Pecuniary limit
Subject matter. of jurisdiction.
Common-law actions, with written consent of both
parties Unlimited.
Actions founded on contract (except for breach of
promise of marriage, in which the county courts have
no jurisdiction) L100.
Actions founded on tort (except libel, slander, and
seduction, in which the county courts have no
jurisdiction) L100.
Counter claims (unless plaintiff gives written notice
of objection) Unlimited.
Ejectment or questions of title to reality L100 annual value.
Equity jurisdiction L500.
Probate jurisdiction L200 personalty
and L300 realty.
Admiralty jurisdiction L300.
Bankruptcy jurisdiction Unlimited.
Replevin Unlimited.
Interpleader transferred from High Court L500.
Actions in contract transferred from High Court L100.
Actions in tort transferred from High Court Unlimited.
Companies (winding up), when the paid-up capital
does not exceed L10,000.
There is no discoverable principle upon which these limits of the
jurisdiction of the county courts have been determined. But the above
table is not by any means an exhaustive statement of the jurisdiction of
the county courts. For many years it has been the practice of parliament
to throw on the county court judges the duty of acting as judges or
arbitrators for the purpose of new legislation relating to social
subjects. It is impossible to classify the many statutes which have been
passed since 1846 and which confer some jurisdiction, apart from that
under the County Courts Act, on county courts or their judges. Some of
these acts impose exceptional duties on the judges of the county courts,
others confer unlimited jurisdiction concurrently with the High Court or
some other court, others, again, confer limited or, sometimes, exclusive
jurisdiction. A list of all the acts will be found in the _Annual County
Courts Practice_. A county court judge may determine all matters of fact
as well as law, but a jury may be summoned at the option of either
plaintiff or defendant when the amount in dispute exceeds L5, and in
actions under L5 the judge may in his discretion, on application of
either of the parties, order that the action be tried by jury. The
number of jurymen impanelled and sworn at the trial was, by the County
Courts Act 1903, increased from five to eight.
There is an appeal from the county courts on matters of law to a
divisional court of the High Court, i.e. to the admiralty division in
admiralty cases and to the king's bench division in other cases (sec.
120 of act of 1888). The determination of the divisional court is final,
unless leave be given by that court or the court of appeal (Judicature
Acts 1894). (See further APPEAL.) In proceedings under the Workmen's
Compensation Act the appeal from a county court judge is to the court of
appeal, with a subsequent appeal to the House of Lords. In 1908 a
Committee was appointed by the lord chancellor "to inquire into certain
matters of county court procedure." The committee presented a report in
1909 (H.C. 71), recommending the extension of existing county court
jurisdiction, but a bill introduced to give effect to the
recommendations was not proceeded with.
See _Annual County Courts Practice_, also "Fifty Years of the English
County Courts," by County Court Judge Sir T. W. Snagge, in _Nineteenth
Century_, October 1897.
COUPE (French for "cut off"), a small closed carriage of the brougham
type, with four wheels and seats for two persons; the term is also used
of the front compartment on a _diligence_ or mail-coach on the continent
of Europe, and of a compartment in a railway carriage with seats on one
side only.
COUPLET, a pair of lines of verse, which are welded together by an
identity of rhyme. The _New English Dict._ derives the use of the word
from the French _couplet_, signifying two pieces of iron riveted or
hinged together. In rhymed verse two lines which complete a meaning in
themselves are particularly known as a couplet. Thus, in Pope's _Eloisa
to Abelard_:--
"Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul,
And waft a sigh from Indus to the Pole."
In much of old English dramatic literature, when the mass of the
composition is in blank verse or even in prose, particular emphasis is
given by closing the scene in a couplet. Thus, in the last act of
Beaumont and Fletcher's _Thierry and Theodoret_ the action culminates in
an unexpected rhyme:--
"And now lead on; they that shall read this story
Shall find that virtue lives in good, not glory."
In French literature, the term couplet is not confined to a pair of
lines, but is commonly used for a stanza. A "square" couplet, in French,
for instance, is a strophe of eight lines, each composed of eight
syllables. In this sense it is employed to distinguish the more emphatic
parts of a species of verse which is essentially gay, graceful and
frivolous, such as the songs in a vaudeville or a comic opera. In the
18th century, Le Sage, Piron and even Voltaire did not hesitate to
engage their talents on the production of couplets, which were often
witty, if they had no other merit, and were well fitted to catch the
popular ear. This signification of the word _couplet_ is not unknown in
England, but it is not customary; it is probably used in a stricter and
a more technical sense to describe a pair of rhymed lines, whether
serious or merry. The normal type, as it may almost be called, of
English versification is the metre of ten-syllabled rhymed lines
designated as _heroic couplet_. This form of iambic verse, with five
beats to each line, is believed to have been invented by Chaucer, who
employs it first in the Prologue _The Legend of Good Women_ the
composition of which is attributed to the year 1385. That poem opens
with the couplet:--
"A thousand times have I heard man tell
That there is joy in heaven and pain in hell."
This is an absolutely correct example of the heroic couplet, which
ultimately reached such majesty in the hands of Dryden and such
brilliancy in those of Pope. It has been considered proper for didactic,
descriptive and satirical poetry, although in the course of the 19th
century blank verse largely took its place. Epigram often selects the
couplet as the vehicle of its sharpened arrows, as in Sir John
Harington's
"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason."
(E. G.)
COUPON (from Fr. _couper_, to cut), a certificate entitling its owner to
some payment, share or other benefit; more specifically, one of a
series of interest certificates or dividend warrants attached to a bond
running for a number of years. The word coupon (a piece cut off)
possesses an etymological meaning so comprehensive that, while on the
Stock Exchange it is only used to denote such an interest certificate or
a certificate of stock of a joint-stock company, it may be as suitably,
and elsewhere is perhaps more frequently, applied to tickets sold by
tourist agencies and others. The coupons by means of which the interest
on a bond or debenture is collected are generally printed at the side or
foot of that document, to be cut off and presented for payment at the
bank or agency named on them as they become due. The last portion,
called a "talon," is a form of certificate, and entitles the holder,
when all the coupons have been presented, to obtain a fresh coupon
sheet. They pass by delivery, and are as a rule exempt from stamp duty.
Coupons for the payment of dividends are also attached to the share
warrants to bearer issued by some joint-stock companies. The coupons on
the bonds of most of the principal foreign loans are payable in London
in sterling as well as abroad.
COURANTE (a French word derived from _courir_, to run), a dance in 3-2
time march in vogue in France in the 17th century (see DANCE). It is
also a musical term for a movement or independent piece based on the
dance. In a _suite_ it followed the Allemande (q.v.), with which it is
contrasted in rhythm.
COURAYER, PIERRE FRANCOIS LE (1681-1776), French Roman Catholic
theological writer, was born at Rouen on the 17th of November 1681.
While canon regular and librarian of the abbey of St Genevieve at Paris,
he conducted a correspondence with Archbishop Wake on the subject of
episcopal succession in England, which supplied him with material for
his work, _Dissertation sur la validite des ordinations des Anglais et
sur la succession des eveques de l'Eglise anglicane, avec les preuves
justificatives des faits avances_ (Brussels, 1723; Eng. trans. by D.
Williams, London, 1725; reprinted Oxford, 1844, with memoir of the
author), an attempt to prove that there has been no break in the line of
ordination from the apostles to the English clergy. His opinions exposed
him to a prosecution, and with the help of Bishop Atterbury, then in
exile in Paris, he took refuge in England, where he was presented by the
university of Oxford with a doctor's degree. In 1736 he published a
French translation of Paolo Sarpi's _History of the Council of Trent_,
and dedicated it to Queen Caroline, from whom he received a pension of
L200 a year. Besides this he translated Sleidan's _History of the
Reformation_, and wrote several theological works. He died in London on
the 17th of October 1776, and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster
Abbey. In his will, dated two years before his death, he declared
himself still a member of the Roman Catholic Church, although dissenting
from many of its opinions.
COURBET, GUSTAVE (1819-1877), French painter, was born at Ornans (Doubs)
on the 10th of June 1819. He went to Paris in 1839, and worked at the
studio of Steuben and Hesse; but his independent spirit did not allow
him to remain there long, as he preferred to work out his own way by the
study of Spanish, Flemish and French painters. His first works, an
"Odalisque," suggested by Victor Hugo, and a "Lelia," illustrating
George Sand, were literary subjects; but these he soon abandoned for the
study of real life. Among other works he painted his own portrait with
his dog, and "The Man with a Pipe," both of which were rejected by the
jury of the Salon; but the younger school of critics, the neo-romantics
and realists, loudly sang the praises of Courbet, who by 1849 began to
be famous, producing such pictures as "After Dinner at Ornans" and "The
Valley of the Loire." The Salon of 1850 found him triumphant with the
"Burial at Ornans," the "Stone-Breakers" and the "Peasants of Flazey."
His style still gained in individuality, as in "Village Damsels" (1852),
the "Wrestlers," "Bathers," and "A Girl Spinning" (1852). Though
Courbet's realistic work is not devoid of importance, it is as a
landscape and sea painter that he will be most honoured by posterity.
Sometimes, it must be owned, his realism is rather coarse and brutal,
but when he paints the forests of Franche-Comte, the "Stag-Fight," "The
Wave," or the "Haunt of the Does," he is inimitable. When Courbet had
made a name as an artist he grew ambitious of other glory; he tried to
promote democratic and social science, and under the Empire he wrote
essays and dissertations. His refusal of the cross of the Legion of
Honour, offered to him by Napoleon III., made him immensely popular, and
in 1871 he was elected, under the Commune, to the chamber. Thus it
happened that he was responsible for the destruction of the Vendome
column. A council of war, before which he was tried, condemned him to
pay the cost of restoring the column, 300,000 francs (L12,000). To
escape the necessity of working to the end of his days at the orders of
the State in order to pay this sum, Courbet went to Switzerland in 1873,
and died at La Tour du Peilz, on the 31st of December 1877, of a disease
of the liver aggravated by intemperance. An exhibition of his works was
held in 1882 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
See Champfleury, _Les Grandes Figures d'hier et d'aujourd' hui_
(Paris, 1861); Mantz, "G. Courbet," _Gaz. des beaux-arts_ (Paris,
1878); Zola, _Mes Haines_ (Paris, 1879); C. Lemonnier, _Les Peintres
de la Vie_ (Paris, 1888). (H. FR.)
COURBEVOIE, a town of northern France, in the department of Seine, 5 m.
W.N.W. of Paris on the railway to Versailles. Pop. (1906) 29,339. It is
a residential suburb of Paris, and has a fine avenue opening on the
Neuilly bridge, and forming with it a continuation of the Champs
Elysees. It carries on bleaching and the manufacture of carriage bodies,
awnings, drugs, biscuits, &c.
COURCELLE-SENEUIL, JEAN GUSTAVE (1813-1892), French economist, was born
at Seneuil (Dordogne) on the 22nd of December 1813. Seneuil was an
additional name adopted from his native place. Devoting himself at first
to the study of the law, he was called to the French bar in 1835. Soon
after, however, he returned to Dordogne and settled down as a manager of
ironworks. He found leisure to study economic and political questions,
and was a frequent contributor to the republican papers. On the
establishment of the second republic in 1848 he became director of the
public domains. After the _coup d'etat_ of Napoleon III. in 1851 he went
to South America, and held the professorship of political economy at the
National Institute of Santiago, in Chile, from 1853 to 1863, when he
returned to France. In 1879 he was made a councillor of state, and in
1882 was elected a member of the _Academie des sciences morales et
politiques_. He died at Paris on the 29th of June 1892.
Courcelle-Seneuil, as an economist, was strongly inclined towards the
liberal school, and was equally partial to the historical and
experimental methods; but his best energies were directed to applied
economy and social questions. His principal work is _Traite theorique et
pratique d'economie politique_ (2 vols., 1858); among his others may be
mentioned _Traite theorique et pratique des operations de banque_
(1853); _Etudes sur la science sociale_ (1862); _La Banque libre_
(1867); _Liberte et socialisme_ (1868); _Protection et libre echange_
(1879); he also translated into French John Stuart Mill's _Principles_.
COURCI, JOHN DE (d. 1219?), Anglo-Norman conqueror of Ulster, was a
member of a celebrated Norman family of Oxfordshire and Somersetshire,
whose parentage is unknown, and around whose career a mass of legend has
grown up. It would appear that he accompanied William Fitz-Aldelm to
Ireland when the latter, after the death of Strongbow, was sent thither
by Henry II., and that he immediately headed an expedition from Dublin
to Ulster, where he took Downpatrick, the capital of the northern
kingdom. After some years of desultory fighting de Courci established
his power over that part of Ulster comprised in the modern counties of
Antrim and Down, throughout which he built a number of castles, where
his vassals, known as "the barons of Ulster," held sway over the native
tribes. After the accession of Richard I., de Courci in conjunction with
William de Lacy appears in some way to have offended the king by his
proceedings in Ireland. De Lacy quickly made his peace with Richard,
while de Courci defied him; and the subsequent history of the latter
consisted mainly in the vicissitudes of a lasting feud with the de
Lacys. In 1204 Hugh de Lacy utterly defeated de Courci in battle, and
took him prisoner. De Courci, however, soon obtained his liberty,
probably by giving hostages as security for a promise of submission
which he failed to carry out, seeking an asylum instead with the
O'Neills of Tyrone. He again appeared in arms on hearing that Hugh de
Lacy had obtained a grant of Ulster with the title of earl; and in
alliance with the king of Man he ravaged the territory of Down; but was
completely routed by Walter de Lacy, and disappeared from the scene till
1207, when he obtained permission to return to England. In 1210 he was
in favour with King John, from whom he received a pension, and whom he
accompanied to Ireland. There is some indication of his having sided
with John in his struggle with the barons; but of the later history of
de Courci little is known. He probably died in the summer of 1219. Both
de Courci and his wife Affreca were benefactors of the church, and
founded several abbeys and priories in Ulster.
A story is told that de Courci when imprisoned in the Tower volunteered
to act as champion for King John in single combat against a knight
representing Philip Augustus of France; that when he appeared in the
lists his French opponent fled in panic; whereupon de Courci, to gratify
the French king's desire to witness his prowess, "cleft a massive helmet
in twain at a single blow," a feat for which he was rewarded by a grant
of the privilege for himself and his heirs to remain covered in the
presence of the king and all future sovereigns of England. This tale,
which still finds a place in Burke's _Peerage_ in the account of the
baron Kingsale, a descendant of the de Courci family, is a legend
without historic foundation which did not obtain currency till centuries
after John de Courci's death. The statement that he was created earl of
Ulster, and that he was thus "the first Englishman dignified with an
Irish title of honour," is equally devoid of foundation. John de Courci
left no legitimate children.
See J. H. Round's art. "Courci, John de," in _Dictionary of National
Biography_, vol. xii. (London, 1887), to which is added a bibliography
of the original and later authorities for the life of de Courci.
COURIER, PAUL LOUIS (1773-1825), French Hellenist and political writer,
was born in Paris on the 4th of January 1773. Brought up on his father's
estate of Mere in Touraine, he conceived a bitter aversion for the
nobility, which seemed to strengthen with time. He would never take the
name "de Mere," to which he was entitled, lest he should be thought a
nobleman. At the age of fifteen he was sent to Paris to complete his
education; his father's teaching had already inspired him with a
passionate devotion to Greek literature, and although he showed
considerable mathematical ability, he continued to devote all his
leisure to the classics. He entered the school of artillery at Chalons,
however, and immediately on receiving his appointment as sub-lieutenant
in September 1793 he joined the army of the Rhine. He served in various
campaigns of the Revolutionary wars, especially in those of Italy in
1798-99 and 1806-7, and in the German campaign of 1809. He became _chef
d'escadron_ in 1803.
He made his first appearance as an author in 1802, when he contributed
to the _Magasin encyclopedique_ a critique on Johannes Schweighauser's
edition of Athenaeus. In the following year appeared his _Eloge
d'Helene_, a free imitation rather than a translation from Isocrates,
which he had sketched in 1798. Courier had given up his commission in
the autumn of 1808, but the general enthusiasm in Paris over the
preparations for the new campaign affected him, and he attached himself
to the staff of a general of artillery. But he was horror-struck by the
carnage at Wagram (1809), refusing from that time to believe that there
was any art in war. He hastily quitted Vienna, escaping the formal
charge of desertion because his new appointment had not been confirmed.
The savage independence of his nature rendered subordination intolerable
to him; he had been three times disgraced for absenting himself without
leave, and his superiors resented his satirical humour. After leaving
the army he went to Florence, and was fortunate enough to discover in
the Laurentian Library a complete manuscript of Longus's _Daphnis and
Chloe_, an edition of which he published in 1810. In consequence of a
misadventure--blotting the manuscript--he was involved in a quarrel
with the librarian, and was compelled by the government to leave
Tuscany. He retired to his estate at Veretz (Indre-et-Loire), but
frequently visited Paris, and divided his attention between literature
and his farm.
After the second restoration of the Bourbons the career of Courier as
political pamphleteer began. He had before this time waged war against
local wrongs in his own district, and had been the adviser and helpful
friend of his neighbours. He now made himself by his letters and
pamphlets one of the most dreaded opponents of the government of the
Restoration. The first of these was his _Petition aux deux chambres_
(1816), exposing the sufferings of the peasantry under the royalist
reaction. In 1817 he was a candidate for a vacant seat in the Institute;
and failing, he took his revenge by publishing a bitter _Lettre a
Messieurs de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres_ (1819). This
was followed (1819-1820) by a series of political letters of
extraordinary power published in _Le Censeur Europeen_. He advocated a
liberal monarchy, at the head of which he doubtless wished to see Louis
Philippe. The proposal, in 1821, to purchase the estate of Chambord for
the duke of Bordeaux called forth from Courier the _Simple Discours de
Paul Louis, vigneron de la Chavonniere_, one of his best pieces. For
this he was tried and condemned to suffer a short imprisonment and to
pay a fine. Before he went to prison he published a _compte rendu_ of
his trial, which had a still larger circulation than the Discours
itself. In 1823 appeared the _Livret de Paul Louis_, the _Gazette de
village_, followed in 1824 by his famous _Pamphlet des pamphlets_,
called by his biographer, Armand Carrel, his swan-song. Courier
published in 1807 his translation from Xenophon, _Du commandement de la
cavalerie et de l'equitation_, and had a share in editing the
_Collections des romans grecs_. He also projected a translation of
Herodotus, and published a specimen, in which he attempted to imitate
archaic French; but he did not live to carry out this plan. In the
autumn of 1825, on a Sunday afternoon (August 18th), Courier was found
shot in a wood near his house. The murderers, who were servants of his
own, remained undiscovered for five years.
The writings of Courier, dealing with the facts and events of his own
time, are valuable sources of information as to the condition of France
before, during, and after the Revolution. Sainte-Beuve finds in
Courier's own words, "peu de matiere et beaucoup d'art," the secret and
device of his talent, which gives his writings a value independent of
the somewhat ephemeral subject-matter.
A _Collection complete des pamphlets politiques et opuscules
litteraires de P. L. Courier_ appeared in 1826. See editions of his
_OEuvres_ (1848), with an admirable biography by Armand Carrel,
which is reproduced in a later edition, with a supplementary criticism
by F. Sarcey (1876-1877); also three notices by Sainte-Beuve in the
_Causeries du lundi_ and the _Nouveaux Lundis_.
COURIER (from the O. Fr. _courier_, modern _courrier_, from Lat.
_currere_, to run), properly a running messenger, who carried despatches
and letters; a system of couriers, mounted or on foot, formed the
beginnings of the modern post-office (see POST, and POSTAL SERVICE). The
despatches which pass between the foreign office and its representatives
abroad, and which cannot be entrusted to the postal service or the
telegraph, are carried by special couriers, styled, in the British
service, King's Messengers. "Courier," more particularly, is applied to
a travelling attendant, whose duties are to arrange for the carrying of
the luggage, obtaining of passports, settling of hotel accommodation,
and generally to look to the comfort and facility of travel. The name
"courier" and the similar word "_courant_" (Ital. _coranto_) have often
been used as the title of a newspaper or periodical (see NEWSPAPERS);
the _Courier_, founded in 1792, was for some time the leading London
journal.
COURLAND, or KURLAND, one of the Baltic provinces of Russia, lying
between 55 deg. 45' and 57 deg. 45' N. and 21 deg. and 27 deg. E. It is
bounded on the N.E. by the river Dvina, separating it from the
governments of Vitebsk and Livonia, N. by the Gulf of Riga, W. by the
Baltic, and S. by the province of East Prussia and the Russian
government of Kovno. The area is 10,535 sq. m., of which 101 sq. m. are
occupied by lakes. The surface is generally low and undulating, and the
coast-lands flat and marshy. The interior is characterized by wooded
dunes, covered with pine, fir, birch and oak, with swamps and lakes, and
fertile patches between. The surface nowhere rises more than 700 ft.
above sea-level. The Mitau plain divides it into two parts, of which the
western is fertile and thickly inhabited, except in the north, while the
eastern is less fertile and thinly inhabited. One-third of the area is
still forest.
Courland is drained by nearly one hundred rivers, of which only three,
the Dvina, the Aa and the Windau, are navigable. They all flow
north-westwards and discharge into the Baltic Sea. Owing to the numerous
lakes and marshes, the climate is damp and often foggy, as well as
changeable, and the winter is severe. Agriculture is the chief
occupation, the principal crops being rye, barley, oats, wheat, flax and
potatoes. The land is mostly owned by nobles of German descent. In 1863
laws were issued to enable the Letts, who form the bulk of the
population, to acquire the farms which they held, and special banks were
founded to help them. By this means some 12,000 farms were bought by
their occupants; but the great mass of the population are still
landless, and live as hired labourers, occupying a low position in the
social scale. On the large estates agriculture is conducted with skill
and scientific knowledge. Fruit grows well. Excellent breeds of cattle,
sheep and pigs are kept. Libau and Mitau are the principal industrial
centres, with iron-works, agricultural machinery works, tanneries, glass
and soap works. Flax spinning is mostly a domestic industry. Iron and
limestone are the chief minerals; a little amber is found on the coast.
The only seaports are Libau, Windau and Polangen, there being none on
the Courland coast of the Gulf of Riga. The population was 619,154 in
1870; 674,437 in 1897, of whom 345,756 were women; 714,200 (estimate) in
1906. Of the whole, 79% are Letts, 8-1/4% Germans, 1.7% Russians, and 1%
each Poles and Lithuanians. In addition there are about 8% Jews and some
Lives. The chief towns of the ten districts are Mitau (Doblenskiy
district), capital of the government (pop. 35,011 in 1897), Bauske
(6543), Friedrichstadt (5223), Goldingen (9733), Grobin (1489),
Hasenpoth (3338), Illuxt (2340), Talsen (6215), Tuckum (7542) and Windau
(7132). The prevailing religion is the Lutheran, to which 76% of the
population belong; the rest belong to the Orthodox Eastern and the Roman
Catholic churches.
Anciently Courland was inhabited by the Cours or Kurs, a Lettish tribe,
who were subdued and converted to Christianity by the Brethren of the
Sword, a German military order, in the first quarter of the 13th
century. In 1237 it passed under the rule of the Teutonic Knights owing
to the amalgamation of this order with that of the Brethren of the
Sword. At that time it comprised the two duchies of Courland and
Semgallen. Under the increasing pressure of Russia (Muscovy) the
Teutonic Knights in 1561 found it expedient to put themselves under the
suzerainty of Poland, the grandmaster Gotthard Kettler (d. 1587)
becoming the first duke of Courland. The duchy suffered severely in the
Russo-Swedish wars of 1700-9. But by the marriage in 1710 of Kettler's
descendant, Duke Frederick William (d. 1711), to the princess Anne,
niece of Peter the Great and afterwards empress of Russia, Courland came
into close relation with the latter state Anne being duchess of Courland
from 1711 to 1730. The celebrated Marshal Saxe was elected duke in 1726,
but only managed to maintain himself by force of arms till the next
year. The last Kettler, William, titular duke of Courland, died in 1737,
and the empress Anne now bestowed the dignity on her favourite Biren,
who held it from 1737 to 1740 and again from 1763 till his death in
1772. During nearly the whole of the 18th century Courland, devastated
by continual wars, was a shuttlecock between Russia and Poland; until
eventually in 1795 the assembly of the nobles placed it under the
Russian sceptre. The Baltic provinces--Esthonia, Livonia and
Courland--ceased to form collectively one general government in 1876.
See H. Hollmann, _Kurlands Agrarverhaltnisse_ (Riga, 1893), and E.
Seraphim, _Geschichte Liv-, Esth-, und Kurlands_ (2 vols., Reval,
1895-1896).
COURNOT, ANTOINE AUGUSTIN (1801-1877), French economist and
mathematician, was born at Gray (Haute-Saone) on the 28th of August
1801. Trained for the scholastic profession, he was appointed assistant
professor at the Academy of Paris in 1831, professor of mathematics at
Lyons in 1834, rector of the Academy of Grenoble in 1835,
inspector-general of studies in 1838, rector of the Academy of Dijon and
honorary inspector-general in 1854, retiring in 1862. He died in Paris
on the 31st of March 1877. Cournot was the first who, with a competent
knowledge of both subjects, endeavoured to apply mathematics to the
treatment of economic questions. His _Recherches sur les principes
mathematiques de la theorie des richesses_ (English trans. by N. T.
Bacon, with bibliography of mathematics of economics by Irving Fisher,
1897) was published in 1838. He mentions in it only one previous
enterprise of the same kind (though there had in fact been
others)--that, namely, of Nicholas Francois Canard (c. 1750-1833), whose
book, _Principes d'economie politique_ (Paris, 1802), was crowned by the
French Academy, though "its principles were radically false as well as
erroneously applied." Notwithstanding Cournot's just reputation as a
writer on mathematics, the _Recherches_ made little impression. The
truth seems to be that his results are in some cases of little
importance, in others of questionable correctness, and that, in the
abstractions to which he has recourse in order to facilitate his
calculations, an essential part of the real conditions of the problem is
sometimes omitted. His pages abound in symbols representing unknown
functions, the form of the function being left to be ascertained by
observation of facts, which he does not regard as a part of his task, or
only some known properties of the undetermined function being used as
bases for deduction. In his _Principes de la theorie des richesses_
(1863) he abandoned the mathematical method, though advocating the use
of mathematical symbols in economic discussions, as being of service in
facilitating exposition. Other works of Cournot's were _Traite
elementaire de la theorie des fonctions et du calcul infinitesimal_
(1841); _Exposition de la theorie des chances et des probabilites_
(1843); _De l'origine et des limites de la correspondance entre
l'algebre et la geometrie_ (1847); _Traite de l'enchainement des idees
fondamentales dans les sciences et dans l'histoire_ (1861); and _Revue
sommaire des doctrines economiques_ (1877).
COURSING (from Lat. _cursus_, _currere_, to run), the hunting of game by
dogs solely by sight and not by scent. From time to time the sport has
been pursued by various nations against various animals, but the
recognized method has generally been the coursing of the hare by
greyhounds. Such sport is of great antiquity, and is fully described by
Arrian in his _Cynegeticus_ about A.D. 150, when the leading features
appear to have been much the same as in the present day. Other Greek and
Latin authors refer to the sport; but during the middle ages it was but
little heard of. Apart from private coursing for the sake of filling the
pot with game, public coursing has become an exhilarating sport. The
private sportsman seldom possesses good strains of blood to breed his
greyhounds from or has such opportunities of trying them as the public
courser.
The first known set of rules in England for determining the merits of a
course were drawn up by Thomas, duke of Norfolk, in Queen Elizabeth's
reign; but no open trials were heard of until half a century later, in
the time of Charles I. The oldest regular coursing club of which any
record exists is that of Swaffham, in Norfolk, which was founded by Lord
Orford in 1766; and in 1780 the Ashdown Park (Berkshire) meeting was
established. During the next seventy years many other large and
influential societies sprang up throughout England and Scotland, the
Altcar Club (on the Sefton estates, near Liverpool) being founded in
1825. The season lasts about six months, beginning in the middle of
September. It was not until 1858 that a coursing parliament, so to
speak, was formed, and a universally accepted code of rules drawn up. In
that year the National Coursing Club was founded. It is composed of
representatives from all clubs in the United Kingdom of more than a
year's standing, and possessing more than twenty-four members. Their
rules govern meetings, and their committee adjudicate on matters of
dispute. A comparative trial of two dogs, and not the capture of the
game pursued, is the great distinctive trait of modern coursing. A
greyhound stud-book was started in 1882.
The breeding and training of a successful kennel is a precarious matter;
and the most unaccountable ups and downs of fortune often occur in a
courser's career. At a meeting an agreed-on even number of entries are
made for each stake, and the ties drawn by lot. After the first round
the winner of the first tie is opposed to the winner of the second, and
so on until the last two dogs left in compete for victory; but the same
owner's greyhounds are "guarded" as far as it is possible to do so. A
staff of beaters drive the hares out of their coverts or other
hiding-places, whilst the slipper has the pair of dogs in hand, and
slips them simultaneously by an arrangement of nooses, when they have
both sighted a hare promising a good course. The judge accompanies on
horseback, and the six points whereby he decides a course are--(1)
speed; (2) the go-by, or when a greyhound starts a clear length behind
his opponent, passes him in the straight run, and gets a clear length in
front; (3) the turn, where the hare turns at not less than a right
angle; (4) the wrench, where the hare turns at less than a right angle;
(5) the kill; (6) the trip, or unsuccessful effort to kill. He may
return a "no course" as his verdict if the dogs have not been fairly
tried together, or an "undecided course" if he considers their merits
equal. The open Waterloo meeting, held at Altcar every spring,--the name
being taken from its being originated by the proprietor of the Waterloo
Hotel, Liverpool,--is now the recognized fixture for the decision of the
coursing championship, and the Waterloo Cup (1836) is the "Blue Riband"
of the leash. In the United States, several British colonies, and other
countries, the name has been adopted, and Waterloo Coursing Cups are
found there as in England. In America an American Coursing Board
controls the sport, the chief meetings being in North and South Dakota,
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
The chief works on coursing are:--Arrian's _Cynegeticus_, translated
by the Rev. W. Dansey (1831); T. Thacker, _Courser's Companion and
Breeder's Guide_ (1835); Thacker's _Courser's Annual Remembrancer_
(1849-1851); D. P. Blaine, _Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports_ (3rd ed.,
1870); and J. H. Walsh, _The Greyhound_ (3rd ed., 1875). See also the
_Coursing Calendar_ (since 1857); _Coursing and Falconry_ (Badminton
Library, 1892); _The Hare_ ("Fur and Feather" series, 1896); and _The
Greyhound Stud Book_ (since 1882).
COURT, ANTOINE (1696-1760), French Protestant divine, was born in the
village of Villeneuve-de-Berg, in the province of the Vivarais. He has
been designated the "Restorer of Protestantism in France," and was the
organizer of the "Church of the Desert." He was eight years old when the
Camisard revolt was finally suppressed, and nineteen when on the 8th of
March 1715 the edict of Louis XIV. was published, declaring that "he had
abolished entirely the exercise of the so-called reformed religion"
("qu'il avait aboli tout exercice de la religion pretendue reformee").
Antoine, taken to the secret meetings of the persecuted Calvinists,
began, when only seventeen, to speak and exhort in these congregations
of "the desert." He came to suspect after a time that many of the
so-called "inspired" persons were "dupes of their own zeal and
credulity," and decided that it was necessary to organize at once the
small communities of believers into properly constituted churches. To
the execution of this vast undertaking he devoted his life. On the 21st
of August 1715 he summoned all the preachers in the Cevennes and Lower
Languedoc to a conference or synod near the village of Monoblet. Here
elders were appointed, and the preaching of women, as well as pretended
revelations, was condemned. The village of Monoblet "thus seems entitled
to the honour of having had the first organized Protestant church after
the revocation of the edict of Nantes" (H. M. Baird). But there were as
yet no ordained pastors. Pierre Corteiz was therefore sent to seek
ordination. He was ordained at Zurich, and from him Court himself
received ordination. The scene of his labours for fifteen years was
Languedoc, the Vivarais, and Dauphine. His beginnings were very small
prayer-meetings in "the desert." But the work progressed under his wise
direction, and he was able "to be present, in 1744, at meetings of ten
thousand souls." In 1724 Louis XV., again assuming that there were no
Protestants in France, prohibited the most secret exercise of the
Reformed religion, and imposed severe penalties. It was impossible fully
to carry out this menace. But persecution raged, especially against the
pastors. A price was set on the life of Court; and in 1730 he escaped to
Lausanne. He had already, with the aid of some of the Protestant
princes, established a theological college ("Seminaire de Lausanne")
there, and during the remaining thirty years of his life he filled the
post of director. He had the title of deputy-general of the churches,
and was really the pillar of their hope. The Seminary of Lausanne sent
forth all the pastors of the Reformed Church of France till the days of
the first French Empire. Court formed the design of writing a history of
Protestantism, and made large collections for the purpose, which have
been preserved in the Public Library of Geneva; but this he did not live
to carry out. He died at Lausanne in 1760. He wrote, amongst other
works, a _Histoire des troubles des Cevennes ou de la guerre des
Camisards_ (1760). He was the father of the more generally known Antoine
Court de Gebelin (q.v.).
For details of his life see Napoleon Peyrat's _Histoire des pasteurs
du desert_ (1842; English translation, 1852); Edmond Hugues, _Antoine
Court, histoire de la restauration du protestantisme en France au
XVIII^e siecle_ (2nd ed., 1872), _Les Synodes du desert_ (3 vols.,
1885-1886), _Memoires d'Antoine Court_ (1885); E. and E. Haag, _La
France protestante_, vol. iv. (1884, new edition); H. M. Baird, _The
Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes_ (1895), vol. ii.;
cf. _Bulletin de la societe de l'histoire du protestantisme francais_
(1893-1906).
COURT (from the O. Fr. _court_, Late Lat. _cortis_, _curtis_, a popular
form of class. Lat. _cohors_, gen. _cohortis_; the mod. Fr. form _cour_
is due to the influence of the Lat. _curia_, the word used in medieval
documents to translate "court" in the feudal sense), a word originally
denoting an enclosed place, and so surviving in its architectural sense
(courtyard, &c.), but chiefly used as a general term for judicial
tribunals and in the special sense of the household of the king, called
"the court."[1] All law courts were not, however, purely judicial in
character; the old county court, for instance, was the assembly of the
freeholders of the county in which representatives and certain officers
were elected. Such assemblies in early times exercised political and
legislative as well as judicial functions. But these have now been
almost entirely separated everywhere, and only judicial bodies are now
usually called courts. In every court, says Blackstone, there must be
three parts,--an _actor_ or plaintiff, _reus_ or defendant, and _judex_,
or judge.
The language of legal fictions, which English lawyers invariably use in
all constitutional subjects, makes the king the ultimate source of all
judicial authority, and assumes his personal presence in all the courts.
"As by our excellent constitution," says Blackstone, "the sole
executive power of the laws is vested in the person of the king, it
will follow that all courts of justice, which are the medium by which
he administers the laws, are derived from the power of the crown. For
whether created by act of parliament or letters patent, or subsisting
by prescription (the only methods by which any court of judicature can
exist), the king's consent in the two former is expressly, in the
latter impliedly given. In all these courts the king is supposed in
contemplation of law to be always present; but as that is in fact
impossible, he is then represented by his judges, whose power is only
an emanation of the royal prerogative."
These words might give a false impression of the historical and legal
relations of the courts and the crown, if it is not remembered that they
are nothing more than the expression of a venerable fiction. The
administration of justice was, indeed, one of the functions of the king
in early times; the king himself sat on circuit so late as the reign of
Edward IV.; and even after regular tribunals were established, a reserve
of judicial power still remained in the king and his council, in the
exercise of which it was possible for the king to participate
personally. The last judicial act of an English king, if such it can be
called, was that by which James I. settled the dispute between the court
of chancery and courts of common law. Since the establishment of
parliamentary government the courts take their law directly from the
legislature, and the king is only connected with them indirectly as a
member of the legislative body. The king's name, however, is still used
in this as in other departments of state action. The courts exercising
jurisdiction in England are divided by certain features which may here
be briefly indicated.
We may distinguish between (1) superior and inferior courts. The former
are the courts of common law and the court of chancery, now High Court
of Justice. The latter are the local or district courts, county courts,
&c. (2) Courts of record and courts not of record. "A court of record is
one whereof the acts and judicial proceedings are enrolled for a
perpetual memory and testimony, which rolls are called the records of
the court, and are of such high and supereminent authority that their
truth is not to be called in question. For it is a settled rule and
maxim that nothing shall be averred against a record, nor shall any plea
or even proof be admitted to the contrary. And if the existence of the
record shall be denied it shall be tried by nothing but itself; that is,
upon bare inspection whether there be any such record or no; else there
would be no end of disputes. All courts of record are the courts of the
sovereign in right of the crown and royal dignity, and therefore any
court of record has authority to fine and imprison for contempt of its
authority" (Stephen's _Blackstone_). (3) Courts may also be
distinguished as civil or criminal. (4) A further distinction is to be
made between courts of first instance and courts of appeal. In the
former the first hearing in any judicial proceeding takes place; in the
latter the judgment of the first court is brought under review. Of the
superior courts, the High Court of Justice in its various divisions is a
court of first instance. Over it is the court of appeal, and over that
again the House of Lords. The High Court of Justice is (through
divisional courts) a court of appeal for inferior courts. (5) There is a
special class of local courts, which do not appear to fall within the
description of either superior or inferior courts. Some, while
administering the ordinary municipal law, have or had jurisdiction
exclusive of their superior courts; such were the common pleas of Durham
and Lancaster. Others have concurrent jurisdiction with the superior
courts; such are the lord mayor's court of London, the passage court of
Liverpool, &c.
The distribution of judicial business among the various courts of law in
England may be exhibited as follows.
_Criminal Courts._--(1) The lowest is that of the justice of the peace,
sitting in petty sessions of two or more, to determine in a summary way
certain specified minor offences. In populous districts, such as London,
Manchester, &c., stipendiary magistrates are appointed, generally with
enlarged powers. Besides punishing by summary conviction, justices may
commit prisoners for trial at the assizes. (2) The justices in quarter
sessions are commissioned to determine felonies and other offences. An
act of 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. 38) contains a list of offences _not_
triable at quarter sessions--treason, murder, forgery, bigamy, &c. (see
QUARTER SESSIONS, COURT OF). The corresponding court in a borough is
presided over by a recorder. (3) The more serious offences are reserved
for the judges of the superior courts sitting under a commission of oyer
and terminer or gaol delivery for each county. The assize courts, as
they are called, sit in general in each county twice a year, following
the division of circuits; but additional assizes are also held under
acts of 1876 and 1877, which permit several counties to be united
together for that purpose (see CIRCUIT). London, which occupies an
exceptional position in all matters of judicature, has a high criminal
court of its own, established by the Central Criminal Court Act 1834,
under the name of the central criminal court. Its judges usually present
are a rota selected from the superior judges of common law, the
recorder, common serjeant, and the judge of the City of London court.[2]
The criminal appeal court, to which all persons convicted on indictment
may appeal, superseded in 1908 (by the Criminal Appeal Act 1907) the
court for crown cases reserved, to which any question of law arising on
the trial of a prisoner could after conviction be remitted by the judge
in his discretion. To the criminal appeal court there is an appeal both
on questions of fact and of law (see APPEAL).
_Civil Courts._--In certain special cases, civil claims of small
importance may be brought before justices or stipendiaries. Otherwise,
and excepting the special and peculiar jurisdictions above mentioned,
the civil business of England and Wales may be said to be divided
between the county courts (taking small cases) and the High Court of
Justice (taking all others).
The effect of the Judicature Acts on the constitution of the superior
courts may be briefly stated. There is now one Supreme Court of
Judicature, consisting of two permanent divisions called the High Court
of Justice and the court of appeal. The former takes the jurisdiction of
the court of chancery, the three common law courts, the courts of
admiralty, probate, and divorce, the courts of pleas at Lancaster and
Durham, and the courts created by commissions of assize, oyer and
terminer, and gaol delivery. The latter takes the jurisdiction of the
court of appeal in chancery (including chancery of Lancaster), the court
of the lord warden of the stannaries, and of the exchequer chamber, and
the appellate jurisdiction in admiralty and heresy matters of the
judicial committee; and power is given to the sovereign to transfer the
remaining jurisdiction of that court to the court of appeal. By the
Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876 the House of Lords is enabled to sit
for the hearing of appeals from the English court of appeal and the
Scottish and Irish courts during the prorogation and dissolution of
parliament. The lords of appeal, of whom three must be present, are the
lord chancellor, the lords of appeal in ordinary, and peers who have
held "high judicial office" in Great Britain or Ireland. The lords in
ordinary are an innovation in the constitution of the House. They hold
the rank of baron for life only, have a right to sit and vote in the
House during tenure of office only, and a salary of L6000 per annum.
There are also many obsolete or decayed courts, of which the most
noticeable are dealt with under their individual headings, as COURT
BARON, COURT LEET, &c.
The history of English courts affords a remarkable illustration of the
continuity that characterizes English institutions. It might perhaps be
too much to say that all the courts now sitting in England may be traced
back to a common origin, but at any rate the higher courts are all
offshoots from the same original judicature. Leaving out of account the
local courts, we find the higher jurisdiction after the Norman Conquest
concentrated along with all other public functions in the king and
council. The first sign of a separation of the judicial from the other
powers of this body is found in the recognition of a Curia Regis, which
may be described as the king's council, or a portion of it, charged
specially with the management of judicial and revenue business. In
relation to the revenue it became the exchequer, under which name a
separate court grew up whose special field was the judicial business
arising out of revenue cases. By Magna Carta the inconvenience caused by
the curia following the king's person was remedied, in so far as private
litigation was concerned, by the order that common pleas (Communia
Placita) should be held at some fixed place; and hence arose the court
of common pleas. The Curia Regis, after having thrown off these
branches, is represented by the king's bench, so that from the same
stock we have now three courts, differing at first in functions, but
through competition for business, and the ingenious use of fictions,
becoming finally the co-ordinate courts of common law of later history.
But an inner circle of counsellors still surrounded the king, and in his
name claimed to exercise judicial as well as other power; hence the
chancellor's jurisdiction, which became, partly in harmony with the
supra-legal power claimed from which it sprang, and partly through the
influence of the ecclesiastical chancellors by whom it was first
administered, the equity of English law. Similar developments of the
same authority were the court of requests (which was destroyed by a
decision of the common pleas) and the court of star chamber--a court of
criminal equity, as it has been called,--which, having been made the
instrument of tyranny, was abolished in 1641. Even then the productive
power of the council was not exhausted; the judicial committee of the
privy council, established in 1832, superseding the previous court of
delegates, exercises the jurisdiction in appeal belonging to the king in
council. The appellate jurisdiction of the Lords rests on their claim to
be the representatives of the ancient great council of the realm.
See further ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF; APPEAL; CHANCERY; COMMON LAW;
COMMON PLEAS, COURT OF; DIVORCE; EQUITY; &c.
_United States._--The Federal judicial system of the United States is
made by the Constitution independent both of the Legislature and of the
Executive. It consists of the Supreme Court, the circuit courts, and the
district courts.
The Supreme Court is created by the Constitution, and consisted in 1909
of nine judges, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the
Senate. They hold office during good behaviour, i.e. are removable only
by impeachment, thus having a tenure even more secure than that of
English judges. The court sits at Washington from October to July in
every year. The sessions of the court are held in the Capitol. A rule
requiring the presence of six judges to pronounce a decision prevents
the division of the court into two or more benches; and while this
secures a thorough consideration of every case, it also retards the
despatch of business. Every case is discussed twice by the whole body,
once to ascertain the view of the majority, which is then directed to be
set forth in a written opinion; then again, when the written opinion,
prepared by one of the judges, is submitted for criticism and adoption
by the court as its judgment.
The other Federal courts have been created by Congress under a power in
the Constitution to establish "inferior courts." The circuit courts
consist of twenty-nine circuit judges, acting in nine judicial circuits,
while to each circuit there is also allotted one of the justices of the
Supreme Court. Circuit courts of appeals, established to relieve the
Supreme Court, consist of three judges (two forming a quorum), and are
made up of the circuit and district judges of each circuit and the
Supreme Court justice assigned to the circuit. Some cases may, however,
be appealed to the Supreme Court from the circuit court of appeals, and
others directly from the lower courts. The district courts number (1909)
ninety, in most cases having a single justice. There is also a special
tribunal called the court of claims, which deals with the claims of
private persons against the Federal government. It is not strictly a
part of the general judicial system, but is a creation of Congress
designed to relieve that body of a part of its own labours.
The jurisdiction of the Federal courts extends only to those cases in
which the Constitution makes Federal law applicable. All other cases are
left to the state courts, from which there is no appeal to the Federal
courts, unless where some specific point arises which is affected by the
Federal Constitution or a Federal law. The classes of cases dealt with
by the Federal courts are as follows:--
1. Cases in law and equity arising under the Constitution, the laws of
the United States, and treaties made under their authority;