cannot be seized for purposes which are really

"public" without a fair pecuniary equivalent being given to him; and, as

the money for such compensation must come from parliament, the practical

result is that the seizure can only be effected under legislative

authority. An action for illegal interference with the property of the

subject is not maintainable against officials of the crown or government

sued in their official capacity or as an official body. But crown

officials may be sued in their individual capacity for such

interference, even if they acted with the authority of the government

(cp. _Raleigh_ v. _Goschen_ [1898], 1 Ch. 73).

_Law of England._--Down to 1845 every act authorizing the purchase of

lands had, in addition to a number of common form clauses, a variety of

special clauses framed with a view to meeting the particular

circumstances with which it dealt. In 1845, however, a statute based on

the recommendations of a select committee, appointed in the preceding

year, was passed; the object being to diminish the bulk of the special

acts, and to introduce uniformity into private bill legislation by

classifying the common form clauses, embodying them in general statutes,

and facilitating their incorporation into the special statutes by

reference. The statute by which this change was initiated was the Lands

Clauses Consolidation Act 1845; and the policy has been continued by a

series of later statutes which, together with the act of 1845, are now

grouped under the generic title of the Lands Clauses Acts.

The public purposes for which lands are taken are threefold. Certain

public departments, such as the war office and the admiralty, may

acquire lands for national purposes (see the Defence Acts 1842 to 1873;

and the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1860, s. 7). Local authorities

are enabled to exercise similar powers for an enormous variety of

municipal purposes, e.g. the housing of the working classes, the

improvement of towns, and elementary and secondary education. Lastly,

the promoters of public undertakings of a commercial character, such as

railways and harbours, carry on their operations under statutes in which

the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts are incorporated.

Lands may be taken under the Lands Clauses Acts either by agreement or

compulsorily. The first step in the proceedings is a "notice to treat,"

or intimation by the promoters of their readiness to purchase the land,

coupled with a demand for particulars as to the estate and the interests

in it. The landowner on whom the notice is served may meet it by

agreeing to sell, and the terms may then be settled by consent of the

parties themselves, or by arbitration, if they decide to have recourse

to that mode of adjusting the difficulty. If the property claimed is a

house, or other building or manufactory, the owner has a statutory right

to require the promoters by a counternotice to take the whole, even

although a part would serve their purpose. This rule, however, is, in

modern acts, often modified by special clauses. On receipt of the

counter-notice the promoters must either assent to the requirement

contained in it, or abandon their notice to treat. On the other hand,

if the landowner fails within twenty-one days after receipt of the

notice to treat to give the particulars which it requires, the promoters

may proceed to exercise their compulsory powers and to obtain assessment

of the compensation to be paid. As a general rule, it is a condition

precedent to the exercise of these powers by a company that the capital

of the undertaking should be fully subscribed. Compensation, under the

Lands Clauses Acts, is assessed in four different modes:--(1) by

justices, where the claim does not exceed L50, or a claimant who has no

greater interest than that of a tenant for a year, or from year to year,

is required to give up possession before the expiration of his tenancy;

(2) by arbitration (a) when the claim exceeds L50, and the claimant

desires arbitration, and the interest is not a yearly tenancy, (b) when

the amount has been ascertained by a surveyor, and the claimant is

dissatisfied, (c) when superfluous lands are to be sold, and the parties

entitled to pre-emption and the promoters cannot agree as to the price.

(Lands become "superfluous" if taken compulsorily on an erroneous

estimate of the area needed, or if part only was needed and the owner

compelled the promoters under the power above mentioned to take the

whole, or in cases of abandonment); (3) by a jury, when the claim

exceeds L50, and (a) the claimant does not signify his desire for

arbitration, or no award has been made within the prescribed time, or

(b) the claimant applies in writing for trial by jury; (4) by surveyors,

nominated by justices, where the owner is under disability, or does not

appear at the appointed time, or the claim is in respect of commonable

rights, and a committee has not been appointed to treat with the

promoters.

Promoters are not allowed without the consent of the owner to enter upon

lands which are the subject of proceedings under the Lands Clauses Acts,

except for the purpose of making a survey, unless they have executed a

statutory bond and made a deposit, at the Law Courts Branch of the Bank

of England, as security for the performance of the conditions of the

bond.

_Measure of Value._--(1) Where land is taken, the basis on which

compensation is assessed is the commercial value of the land to the

owner at the date of the notice to treat. Potential value may be taken

into account, and also good-will of the property in a business. This

rule, however, excludes any consideration of the principle of

"betterment." (2) Where land, although not taken, is "injuriously

affected" by the works of the promoters, compensation is payable for

loss or damage resulting from any act, legalized by the promoters'

statutory powers, which would otherwise have been actionable, or caused

by the execution (not the use) of the works authorized by the

undertaking.

The following examples of how land may be "injuriously affected," so as

to give a right to compensation under the acts, may be given:--narrowing

or obstructing a highway which is the nearest access to the lands in

question; interference with a right of way; substantial interference

with ancient lights; noise of children outside a board school.

_Scotland and Ireland._--The Lands Clauses Act 1845 extends to Ireland.

There is a Scots enactment similar in character (Lands Clauses

[Scotland] Act 1845). The principles and practice of the law of

compensation are substantially the same throughout the United Kingdom.

_India and the British Colonies._--Legislation analogous to the Lands

Clauses Acts is in force in India (Land Acquisition Act 1894 [Act I of

1894]) and in most of the colonies (see western Australia, Lands

Resumption Act 1894 [58 Vict. No. 33], Victoria, Lands Compensation Act

1890 [54 Vict. No. 1109]; New Zealand, Public Works Act 1894 [58 Vict.

No. 42]; Ontario [Revised Stats. 1897, c. 37]).

AUTHORITIES.--_English Law_: Balfour Browne and Allan, _Compensation_

(2nd ed., London, 1903); Cripps, _Compensation_ (5th edition, London,

1905); Hudson, _Compensation_ (London, 1906); Boyle and Waghorn,

_Compensation_ (London, 1903); Lloyd, _Compensation_ (6th ed. by

Brooks, London, 1895); Clifford, _Private Bill Legislation_, London,

1885 (vol. i.), 1887 (vol. ii.) _Scots Law_: Deas, _Law of Railways in

Scotland_ (ed. by Ferguson; Edinburgh, 1897); Rankine, _Law of

Landownership_ (3rd ed., 1891). (A. W. R.)

COMPIEGNE, a town of northern France, capital of an arrondissement in

the department of Oise, 52 m. N.N.E. of Paris on the Northern railway

between Paris and St Quentin. Pop. (1906) 14,052. The town, which is a

favourite summer resort, stands on the north-west border of the forest

of Compiegne and on the left bank of the Oise, less than 1 m. below its

confluence with the Aisne. The river is crossed by a bridge built in the

reign of Louis XV. The Rue Solferino, a continuation of the bridge

ending at the Place de l'Hotel de Ville, is the busy street of the town;

elsewhere, except on market days, the streets are quiet. The hotel de

ville, with a graceful facade surmounted by a lofty belfry, is in the

late Gothic style of the early 16th century and was completed in modern

times. Of the churches, St Antoine (13th and 16th centuries) with some

fine Renaissance stained glass, and St Jacques (13th and 15th

centuries), need alone be mentioned. The remains of the ancient abbey of

St Corneille are used as a military storehouse. Compiegne, from a very

early period until 1870, was the occasional residence of the French

kings. Its palace, one of the most magnificent structures of its kind,

was erected, chiefly by Louis XV. and Louis XVI., on the site of a

chateau of King Charles V. of France. It now serves as an art museum. It

has two facades, one overlooking the Place du Palais and the town, the

other, more imposing, facing towards a fine park and the forest, which

is chiefly of oak and beech and covers over 36,000 acres. Compiegne is

the seat of a subprefect, and has tribunals of first instance and of

commerce, a communal college, library and hospital. The industries

comprise boat-building, rope-making, steam-sawing, distilling and the

manufacture of chocolate, machinery and sacks and coarse coverings, and

at Margny, a suburb, there are manufactures of chemicals and felt hats.

Asparagus is cultivated in the environs. There is considerable trade in

timber and coal, chiefly river-borne.

Compiegne, or as it is called in the Latin chronicles, Compendium, seems

originally to have been a hunting-lodge of the early Frankish kings. It

was enriched by Charles the Bald with two castles, and a Benedictine

abbey dedicated to Saint Corneille, the monks of which retained down to

the 18th century the privilege of acting for three days as lords of

Compiegne, with full power to release prisoners, condemn the guilty, and

even inflict sentence of death. It was in Compiegne that King Louis I.

the Debonair was deposed in 833; and at the siege of the town in 1430

Joan of Arc was taken prisoner by the English. A monument to her faces

the hotel de ville. In 1624 the town gave its name to a treaty of

alliance concluded by Richelieu with the Dutch; and it was in the palace

that Louis XV. gave welcome to Marie Antoinette, that Napoleon I.

received Marie Louise of Austria, that Louis XVIII. entertained the

emperor Alexander of Russia, and that Leopold I., king of the Belgians,

was married to the princess Louise. In 1814 Compiegne offered a stubborn

resistance to the Prussian troops. Under Napoleon III. it was the annual

resort of the court during the hunting season. From 1870 to 1871 it was

one of the headquarters of the German army.

COMPLEMENT (Lat. _complementum_, from _complere_, to fill up), that

which fills up or completes anything, e.g. the number of men necessary

to man a ship. In geometry, the complement of an angle is the difference

between the angle and a right angle; the complements of a parallelogram

are formed by drawing parallel to adjacent sides of a parallelogram two

lines intersecting on a diagonal; four parallelograms are thus formed,

and the two not about the diagonal of the original parallelogram are the

complements of the parallelogram. In analysis, a complementary function

is a partial solution to a differential equation (q.v.); complementary

operators are reciprocal or inverse operators, i.e. two operations A and

B are complementary when both operating on the same figure or function

leave it unchanged. A "complementary colour" is one which produces white

when mixed with another (see COLOUR). In Spanish the word _cumplimento_

was used in a particular sense of the fulfilment of the duties of polite

behaviour and courtesy, and it came through the French and Italian forms

into use in English, with a change in spelling to "compliment," with the

sense of an act of politeness, especially of a polite expression of

praise, or of social regard and greetings. The word "comply," meaning

to act in accordance with wishes, orders or conditions, is also derived

from the same origin, but in sense is connected with "ply" or "pliant,"

from Lat. _plicare_, to bend, with the idea of subserviently yielding to

the wishes of another.

COMPLUVIUM (from Lat. _compluere_, to flow together, i.e. in reference

to the rain being collected and falling through), in architecture, the

Latin term for the open space left in the roof of the atrium of a Roman

house for lighting it and the rooms round (see CAVAEDIUM).

COMPOSITAE, the name given to the largest natural order of flowering

plants, containing about one-tenth of the whole number and characterized

by the crowding of the flowers into heads. The order is cosmopolitan,

and the plants show considerable variety in habit. The great majority,

including most British representatives, are herbaceous, but in the

warmer parts of the world shrubs and arborescent forms also occur; the

latter are characteristic of the flora of oceanic islands. In herbaceous

plants the leaves are often arranged in a rosette on a much shortened

stem, as in dandelion, daisy and others; when the stem is elongated the

leaves are generally alternate. The root is generally thickened,

sometimes, as in dahlia, tuberous; root and stem contain oil passages,

or, as in lettuce and dandelion, a milky white latex. The flowers are

crowded in heads (_capitula_) which are surrounded by an involucre of

green bracts,--these protect the head of flowers in the bud stage,

performing the usual function of a calyx. The enlarged top of the axis,

the receptacle, is flat, convex or conical, and the flowers open in

centripetal succession. In many cases, as in the sunflower or daisy, the

outer or ray-florets are larger and more conspicuous than the inner, or

disk-florets; in other cases, as in dandelion, the florets are all

alike. Ray-florets when present are usually pistillate, but neuter in

some genera (as _Centaurea_); the disk-florets are hermaphrodite. The

flower is epigynous; the calyx is sometimes absent, or is represented by

a rim on the top of the ovary, or takes the form of hairs or bristles

which enlarge in the fruiting stage to form the pappus by means of which

the seed is dispersed. The corolla, of five united petals, is regular

and tubular in shape as in the disk-florets, or irregular when it is

either strap-shaped (ligulate), as in the ray-florets of daisy, &c., or

all the florets of dandelion, or more rarely two-lipped. The five

stamens are attached to the interior of the corolla-tube; the filaments

are free; the anthers are joined (syngenesious) to form a tube round the

single style, which ends in a pair of stigmas. The inferior ovary

contains one ovule (attached to the base of the chamber), and ripens to

form a dry one-seeded fruit; the seed is filled with the straight

embryo.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.

1. Flower head of Marigold. 3. Head of fruits, nat. size.

2. Same in vertical section. 4. A single fruit.]

The flower-heads are an admirable example of an adaptation for

pollination by aid of insects. The crowding of the flowers in heads

ensures the pollination of a large number as the result of a single

insect visit. Honey is secreted at the base of the style, and is

protected from rain or dew and the visits of short-lipped insects by the

corolla-tube, the length of which is correlated with the length of

proboscis of the visiting insect. When the flower opens, the two stigmas

are pressed together below the tube formed by the anthers, the latter

split on the inside, and the pollen fills the tube; the style gradually

lengthens and carries the pollen out of the anther tube, and finally the

stigmas spread and expose their receptive surface which has hitherto

been hidden, the two being pressed together. Thus the life history of

the flower falls into two stages, an earlier or male and a later or

female. This favours cross-pollination as compared with

self-pollination. In many cases there is a third stage, as in dandelion,

where the stigmas finally curl back so that they touch any pollen grains

which have been left on the style, thus ensuring self-pollination if

cross-pollination has not been effected.

The devices for distribution of the fruit are very varied. Frequently

there is a hairy or silky pappus forming a tuft of hairs, as in thistle

or coltsfoot, or a parachute-like structure as in dandelion; these

render the fruit sufficiently light to be carried by the wind. In

_Bidens_ the pappus consists of two or more stiff-barbed bristles which

cause the fruit to cling to the coats of animals. Occasionally, as in

sunflower or daisy, the fruits bear no special appendage and remain on

the head until jerked off.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Flowering shoot of Cornflower. 1. Disk-floret in

vertical section.]

Compositae are generally considered to represent the most highly

developed order of flowering plants. By the massing of the flowers in

heads great economy is effected in the material required for one flower,

as conspicuousness is ensured by the association; economy of time on the

part of the pollinating insect is also effected, as a large number of

flowers are visited at one time. The floral mechanism is both simple and

effective, favouring cross-pollination, but ensuring self-pollination

should that fail. The means of seed-distribution are also very

effective.

A few members of the order are of economic value, e.g. _Lactuca_

(lettuce; q.v.), _Cichorium_ (chicory; q.v.), _Cynara_ (artichoke and

cardoon; q.v.), _Helianthus_ (Jerusalem artichoke). Many are cultivated

as garden or greenhouse plants, such as _Solidago_ (golden rod),

_Ageratum_, Aster (q.v.) (Michaelmas daisy), _Helichrysum_

(everlasting), _Zinnia, Rudbeckia, Helianthus_ (sunflower), _Coreopsis_,

Dahlia (q.v.), _Tagetes_ (French and African marigold), _Gaillardia,

Achillea_ (yarrow), _Chrysanthemum, Pyrethrum_ (feverfew; now generally

included under _Chrysanthemum_), _Tanacetum_ (tansy), _Arnica,

Doronicum, Cineraria Calendula_ (common marigold) (fig. 1), _Echinops_

(globe thistle), _Centaurea_ (cornflower) (fig. 2). Some are of

medicinal value, such as _Anthemis_ (chamomile), _Artemisia_ (wormwood),

_Tussilago_ (coltsfoot), _Arnica_. Insect powder is prepared from

species of _Pyrethrum_.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Groundsel (_Senecio vulgaris_).

1. Disk-floret. 3. Ray-floret.

2. Same cut vertically. 4. Fruit with pappus.]

The order is divided into two suborders:--_Tubuliflorae_, characterized

by absence of latex, and the florets of the disk being not ligulate, and

_Liguliflorae_, characterized by presence of latex and all the florets

being ligulate. The first suborder contains the majority of the genera,

and is divided into a number of tribes, characterized by the form of the

anthers and styles, the presence or absence of scales on the receptacle,

and the similarity or otherwise of the florets of one and the same head.

The order is well represented in Britain, in which forty-two genera are

native. These include some of the commonest weeds, such as dandelion

(_Taraxacum Dens-leonis_), daisy (_Bellis perennis_), groundsel (fig. 3)

(_Senecio vulgaris_) and ragwort (_S. Jacobaea_); coltsfoot (_Tussilago

Farfara_) is one of the earliest plants to flower, and other genera are

_Chrysanthemum_ (ox-eye daisy and corn-marigold), _Arctium_ (burdock),

_Centaurea_ (knapweed and cornflower), _Carduus_ and _Cnicus_

(thistles), _Hieracium_ (hawkweed), _Sonchus_ (sow-thistle), _Achillea_

(yarrow, or milfoil, and sneezewort), _Eupatorium_ (hemp-agrimony),

_Gnaphalium_ (cudweed), _Erigeron_ (fleabane), _Solidago_ (golden-rod),

_Anthemis_ (may-weed and chamomile), _Cichorium_ (chicory), _Lapsana_

(nipplewort), _Crepis_ (hawk's-beard), _Hypochaeris_ (cat's-ear), and

_Tragopogon_ (goat's-beard).

COMPOSITE ORDER, in architecture, a compound of the Ionic and Corinthian

orders (see ORDER), the chief characteristic of which is found in the

capital (q.v.), where a double row of acanthus leaves, similar to those

carved round the Corinthian capital, has been added under the Ionic

volutes. The richer decoration of the Ionic capital had already been

employed in those of the Erechtheum, where the necking was carved with

the palmette or honeysuckle. Similar decorated Ionic capitals were found

in the forum of Trajan. The earliest example of the Composite capital is

found in the arch of Titus at Rome. The entablature was borrowed from

that of the Corinthian order.

COMPOSITION (Lat. _compositio_, from _componere_, to put together), the

action of putting together and combining, and the product of such

action. There are many applications of the word. In philology it is used

of the putting together of two distinct words to form a single word; and

in grammar, of the combination of words into sentences, and sentences

into periods, and then applied to the result of such combination, and to

the art of producing a work in prose or verse, or to the work itself. In

music "composition" is used both of the art of combining musical sounds

in accordance with the rules of musical form, and, more generally, of

the whole art of creation or invention. The name "composer" is thus

particularly applied to the musical creator in general. In the other

fine arts the word is more strictly used of the balanced arrangement of

the parts of a picture, of a piece of sculpture or a building, so that

they should form one harmonious whole. The word also means an agreement

or an adjustment of differences between two or more parties, and is thus

the best general term to describe the agreement, often called by the

equivalent German word "Ausgleich," between Austria and Hungary in 1867.

A more particular use is the legal one, for an agreement by which a

creditor agrees to take from his debtor a sum less than his debt in

satisfaction of the whole (see BANKRUPTCY). In logic "composition" is

the name given to a fallacy of equivocation, where what is true

distributively of each member of a class is inferred to be true of the

whole class collectively. The fallacy of "division" is the converse of

this, where what is true of a term used collectively is inferred to be

true of its several parts. A common source of these errors in reasoning

is the confusion between the collective and distributive meanings of the

word "all." Composition, often shortened to "compo," is the name given

to many materials compounded of more than one substance, and is used in

various trades and manufactures, as in building, for a mixture, such as

stucco, cement and plaster, for covering walls, &c., often made to

represent stone or marble; a similar moulded compound is employed to

represent carved wood.

COMPOUND (from Lat. _componere_, to combine or put together), a

combination of various elements, substances or ingredients, so as to

form one composite whole. A "chemical compound" is a substance which can

be resolved into simple constituents, as opposed to an element which

cannot be so resolved (see CHEMISTRY); a word is said to be a "compound"

when it is made up of different words or parts of different words. The

term is also used in an adjectival form with many applications; a

"compound engine" is one where the expansion of the steam is effected in

two or more stages (see STEAM-ENGINE); in zoology, the "compound eye"

possessed by insects and crustacea is one which is made up of several

_ocelli_ or simple eyes, set together so that the whole has the

appearance of being faceted (see EYE); in botany, the "compound leaf"

has two or more separate blades on a common leaf-stalk; in surgery, in a

"compound fracture" the skin is broken as well as the bone, and there is

a communication between the two. There are many mathematical and

arithmetical uses of the term, particularly of those forms of addition,

multiplication, division and subtraction which deal with quantities of

more than one denomination. Compound interest is interest paid upon

interest, the accumulation of interest forming, as it were, a secondary

principal. The verb "to compound" is used of the arrangement or

settlement of differences, and especially of an agreement made to accept

or to pay part of a debt in full discharge of the whole, and thus of the

arrangement made by an insolvent debtor with his creditors (see

BANKRUPTCY); similarly of the substitution of one payment for annual or

other periodic payments,--thus subscriptions, university or other dues,

&c., may be "compounded"; a particular instance of this is the system of

"compounding" for rates, where the occupier of premises pays an

increased rent, and the owner makes himself responsible for the payment

of the rates. The householder who thus compounds with the owner of the

premises he occupies is known as a "compound householder." The payment

of poor rate forming part of the qualification necessary for the

parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom, various statutes, leading

up to the Compound Householders Act 1851, have enabled such occupiers to

claim to be placed on the rate. In law, to compound a felony is to agree

with the felon not to prosecute him for his crime, in return for

valuable consideration, or, in the case of a theft, on return of the

goods stolen. Such an agreement is a misdemeanour and is punishable with

fine and imprisonment.

The name "compounders" was given during the reign of William III. of

England to the members of a Jacobite faction, who were prepared to

restore James II. to the throne, on the condition of an amnesty and an

undertaking to preserve the constitution. Until 1853, in the university

of Oxford, those possessing private incomes of a certain amount paid

special dues for their degrees, and were known as Grand and Petty

Compounders.

The corruption "compound" (from the Malay _kampung_ or _kampong_, a

quarter of a village) is the name applied to the enclosed ground,

whether garden or waste, which surrounds an Anglo-Indian house. In India

the European quarter, as a rule, is separate from the native quarter,

and consists of a number of single houses, each standing in a compound,

sometimes many acres in extent.

COMPOUND PIER, the architectural term given to a clustered column or

pier which consists of a centre mass or newel, to which engaged or

semi-detached shafts have been attached, in order to perform, or to

suggest the performance of, certain definite structural objects, such as

to carry arches of additional orders, or to support the transverse or

diagonal ribs of a vault, or the tie beam of an important roof. In these

cases, though performing different functions, the drums of the pier are

often cut out of one stone. There are, however, cases where the shafts

are detached from the pier and coupled to it by armulets at regular

heights, as in the Early English period.

COMPRADOR (a Portuguese word used in the East, derived from the Lat.

_comparare_, to procure), originally a native servant in European

households in the East, but now the name given to the native managers in

European business houses in China, and also to native contractors

supplying ships in the Philippines and elsewhere in the East.

COMPRESSION, in astronomy, the deviation of a heavenly body from the

spherical form, called also the "ellipticity." It is numerically

expressed by the ratio of the differences of the axes to the major axis

of the spheroid. The compression or "flattening" of the earth is about

1/298, which means that the ratio of the equatorial to the polar axis is

298:297 (see Earth, Figure of the). In engineering the term is applied

to the arrangement by which the exhaust valve of a steam-engine is made

to close, shutting a portion of the exhaust steam in the cylinder,

before the stroke of the piston is quite complete. This steam being

compressed as the stroke is completed, a cushion is formed against which

the piston does work while its velocity is being rapidly reduced, and

thus the stresses in the mechanism due to the inertia of the

reciprocating parts are lessened. This compression, moreover, obviates

the shock which would otherwise be caused by the admission of the fresh

steam for the return stroke. In internal combustion engines it is a

necessary condition of economy to compress the explosive mixture before

it is ignited: in the Otto cycle, for instance, the second stroke of the

piston effects the compression of the charge which has been drawn into

the cylinder by the first forward stroke.

COMPROMISE (pronounced _compr[)o]mize_; through Fr. from Lat.

_compromittere_), a term, meaning strictly a joint agreement, which has

come to signify such a settlement as involves a mutual adjustment, with

a surrender of part of each party's claim. From the element of danger

involved has arisen an invidious sense of the word, imputing discredit,

so that being "compromised" commonly means injured in reputation.

COMPROMISE MEASURES OF 1850, in American history, a series of measures

the object of which was the settlement of five questions in dispute

between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States.

Three of these questions grew out of the annexation of Texas and the

acquisition of western territory as a result of the Mexican War. The

settlers who had flocked to California after the discovery of gold in

1848 adopted an anti-slavery state constitution on the 13th of October

1849, and applied for admission into the Union. In the second place it

was necessary to form a territorial government for the remainder of the

territory acquired from Mexico, including that now occupied by Nevada

and Utah, and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The

fundamental issue was in regard to the admission of slavery into, or the

exclusion of slavery from, this region. Thirdly, there was a dispute

over the western boundary of Texas. Should the Rio Grande be the line of

division north of Mexico, or should an arbitrary boundary be established

farther to the eastward; in other words, should a considerable part of

the new territory be certainly opened to slavery as a part of Texas, or

possibly closed to it as a part of the organized territorial section?

Underlying all of these issues was of course the great moral and

political problem as to whether slavery was to be confined to the

south-eastern section of the country or be permitted to spread to the

Pacific. The two questions not growing out of the Mexican War were in

regard to the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia,

and the passage of a new fugitive slave law.

Congress met on the 3rd of December 1849. Neither faction was strong

enough in both houses to carry out its own programme, and it seemed for

a time that nothing would be done. On the 29th of January 1850 Henry

Clay presented the famous resolution which constituted the basis of the

ultimate compromise. His idea was to combine the more conservative

elements of both sections in favour of a settlement which would concede

the Southern view on two questions, the Northern view on two, and

balance the fifth. Daniel Webster supported the plan in his great speech

of the 7th of March, although in doing so he alienated many of his

former admirers. Opposed to the conservatives were the extremists of the

North, led by William H. Seward and Salmon P. Chase, and those of the

South, led by Jefferson Davis. Most of the measures were rejected and

the whole plan seemed likely to fail, when the situation was changed by

the death of President Taylor and the accession of Millard Fillmore on

the 9th of July 1850. The influence of the administration was now thrown

in favour of the compromise. Under a tacit understanding of the

moderates to vote together, five separate bills were passed, and were

signed by the president between 9th and 20th September 1850. California

was admitted as a free state, and the slave trade was abolished in the

District of Columbia; these were concessions to the North. New Mexico

(then including the present Arizona) and Utah were organized without any

prohibition of slavery (each being left free to decide for or against,

on admission to statehood), and a rigid fugitive slave law was enacted;

these were concessions to the South. Texas (q.v.) was compelled to give

up much of the western land to which it had a good claim, and received

in return $10,000,000.

This legislation had several important results. It helped to postpone

secession and Civil War for a decade, during which time the North-West

was growing more wealthy and more populous, and was being brought into

closer relations with the North-East. It divided the Whigs into "Cotton

Whigs" and "Conscience Whigs," and in time led to the downfall of the

party. In the third place, the rejection of the Wilmot Proviso and the

acceptance (as regards New Mexico and Utah) of "Squatter Sovereignty"

meant the adoption of a new principle in dealing with slavery in the

territories, which, although it did not apply to the same territory, was

antagonistic to the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The sequel was the

repeal of the Missouri Compromise in the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of 1854.

Fourthly, the enforcement of the fugitive slave law aroused a feeling of

bitterness in the North which helped eventually to bring on the war, and

helped to make it, when it came, quite as much an anti-slavery crusade

as a struggle for the preservation of the Union. Finally, although Clay

for his support of the compromises and Seward and Chase for their

opposition have gained in reputation, Webster has been selected as the

special target for hostile criticism. The Compromise Measures are

sometimes spoken of collectively as the Omnibus Bill, owing to their

having been grouped originally--when first reported (May 8) to the

Senate--into one bill.

The best account of the above Compromises is to be found in J. F.

Rhodes, _History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850_,

vol. i. (New York, 1896). (W. R. S.*)

COMPSA (mod. _Conza_), an ancient city of the Hirpini, near the sources

of the Aufidus, on the boundary of Lucania and not far from that of

Apulia, on a ridge 1998 ft. above sea-level. It was betrayed to Hannibal

in 216 B.C. after the defeat of Cannae, but recaptured two years later.

It was probably occupied by Sulla in 89 B.C., and was the scene of the

death of T. Annius Milo in 48 B.C. Most authorities (cf. Hulsen in

Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopadie_, Stuttgart, 1901, iv. 797) refer Caes.

_Bell. civ._ iii. 22, and Plin. _Hist. Nat._ ii. 147, to this place,

supposing the MSS. to be corrupt. The usual identification of the site

of Milo's death with Cassano on the Gulf of Taranto must therefore be

rejected. In imperial times, as inscriptions show, it was a

_municipium_, but it lay far from any of the main high-roads. There are

no important ancient remains.

COMPTON, HENRY (1632-1713), English divine, was the sixth and youngest

son of the second earl of Northampton. He was educated at Queen's

College, Oxford, and then travelled in Europe. After the restoration of

Charles II. he became cornet in a regiment of horse, but soon quitted

the army for the church. After a further period of study at Cambridge

and again at Oxford, he held various livings. He was made bishop of

Oxford in 1674, and in the following year was translated to the see of

London. He was also appointed a member of the Privy Council, and

entrusted with the education of the two princesses--Mary and Anne. He

showed a liberality most unusual at the time to Protestant dissenters,

whom he wished to reunite with the established church. He held several

conferences on the subject with the clergy of his diocese; and in the

hope of influencing candid minds by means of the opinions of unbiassed

foreigners, he obtained letters treating of the question (since printed

at the end of Stillingfleet's _Unreasonableness of Separation_) from Le

Moyne; professor of divinity at Leiden, and the famous French Protestant

divine, Jean Claude. But to Roman Catholicism he was strongly opposed.

On the accession of James II. he consequently lost his seat in the

council and his deanery in the Chapel Royal; and for his firmness in

refusing to suspend John Sharp, rector of St Giles's-in-the-Fields,

whose anti-papal writings had rendered him obnoxious to the king, he was

himself suspended. At the Revolution Compton embraced the cause of

William and Mary; he performed the ceremony of their coronation; his old

position was restored to him; and among other appointments, he was

chosen as one of the commissioners for revising the liturgy. During the

reign of Anne he remained a member of the privy council, and was one of

the commissioners appointed to arrange the terms of the union of England

and Scotland; but, to his bitter disappointment, his claims to the

primacy were twice passed over. He died at Fulham on the 7th of July

1713. He had conspicuous defects both in spirit and intellect, but was

benevolent and philanthropic. He was a successful botanist. He

published, besides several theological works, _A Translation from the

Italian of the Life of Donna Olympia Maladichini, who governed the

Church during the time of Pope Innocent X., which was from the year 1644

to 1655_ (1667), and _A Translation from the French of the Jesuits'

Intrigues_ (1669).

COMPTROLLER, the title of an official whose business primarily was to

examine and take charge of accounts, hence to direct or control, e.g.

the English comptroller of the household, comptroller and

auditor-general (head of the exchequer and audit department),

comptroller-general of patents, &c., comptroller-general (head of the

national debt office). On the other hand, the word is frequently spelt

_controller_, as in controller of the navy, controller or head of the

stationery office. The word is used in the same sense in the United

States, as comptroller of the treasury, an official who examines

accounts and signs drafts, and comptroller of the currency, who

administers the law relating to the national banks.

COMPURGATION (from Lat. _compurgare_, to purify completely), a mode of

procedure formerly employed in ecclesiastical courts, and derived from

the canon law (_compurgatio canonica_), by which a clerk who was accused

of crime was required to make answers on the oath of himself and a

certain number of other clerks (compurgators) who would swear to his

character or innocence. The term is more especially applied to a

somewhat similar procedure, the old Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon mode of

trial by oath-taking or oath-helping (see JURY).

COMTE, AUGUSTE [ISIDORE AUGUSTE MARIE FRANCOIS XAVIER] (1798-1857),

French Positive philosopher, was born on the 19th of January 1798 at

Montpellier, where his father was a receiver-general of taxes for the

district. He was sent for his earliest instruction to the school of the

town, and in 1814 was admitted to the Ecole Polytechnique. His youth

was marked by a constant willingness to rebel against merely official

authority; to genuine excellence, whether moral or intellectual, he was

always ready to pay unbounded deference. That strenuous application

which was one of his most remarkable gifts in manhood showed itself in

his youth, and his application was backed or inspired by superior

intelligence and aptness. After he had been two years at the Ecole

Polytechnique he took a foremost part in a mutinous demonstration

against one of the masters; the school was broken up, and Comte like the

other scholars was sent home. To the great dissatisfaction of his

parents, he resolved to return to Paris (1816), and to earn his living

there by giving lessons in mathematics. Benjamin Franklin was the

youth's idol at this moment. "I seek to imitate the modern Socrates," he

wrote to a school friend, "not in talents, but in way of living. You

know that at five-and-twenty he formed the design of becoming perfectly

wise and that he fulfilled his design. I have dared to undertake the

same thing, though I am not yet twenty." Though Comte's character and

aims were as far removed as possible from Franklin's type, neither

Franklin nor any man that ever lived could surpass him in the heroic

tenacity with which, in the face of a thousand obstacles, he pursued his

own ideal of a vocation.

For a moment circumstances led him to think of seeking a career in

America, but a friend who preceded him thither warned him of the purely

practical spirit that prevailed in the new country. "If Lagrange were to

come to the United States, he could only earn his livelihood by turning

land surveyor." So Comte remained in Paris, living as he best could on

something less than L80 a year, and hoping, when he took the trouble to

break his meditations upon greater things by hopes about himself, that

he might by and by obtain an appointment as mathematical master in a

school. A friend procured him a situation as tutor in the house of

Casimir Perier. The salary was good, but the duties were too

miscellaneous, and what was still worse, there was an end of the

delicious liberty of the garret. After a short experience of three weeks

Comte returned to neediness and contentment. He was not altogether

without the young man's appetite for pleasure; yet when he was only

nineteen we find him wondering, amid the gaieties of the carnival of

1817, how a gavotte or a minuet could make people forget that thirty

thousand human beings around them had barely a morsel to eat.

Towards 1818 Comte became associated as friend and disciple with

Saint-Simon, who was destined to exercise a very decisive influence upon

the turn of his speculation. In after years he so far forgot himself as

to write of Saint-Simon as a depraved quack, and to deplore his

connexion with him as purely mischievous. While the connexion lasted he

thought very differently. Saint-Simon is described as the most estimable

and lovable of men, and the most delightful in his relations; he is the

worthiest of philosophers. Even at the very moment when Comte was

congratulating himself on having thrown off the yoke, he honestly admits

that Saint-Simon's influence has been of powerful service in his

philosophic education. "I certainly," he writes to his most intimate

friend, "am under great personal obligations to Saint-Simon; that is to

say, he helped in a powerful degree to launch me in the philosophical

direction that I have now definitely marked out for myself, and that I

shall follow without looking back for the rest of my life." Even if

there were no such unmistakable expressions as these, the most cursory

glance into Saint-Simon's writings is enough to reveal the thread of

connexion between the ingenious visionary and the systematic thinker. We

see the debt, and we also see that when it is stated at the highest

possible, nothing has really been taken either from Comte's claims as a

powerful original thinker, or from his immeasurable pre-eminence over

Saint-Simon in intellectual grasp and vigour and coherence. As high a

degree of originality may be shown in transformation as in invention, as

Moliere and Shakespeare have proved in the region of dramatic art. In

philosophy the conditions are not different. _Il faut prendre son bien

ou on le trouve._

It is no detriment to Comte's fame that some of the ideas which he

recombined and incorporated in a great philosophic structure had their

origin in ideas that were produced almost at random in the incessant

fermentation of Saint-Simon's brain. Comte is in no true sense a

follower of Saint-Simon, but it was undoubtedly Saint-Simon who launched

him, to take Comte's own word, by suggesting the two starting-points of

what grew into the Comtist system--first, that political phenomena are

as capable of being grouped under laws as other phenomena; and second,

that the true destination of philosophy must be social, and the true

object of the thinker must be the reorganization of the moral, religious

and political systems. We can readily see what an impulse these

far-reaching conceptions would give to Comte's meditations. There were

conceptions of less importance than these, in which it is impossible not

to feel that it was Saint-Simon's wrong or imperfect idea that put his

young admirer on the track to a right and perfected idea. The subject is

not worthy of further discussion. That Comte would have performed some

great intellectual achievement, if Saint-Simon had never been born, is

certain. It is hardly less certain that the great achievement which he

did actually perform was originally set in motion by Saint-Simon's

conversation, though it was afterwards directly filiated with the

fertile speculations of A. R. J. Turgot and Condorcet. Comte thought

almost as meanly of Plato as he did of Saint-Simon, and he considered

Aristotle the prince of all true thinkers; yet their vital difference

about Ideas did not prevent Aristotle from calling Plato master.

After six years the differences between the old and the young

philosopher grew too marked for friendship. Comte began to fret under

Saint-Simon's pretensions to be his director. Saint-Simon, on the other

hand, perhaps began to feel uncomfortably conscious of the superiority

of his disciple. The occasion of the breach between them (1824) was an

attempt on Saint-Simon's part to print a production of Comte's as if it

were in some sort connected with Saint-Simon's schemes of social

reorganization. Not only was the breach not repaired, but long

afterwards Comte, as we have said, with painful ungraciousness took to

calling the encourager of his youth by very hard names.