duct, canal, &c., they shall be allowed to reduce them till they only yield this much; and, in the event of their declining to do so, that the whole surplus above paying the dividend shall be applied to purchase up the stock of the association, so that ultimately the charges on account of dividends may be entirely abolished. Had this principle been acted upon when canals first began to be formed in England, the carriage of goods conveyed by some of the most important lines of communication would now have cost almost nothing; and this desirable result might have been accomplished in the way now suggested, without, we believe, diminishing in any degree the number of those undertakings. There are few who, at the time they engage in such enterprises, suppose that they will yield more than 10 or 12 per cent.; and vast numbers will always be disposed to engage in them, if there be any reasona ble prospect of their yielding this much. Now, when such is the case, is it not the duty of government to provide, in the event of the undertaking becoming in an unexpected and unusual degree profitable, that the public should derive some advantage from it? This is not a case in which competition can reduce profits to the common level. The best, perhaps the only practicable, line for a canal or railroad between any two places will be appropriated by those who are first in the field; who thus, in fact, obtain a natural monopoly of which they cannot be deprived: and hence the advantage of limiting the charges and dividends: without discouraging enterprise, it affords a security that private individuals shall not reap an unusual and unlooked for profit at the expense of the public.

In all those cases in which companies are formed for the prosecution of undertakings that may be carried on, with equal advantage to the public, by individuals; or where there are no very considerable difficulties to overcome, or risks to encounter; they ought to enjoy no privilege whatever, but should be regarded, in every point of view, as if they were mere individuals.

For accounts of the principal joint stock and regulated companies established in this country, see the articles BANK OF ENGLAND, DOCKS, EAST INDIA COMPANY, INSURANCE, RUSSIA COMPANY, &c. &c.

6. Companies en Commandite.-In France there is a sort of companies denominated sociétés en commandite. A society of this description consists of one or more partners, liable, without limitation, for the debts of the company; and one or more partners, or commanditaires, liable only to the extent of the funds they have subscribed. A commanditaire must not, however, take any part in the business of the company; if he do this, he loses his inviolability, and makes himself responsible for the debts of the association. The names of the partners in such societies must be published, and the amount of the sums contributed by the commanditaires.

It has been proposed to introduce partnerships of this sort into this country; but it seems very doubtful whether any thing would be gained by such a measure. Partnerships en commandite may be very easily abused or rendered a means of defrauding the public. It is quite visionary to imagine that the commanditaires can be prevented from indirectly influ encing the other partners: and supposing a collusion to exist amongst them, it might be possible for them to divide large sums as profit, when, perhaps, they had really sustained a loss; and to have the books of the association so contrived, that it might be very difficult to detect the fraud. This, it is alleged, is by no means a rare occurrence in France.

7. Civic Companies, or Corporations.-Exclusive of the companies previously mentioned, a number of ancient companies or corporations exist in this and most other European countries, the members of which enjoy certain political as well as commercial privileges. When the feudal system began to be subverted by the establishment of good order and regular government in the towns, the inhabitants were divided into certain trades or corporations, by which the magistrates and other functionaries were chosen. The members of these trades, or corporations, partly to enhance the value of their privileges, and partly to provide a resource, in case of adversity, for themselves, acquired or usurped the power of enacting bylaws regulating the admission of new members, and at the same time set about providing a fund for the support of such as accident or misfortune might reduce to a state of indigence. Hence the origin of apprenticeships, the refusal to allow any one not a member of a corpora tion to carry on any business within the precincts of any town corporate, and the various regulations that had to be submitted to, and the fees that had to be paid by the claimants for inrolment in corporations. For a lengthened period these privileges and regulations were very oppressive. Within the last century, however, their influence has been progressively diminishing. In France, where the abuses inseparable from the system had attained to a very great height, it was entirely swept off by the Revolution: and though corporations still exist in this country, they have been stripped of their peculiar franchises; and should now, for the most part, be regarded more, perhaps, in the light of charitable than of political institutions. It would be well, however, were they reduced entirely to the former character; and were the few political and commercial privileges, which they still enjoy, communicated to the rest of the citizens. At their first institution, and for some time after, corporations, considered as political bodies, were probably useful: but such is no longer the case; and in

so far as they now possess any special immunities, they tend to obstruct that free competition that is so advantageous.

The following extract from a Report on the Commerce and Manufactures of the United States, drawn up by Albert Gallatin, Esq., then secretary of the Treasury, and laid before Congress in 1816, sets the superior advantages resulting from the unrestricted freedom of industry in a very striking point of view. "No cause," says he, "has, perhaps, more promoted in every respect the general improvement of the United States, than the absence of those systems of internal restriction and monopoly which continue to disfigure the state of society in other countries. No laws exist here, directly or indirectly, confining men to a particular occupation or place, or excluding any citizen from any branch he may, at any time, think proper to pursue. Industry is, in every respect, free and unfettered; every species of trade, commerce, and profession, and manufacture, being equally open to all, without requiring any regular apprenticeship, admission, or licence. Hence the improvement of America has not been confined to the improvement of her agriculture, and to the rapid formation and settlement of new states in the wilderness; but her citizens have extended their commerce to every part of the globe, and carry on with complete success even those branches for which a monopoly had heretofore been considered essentially necessary."

There is in Rees's Cyclopædia, article Company, a list of the different Civic Companies belonging to the City of London, in which the periods of their incorporation, and various other important particulars with respect to several of them, are specified.

COMPASS (Ger. Ein Kompass; Du. Zeekompas; Da. Söekompass; Sp. Sjöcompass; Fr. Boussole, Compas de mer; It. Bussola; Sp. Aguja de marear; Port. Compasso de marear; Rus. Kompass korabelnüi), or mariner's compass, an instrument composed of a needle and card, by which the ship's course is directed. The needle, with little variation, always points towards the north, and hence the mode of steering by the compass.

The common opinion is that the compass was invented by Flavio Gioia, a citizen of the once famous republic of Amalphi, very near the beginning of the fourteenth century. Dr. Robertson has adopted this opinion, and regrets that contemporary historians furnish no details as to the life of a man to whose genius society is so deeply indebted.—(Hist. of America, vol. i. p. 47. 8vo ed.) But though Gioia may have made improvements on the compass, it has been shown that he has no claim to be considered as its discoverer. Passages have been produced from writers who flourished more than a century before Gioia, in which the polarity of the needle, when touched by the magnet, is distinctly pointed out. Not only, however, had this singular property been discovered, but also its application to the purposes of navigation, long previously to the fourteenth century. Old French writers have been quoted (Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, anno 1200; Rees's Cyclopædia), that seem fully to establish this fact. But whatever doubts may exist with respect to them, cannot affect the passages which the learned Spanish antiquary, Don Antonio de Capmany (Questiones Criticas, pp. 73-132), has given from a work of the famous Raymond Lully (De Contemplatione) published in 1272. In one place Lully says, "as the needle, when touched by the magnet, naturally turns to the north" (sicut acus per naturam virtitur ad septentrionem dum sit tacta à magnete). This is conclusive as to the author's acquaintance with the polarity of the needle; and the following passage from the same work-" as the nautical needle directs mariners in their navigation," (sicut acus nautica dirigit marinarios in sua navigatione, &c.) is no less conclusive as to its being used by sailors in regulating their course. There are no means of ascertaining the mode in which the needle Raymond Lully had in view was made use of. It has been sufficiently established-(see the authorities already referred to, and Azuni, Dissertation sur l'Origine de la Boussole,)-that it was usual to float the needle, by means of a straw, on the surface of a basin of water; and Capmany contends that we are indebted to Gioia for the card, and the method now followed of suspending the needle; improvements which have given to the compass all its convenience, and a very large portion of its utility. But this part of his Dissertation, though equally learned and ingenious, is by no means so satisfactory as the other. It is difficult to conceive how mariners at sea could have availed themselves of a floating needle; but, however this may be, it seems most probable that Gioia had considerably improved the construction of the compass; and that, the Amalphitans having been the first to introduce it to general use, he was, with excusable partiality, represented by them, and subsequently regarded by others, as its inventor.

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The reader will not consider these details out of place in a work on commerce, which the compass has done so much to extend. 'Its discovery," to borrow the language of Mr. Macpherson, "has given birth to a new era in the history of commerce and navigation. The former it has extended to every shore of the globe, and increased and multiplied its operations and beneficial effects in a degree which was not conceivable by those who lived in the earlier ages. The latter it has rendered expeditious, and comparatively safe, by enabling the navigator to launch out upon the ocean free from the danger of rocks and shoals. By the use of this noble instrument, the whole world has become one vast commercial common

wealth, the most distant inhabitants of the earth are brought together for their mutual advantage, ancient prejudices are obliterated, and mankind are civilised and enlightened.”—(Vol. i. p. 366.)

COMPOSITION, in commerce, commonly implies the dividend or sum paid by an insolvent debtor to his creditors, and accepted by them in payment for their debts.

CONEY WOOL (Ger. Kaninchenwolle; Du. Konynhair; Fr. Poil de lapin; It. Pelo di Coniglio; Sp. Conejuna), the fur of rabbits. This article is extensively used in the hat manufacture; and besides the large supplies raised at home, a great deal is imported. The imports usually range from about 300,000 to about 500,000 skins a year; but, in 1831, they exceeded 900,000, while, in 1827, they were only 197,000.

CONSTANTINOPLE, formerly the metropolis of the Eastern, as it still is of the Turkish Empire, is situated on a triangular point of land, on the European side of the Sea of Marmara (Propontis), at the point where it unites with the Bosphorus, or channel leading to the Black Sea, in lat. 41° 0′ 12′′ N., lon. 28° 59' 2" E. Population variously estimated at from 300,000 to 600,000, but believed, by the best authorities, to be about 400,000. The situation of this renowned city is, in a commercial point of view, one of the finest imaginable. Standing on the narrow straits uniting the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas, she at once commands, and is the entrepôt for, the commerce between them. The harbour, whence the Turkish court has taken the appellation of the Sublime Porte, is most excellent. It consists of an extensive inlet, or arm of the sea, stretching along the north-east side of the city, which it divides from the suburbs of Galata and Pera. It has sufficient depth of water to float the largest ships, and can accommodate more than 1,000 sail. The strong current that sets through the Bosphorus into the Sea of Marmara strikes against Seraglio Point-(see Plan); a part of the water, being in consequence forced into the harbour, runs along its south-western side in the direction marked by the arrows—(see Plan),—till, arriving at its extremity, it escapes by the opposite side. In the middle the water is still. On leaving the port, it is necessary to keep well over to the northern side; for otherwise the ship might be taken by the current, and driven on Seraglio Point. It may be worth while, however, to remark, that notwithstanding this inconvenience, the current has been of signal service to the city, by scouring the harbour, and carrying away the filth and ballast by which it must otherwise have been long since choked up. The distance across from Seraglio Point to the opposite suburb of Scutari, on the Asiatic coast, is rather more than an English mile. Within less than of a mile of the latter is a rocky islet, upon which is a tower and light-house, known by the name of the Tower of Leander. Foreigners reside in Galata, Pera, and the suburbs on the eastern side of the harbour; and it is there, consequently, that the principal trade of the place is carried on. The quays are good, and ships lie close alongside.

The Bosphorus, or channel of Constantinople, runs in a N. E. by N. direction about 15 miles, varying in breadth from 14 to mile. It is swept by a rapid current, which it requires a brisk gale to stem, and has throughout a great depth of water. The Hellespont, or strait of the Dardanelles, leading from the Archipelago to the Sea of Marmara, is about 13 leagues in length. Its direction is nearly N. E. Where narrowest, it is little more than a mile across. It also is swept by a strong current, and has deep water throughout.

The subjoined plan of part of Constantinople and its port is copied, without reduction, from the beautiful plan of the city and Bosphorus, drawn and engraved by M. Merzoff Robert of Munich, and published by Mr. Wilde, of this city.

Nothing can be more imposing than the appearance of the city when seen from the sea, but on landing the illusion vanishes. The streets are narrow, dark, ill-paved and irregular. Owing to the want of any effective system of police, and of the most ordinary attention to cleanliness, they are extremely filthy; and are infested with herds of dogs, and also with rats, which perform the functions of scavengers. The houses are mostly built of wood, and fires are very frequent. Most of these happen designedly; the burning of a few hundred houses being deemed the readiest and most effectual means of making the government aware of the public dissatisfaction, and of procuring a redress of grievances !

Money-Accounts are kept in piastres of 40 paras, or 120 aspers. The Turkish coin has been so much degraded, that the piastre, which a few years ago was worth 2s. sterling, is now worth little more than 4d. A bag of silver (kefer) = 500 piastres, and a bag of gold (kitze) =30,000 piastres.

Weights and Measures.-The commercial weights are-176 drams = 1 rottolo; 2-272 rottoli = 1 oke; 6 okes = 1 batman; 7 batmans = 1 quintal or cantaro = 124-457 (124 very nearly) lbs. avoirdupois 56 437 kilogrammes = 116-527 lbs. of Hamburgh. The quintal of cotton is 45 okes = 127-2 lbs. avoirdupois.

The pik, or pike, is of two sorts, the greater and the less. The greater, called halebi or arschim used in the measurement of silks and woollens, is very near 28 inches (27:9). The lesser called endese, used in the measuring of cottons, carpets, &c. = 27 inches. Hence 100 long piks =77-498 English yards, and 100 short piks = 75 154 do. But in ordinary commercial affairs, the pik is estimated at 4 of an English yard.

Corn is measured by the kisloz or killow = 0·941 of a Winchester bushel; 8 kisloz = 1 quarter. The fortin 4 kisloz.

Oil and other liquids are sold by the alma or meter = 1 gallon 3 pints English wine measure. The alma of oil should weigh 8 okes.-(Nelkenbrecher and Dr. Kelly.)

The Port Charges on account of English vessels in the harbours of the Ottoman empire are fixed by treaty at 300 aspers, neither more nor less.

References to Plan.-A, Seraglio Point; B, Galata; C, Scutari; D, Tower and lighthouse of Leander. The arrow shows the direction of the currents. The soundings are in fathoms.

Trade, &c.-Owing to the vicious institutions of the Turks and the disorganised state of the empire, the trade of Constantinople is very far from being so extensive as might be supposed from its situation and population. The imports consist of corn, iron, timber, tallow, and furs, principally from the Black Sea; and of cotton stuffs and yarn, tin, tin plates, woollens, silks, cutlery, watches and jewellery, paper, glass, furniture, indigo, cochineal, &c. from England and other European countries. Corn and coffee are imported from Alexandria; but a good deal of Brazil and West India coffee is also imported, particularly in American bottoms. Sugar is partly imported from the East, but principally from the West Indies. The exports are very trifling, consisting of silk, carpets, hides, wool, goats' hair, potashes, wax, galls, bullion and diamonds, and a few other articles. Ships carrying goods to Con

stantinople, either return in ballast, or get return cargoes at Smyrna, Odessa, Salonica, &c., on which places they frequently procure bills at Constantinople. Trade is chiefly in the hands of English, French, and other European merchants (denominated Franks) and of Armenians and Greeks. Bargains are negotiated on their account by Jew brokers, some of whom are rich.

Commercial Policy of the Turks. It is singular that as respects commerce, the policy of the Turkish government, whether originating in design or carelessness, is entitled to the highest praise. "No restrictions," says Mr. Thornton, “are laid on commerce, except in the instance of a general prohibition of exporting the articles necessary for the support of human life to foreign countries, especially from the capital, where alone it is rigorously enforced; and this impolitic restraint will no doubt be removed when the Turkish government shall become sensible, that what is intended as the means of securing abundance, is, in fact, the sole cause of that scarcity which is sometimes experienced. With this one exception, commerce is perfectly free and unfettered. Every article of foreign or domestic growth or manufacture is conveyed into every port, and over every province, without any interference on the part of the magistrates, after payment of the duties. On this subject I speak from actual experience, and may appeal to every foreign or native merchant in Turkey for its general truth.”—(Present State of Turkey, vol. i. p. 82.)

The duties, too, are extremely moderate, being only three per cent. on imports, and as much on exports; so that in almost all that relates to her commercial regulations, Turkey is entitled to read a lesson to the most civilized European powers; and this she has done in a very able manner, in an official paper published in the Moniteur Ottoman, in September, 1832. We extract a few paragraphs from this very interesting document.

"It is recognised throughout Europe that it would be useful to the great majority to substitute, for the system of prohibitions, that of liberty, which theoretical men advocate; the difficulty is, to find means to separate the future from the past without a violent rupture. Hence the difficulties of government in satisfying all the exigencies of agriculture, industry, and commerce, driven in a circle where every measure in favour of one, acts immediately in an inverse sense on the other. The endeavour is vain to establish, between so many crossing interests, a factitious equilibrium which absolute liberty of exchange alone can give.

"Thus, one of the most important questions which occupies the meditation of statesmen in Europe, 1s, to discover how the palings which pen commerce up in narrow spaces may be thrown down without shocks that might endanger public order.

"Good sense, tolerance, and hospitality, have long ago done for the Ottoman empire, what the other states of Europe are endeavouring to effect by more or less happy political combinations, Since the throne of the sultans has been elevated at Constantinople, commercial prohibitions have been unknown; they opened all the ports of their empire to the commerce, to the manufactures, to the territorial produce of the Occident, or, to say better, of the whole world. Liberty of commerce has reigned here without limits, as large, as extended as it was possible to be.

"Never has the divan dreamed, under any pretext of national interest, or even of reciprocity, of restricting that faculty which has been exercised, and is to this day, in the most unlimited sense, by all the nations who wish to furnish a portion of the consumption of this vast empire, and to share in the produce of its territory.

"Here every object of exchange is admitted, and circulates without meeting any obstacle other than the payment of an infinitely small portion of the value to the Custom-house. The chimera of a balance of trade never entered into heads sensible enough not to dream of calculating whether there was most profit in buying or selling. Thus the markets of Turkey, supplied from all countries, refusing no objects which mercantile spirit puts in circulation, and imposing no charge on the vessels that transport them, are seldom or never the scenes of those disordered movements occasioned by the sudden deficiency of such or such merchandise, which, exorbitantly raising prices, are the scourges of the lower orders, by unsettling their habits, and by inflicting privations. From the system of restrictions and prohibitions arise those devouring tides and ebbs which sweep away in a day the labour of years, and convert commerce into a career of alarms and perpetual dangers. In Turkey, where this system does not exist, these disastrous effects are unknown.

"The extreme moderation of the duties is the complement of this régime of commercial liberty: and in no portion of the globe are the officers charged with the collection, of more confiding facility for the valuations, and of so decidedly conciliatory a spirit in every transaction regarding commerce. "Away with the supposition that these facilities granted to strangers are concessions extorted from weakness! The dates of the contracts termed capitulations, which establish the rights actually enjoyed by foreign merchants, recall periods at which the Mussulman power was altogether predominant in Europe. The first capitulation which France obtained was in 1535, from Soliman the Canonist (the Magnificent). The dispositions of these contracts have become antiquated, the fundamental principles remain. Thus 300 years ago, the sultans, by an act of munificence and of reason, anticipated the most ardent desires of civilised Europe, and proclaimed unlimited freedom of commerce." Did the policy of Turkey in other respects harmonise with this, she would be one of the most civilised and powerful of nations, instead of being one of the most abject and degraded. Unfortunately, however, this is very far from being the case. Tyranny, corruption, and insecurity universally prevail. "The cultivator of the soil is ever a helpless prey to injustice and oppression. The government agents have to suffer in their turn from the cruelty and rapacity of which they themselves have been guilty; and the manufacturer has to bear his full share of the common insecurity; he is fixed to the spot and cannot escape the grasp of the local governor. The raw material monopolised by a bey or ayan, may be forced upon him at a higher price than he could purchase it himself, and perhaps of inferior quality; fines may be imposed upon him, he may be taken for forced labour, or troops may be quartered on his workshop."-(Urquhart on Turkey and its Resources, p. 139.)

This miserable system has overspread some of the fairest provinces of Europe and Asia with barbarism-turned their cities into villages, and their palaces into cottages: but the