Communism is a system of society in which common property is the recognised form. In later times it is an attempt to prevent or remedy the evils arising out of the inequalities of private property by holding property in common. But in primitive societies, in the hunting and pastoral stages of civilisation, communism was universal. It was only when the transition was made to a settled life and to agriculture that private ownership in land began to appear, and even then it was slowly introduced. Long after the private use of land had been established, the common ownership of it by the tribe or clan was still recognised and enforced, and the arable land of the community was subject to periodical redistribution with the view to cultivation. Survivals of this system still exist in various countries of the world, notably in Russia under the Mir.

In the ancient world a partial communism prevailed in Crete and Sparta. Towards the decline of Greece more systematic speculations and experiments in communism appeared. The most eminent example of the former was the republic of Plato, in which a community of goods and also of wives was taught, as the form of society among the ruling and military class. These were to be supported by the industrial classes, whose form of life is not indicated. In Palestine, about the Christian era, the Essenes were a society of recluses with celibacy and the community of goods.

A most remarkable instance of community of goods is that of the early Christians at Jerusalem, recorded in Acts, iv. 32. Under the influence of Christianity the rigorous and often merciless ideas and rights of private property developed in the ancient world, especially among the Romans, were greatly modified. Denunciations of wealth tending to communism are not infrequent in the church fathers. Not to mention the corporate property of the church itself, which in medieval times embraced about one-third of the land in the countries where it was established, many of the monastic institutions were based on the community of goods. During the middle ages, sects holding the community both of goods and women appeared, like

the sect of the Giovannali in Corsica.

At times of social and spiritual change or fermentation communistic ideas usually grow up with special vigour. Such was the case at the Reformation, when the anabaptists Münzer and Bockholt set up communism in Germany, and similar notions had a wide diffusion in other countries (see ANABAPTISTS). The most eminent literary form of it, combined with the noblest humanitarian ideals and practical suggestions for reform, which even yet have not been realised, was the Utopia of Sir Thomas More (1516). In that great work, besides the institution of common property, we have the most advanced views on toleration, universal education, a mild criminal code, sanitation, and a working-day of six hours. panella's Civitas Solis (1623) has a similar community of goods under the despotic rule of the wise men, with a working-day of four hours.

Cam

At the discovery of America the Spanish conquerors found a system of agricultural communism under a central despotism both in Mexico and Peru. Like the partial communism of Crete and Sparta it may have been a survival or continuation of the primitive communism. In the earliest English settlements in America, both Virginia and New England, a system of common property was attempted, but soon abandoned. During the fermentation which preceded and accompanied the French Revolution communistic ideas again emerged in the writings of Morelly and Mably. They are also found vaguely expressed in the works of Rousseau, and through him they to some

COMO

degree affected the principles of Robespierre and St Just; but the general tendency of the Revolution was to consolidate individual rights and private property. The conspiracy of Babeuf was intended to establish a systematic communism by revolution. Socialism is a vague phenomenon which must not be identified with communism. Yet the movement is largely coloured with communistic conceptions, and in some of its schools a thoroughgoing com. munism is taught with lax notions as to the rela tion of the sexes. In the anarchist, as also in the Marx school to a considerable degree, socialism takes the form of a systematic community of property, associated with vague theories of the emancipation of women (see SOCIALISM). Different both from socialism and this aggressive communism are the communistic societies still existing in the United States. The latter are simply quiet efforts to realise for their members a happier state of things by community of property, but without a revolu tionary propaganda and remote from_the_main current of modern social development. See BROOK FARM, PERFECTIONISTS, SHAKERS; Nordhoff's Communistic Societies of the United States (1875): and for the rising of the so-called Communists at Paris in 1871, which was a political and not an economical movement, see COMMUNE.

Commutation. See TITHE, PENSIONS. Commutator, an apparatus attached to many electric machines for reversing the currents. See ELECTRICITY.

Comne'nus, the name of a family, originally Italian, of which many members occupied the throne of the Byzantine empire from 1057 to 1204, and that of Trebizond from 1204 to 1461. See ANNA COMNENA (q.v.), who lived in the first BYZANTINE EMPIRE, TREBIZOND, ALEXIUS, Isaac. half of the 12th century, was a high literary as well as historical celebrity.-DAVID COMNENUS, the last representative of the imperial race in Trebizond, was executed at Adrianople in 1462, with all his family, by command of Mohammed II. The attempt to trace the descent of the Bonaparte family from a branch of the Comneni settled in Corsica is not supported by valid evidence.

Como, a city of Lombardy, Northern Italy, beautifully situated at the south-west extremity of the Lake of Como, 30 miles N. of Milan by rail. It lies in a valley, surrounded by hills, clad with luxuriant gardens, olive plantations, and orange groves, with here and there an old ruin cropping out. The city is surrounded by old walls flanked with towers, the gateways by which the walls are pierced being fine specimens of medieval military architecture. Among the principal buildings of Como are the cathedral (1396-1732), and the townhall, built of marble, dating from the beginning of the 13th century. The chief articles of manufacture are silk, satin, gloves, and soap. By means of its port, Como carries on extensive trade in the produce of the district with Switzerland. Pop. with suburbs (1893) 32,600. Como, the ancient Comum, was the birthplace of Cæcilius Statius, the two Plinys, of several popes, and of the physicist Volta. In 1107 it began to war with Milan, and in the course of twenty years was utterly destroyed by its antagonist. As an important headquarters of the Ghibelline party, it rebuilt in 1158 by Frederick Barbarossa, and remained a republic for two centuries, when it fell into the hands of the Viscontis, its history since that time being bound up with that of Milan.

was

Como, LAKE OF (Ital. Lago di Como, or Il Lario, ancient Larius Lacus), a sheet of water, in Northern Italy, lying at the foot of the Bernine Alps. It is chiefly formed by the river Adda, which enters it at its north, and issues at its south-eastern

COMORIN

extremity. The total length of the lake from Como to Riva is about 30 miles. Fifteen miles from its northern extremity, the promontory of Bellaggio divides it into two branches, the shorter of which is called the Lago di Lecco. The greatest breadth of the lake is 2 miles, but throughout the greatest part of its length it is much less. It is 663 feet above sea-level, has a mean depth of 870 feet, and is 1352 feet deep at the deepest part. The beauty of the surrounding scenery and the salubrity of the climate have made the Lake of Como the most celebrated and most resorted to in Italy, its shores being everywhere studded with noble villas. See Lund, Como and the Italian Lakes (1887).

Comorin', CAPE (Kumári), the most southerly extremity of the peninsula of India, being, in fact, a sandy accretion to the termination of the Western Ghats. The low headland is in the state of Travan core, and its lat. and long. are 8° 4′ 20′′ N., and 77° 35′ 35′′ E.

Co'moro Isles, a group of four islands belong. ing to France, in the Mozambique Channel, between Africa and Madagascar. The islands, which are of volcanic origin, are mountainous, and have an extremely fertile soil, are called Angaziya or Great Comoro, Anjouan or Johanna, Mohilla, and Mayotta. Great Comoro is 35 miles long, and has a population of 35,000; its highest point is 8500 feet. Johanna, next in size, with 12,000 inhabitants, has a British consul and a British coaling station. Mohilla, the smallest, is 15 miles long, and has 6000 inhabitants. These became French in 1886. Mayotta or Mayotte, 21 miles long, and with a pop. (1885) of 10,049, has been a French possession since 1841. At the capital, Dsaudsi or Nzaondzi, are government buildings, a few hundred French soldiers, and numerous officials. The annual imports and exports of the island have each a value of over 2,000,000 francs. In all the islands the blood of the natives is partially Arab, partially Malagasy; the Sakalavas having occupied part of Mayotte after the conquest of Madagascar by the Hovas. See MADAGASCAR.

Company, although it may be applied to every kind of partnership, is generally used in connection with the law of joint-stock companies. These differ from the ordinary Partnership (q.v.) chiefly in the fact of the shares of the capital stock being transferable, generally apart from the consent of the remaining partners, although power is often reserved to object to a transferee; and also in the fact that full powers of management are devolved on directors and other officials to the exclusion, more or less complete, of the shareholders. An unincorporated joint-stock company at common law, such for instance as the famous Carron Iron Company, is really a partnership in many respects, its partners being liable without limit for the debts of the company. Under the Letters Patent Act, 1837, however, it may obtain several privileges of incorporation.

It is not lawful for more than ten persons to carry on a joint-stock banking company at common law, nor for more than twenty persons to carry on any other kind of joint-stock company at common law: all such concerns must register under the Companies Acts. Unincorporated companies may be made bankrupt and wound up in the ordinary way by sequestration, but it is also competent by a liquidation petition to apply to them the usual machinery for recovering the contributions due by members of registered companies, and adjusting the rights and liabilities of contributories inter se. Of course, the constitution of such common-law companies varies indefinitely with the provisions of the agreement under which they act. There is also in existence a large class

of companies created by royal charter, which have a legal corporate existence apart from their individual members, and a perpetual succession and a common seal. In such cases the charter defines, more or less clearly, the objects and the powers of the corporation and the mode of management, but the majority of members have within these limits considerable powers of framing bylaws. Where the charter is silent on the subject there is no direct liability of the members to the public at all, and their liability is limited to the unpaid balance of their shares. But the crown was empowered by statute to express in such charters that the liability of members is unlimited; and such until 1882 was the position of most of the large Scottish banks. The royal power to create corporations by charter was in certain cases delegated to burghs in Scotland, who exercised it by granting seals of cause. Of course, the validity of the provisions even of a royal charter may be questioned in a court of law.

Still another class of companies consists of those incorporated by act of parliament. Here no objection can be raised to the act of an all-powerful legislature. Such statutes, besides conferring the ordinary privileges of incorporation, generally give further parliamentary powers required for the particular undertaking-e.g. a right to levy tolls. All such particular statutes, which can be obtained only on giving the guarantees required by the practice of parliament in private bills, are all now subject to the general provisions of the Companies Clauses Acts of 1845, 1863, and 1869. These general acts deal not only with such matters as the issue of new capital, the creation of debenture stock, the change of name, but also with the general administration of the company, the powers of directors, the transference and forfeiture of shares, &c. Such statutory companies may also be placed in liquidation under the Companies Act of 1862.

The great mass of joint-stock companies, however, in this country owe their incorporation not to royal charter or statute, but to registration under the Limited Liability Acts, which began in 1855, but which are now all merged in the great statute of 1862, supplemented on various occasions down to 1880. As a general rule the provisions of the Act of 1862 apply, without fresh registration, to the companies formed and registered prior to that date. The new procedure is that any seven people, by subscribing a memorandum of association which states the name, place of business, and general objects, and delivering it to the registrar (there is a separate registrar for England, Scotland, and Ireland), may obtain a certificate of incorporation with or without limited liability. The great majority of these companies have been limited by shares-viz. the shareholders are liable only for the amount uncalled upon their shares. But cases of unlimited liability are not uncommon, and both banks and insurance companies have frequently availed themselves of the facilities afforded by registration; in the case of banks, the liability remaining unlimited as regards the note issue, while the liability of shareholders for other obligations of the bank is restricted in the usual way.

An insurance company requires to make a deposit of £20,000 before registration. It is sufficient if each of the seven subscribers of the memorandum of association subscribes for one share. Companies not formed for commercial profit may be registered by license of the Board of Trade. After the memorandum come the articles of association, which in most cases are, slightly modified, one of the sets of model regulations known as Schedule A and B of the statute. The general effect of registration is to make the applicants and

other members a corporate body with perpetual succession, a common seal, power to hold lands without intervention of trustees, and a liability of members for the time to pay calls on the shares, and a liability of all members, past and present, to contribute the amount of the uncalled capital in the event of a liquidation, excluding such members as have been a year out of the concern before the winding up commences. Past members only contribute if present members cannot make up the deficiency. Hence the lists A and B of contributories so unpleasantly known in the mercantile world. Contributories cannot 'set off' or deduct from their liability debts due to them by the company. But the constitution, so defined by the memorandum and articles of association, is elastic. By special resolution of the shareholders-i.e. a resolution passed by three-fourths and afterwards confirmed, which is also registered-capital may be increased, the amount of shares altered, the liability of directors made unlimited. With the consent of the Board of Trade, the company may even change its name.

It is common to reserve to the directors power to object to a transferee of shares, but where this is not done, the directors are powerless to prevent the common practice of transferring shares to persons of no means just before a liquidation arrives, at least where such transfer is out and out. After liquidation no change can be made on the register of shareholders, which decides the liabilities of parties. Mistaken entries, however, may be rectified by petition to the court, even after liquidation,

but it is then too late to raise an action to set aside a contract to take shares on the ground of fraud or misrepresentation. The liquidation of the City of Glasgow Bank (1878-82) called attention to the fact that in Scotland, differing in this respect from England, notice of trusts was taken in the registers of companies, but this did not prevent the trustees and executors who were so entered from being held personally liable for the full amount of the calls made. The necessity of keeping a register of mortgages is a useful provision, and every shareholder is entitled to obtain copies of the annual accounts and of any special resolutions passed. General meetings must be held at least once a year.

The Board of Trade have

power to order a systematic inspection of the books and accounts of a company, if they are asked to do so by one-fifth of the shareholders. The strongest security reserved to the management of a company for payment of calls is the stringent power of forfeiture which is often exercised with unfairness and severity.

Upon the whole the statute of 1862 has been beneficial in the development of trade; but it has also produced a great mass of dishonest speculation, with which the common-law doctrines of fraud and misrepresentation have not been adequate to deal. The law will shortly be amended so as to take further securities for the substantial character of business and for the punishment of dishonesty. For further information on this subject, see LIQUIDATION. Als see CORPORATION, GUILD, LIVERY, and RAILWAYS.

Company, in Military Organisation, is that part of a Battalion (q.v.) which constitutes a captain's command. In the British service there are 8 companies in an infantry battalion on the war establishment, each consisting of 3 officers -Captain (q.v.), lieutenant, and sub-lieutenant5 sergeants, 2 drummers and buglers, 5 corporals, 108 privates, and 1 driver with 2 horses for the company general service wagon. The men of the Army Service Corps are also grouped in similar companies (see COMMISSARIAT). The company is both a tactical and administrative unit, and is divided into two subdivisions of two sections each.

COMPASS

Each company has its own arm and accoutrement chests, and keeps its own books.

In the Engineers the field company is commanded by a major, with a captain and 4 lieutenants under him, and a surgeon, all mounted. It also has 2 sergeants, 1 artificer, 1 trumpeter, and 26 drivers, who are mounted, and 154 dismounted noncommissioned officers and men. In a cavalry regiment a captain's command is a Troop (q.v.); but the corresponding artillery unit is a Battery (q.v.). In the United States service an infantry battalion consists of 2 or more companies, each officered by a captain, a first and a second lieutenant, 5 sergeants, and 4 corporals. On a war footing a full company of infantry consists of 101 officers and men; in time of peace of 3 commissioned officers and 54 men. In the German army a company comprises 249 combatants and 3 non-combatants, under a captain, who is a mounted officer, and 3 subalterns. There are 4 such companies in each battalion. The French, Russian, Austrian, and Italian companies are similar in strength to the German. See also BEARER COMPANY.

Company, of a ship, is considered to include the whole of the persons engaged on board, and paid for specific duties-exclusive, therefore, of troops and passengers, but including naval officers as well as crew. See CREW.

Comparative Anatomy, as distinguished from special anatomy (see ANATOMY), is the science which examines and compares the structure of two or more different kinds of animal, so as to discover their points of resemblance and unlikeness; and as such it is a most important department of the science of Biology (q.v.; see also CUVIER). In this work the articles in the various groups of animals (see BIRD, MAMMALS, REPTILES, &c.) deal with the resembling and contrasted features of these groups. Comparative' is used in an analogous sense in connection with philology and physiology.

Comparetti, DOMENICO, philologist, was born 27th June 1835 at Rome. He studied the natural sciences and mathematics, next held a post in a library, and in 1859 was appointed to the chair of Greek in the university of Pisa, which he exchanged a few years later for the same chair in the Instituto di Studii Superiori at Florence. His studies bore fruit in frequent articles in the learned journals, and in a series of learned works, among them one on Greek dialects in South Italy (1866), on Virgil the Magician (1872; trans. 1895), and on Homer and Pisistratus (1881). With D'Ancona he edited the Canti e Racconti del Popolo Italiano (1870-90), and he settled in Rome. To English folklorists his name is known from his Researches concerning the Book of Sindibad (Folklore Society, 1882).

Compartment, a term in use in the Heraldry of Scotland, applied generally to the panel or other ornamental work placed below a shield on which the supporters stand, with which is sometimes intertwined the escrol in which the motto, or a second motto, is placed. Great latitude is allowed as to its form.

Compass, MARINER'S, is a magnetic instrument used by mariners to indicate the direction of the ship with respect to the magnetic north and south line, or, in other words, to give the azimuth of the ship with respect to the magnetic meridian. That the mariner may know his direction with respect to the geographical meridian, he must know the angle between the magnetic and geographical meridians (see DECLINATION), and as this angle is different in different years and at different places on the surface of the globe, the mariner must be able at any time to determine his position, when his charts will give him the necessary data to supplement his compass reading.

pass-bowl is sometimes filled with spirit, but the additional friction of the liquid interferes with the sensitiveness of the needle. The bowl is supported in Gimbals (q.v.) so as to remain horizontal in all positions of the ship. The whole arrangement is placed in the binnacle, situated when possible in the fore and aft line, and having provision for the placing of lamps to illuminate the compass-card by night.

The compass-card is represented in fig. 1. The four cardinal directions or points' are marked N. E. S. W., and there is a convenient notation for intermediate points. Thus the point midway be

The directive property of the magnet seems to have been unknown in Europe till the 12th century. It appears, however, on very good authority that it was known in China and throughout the East generally at a very remote period. The Chinese annals assign its discovery to the year 2634 B.C., when they say an instrument for indicating the south was constructed by the Emperor Ho-ang-ti. The earliest reference to the making of magnets is in a Chinese dictionary of 121 A.D., where lodestone is defined as 'a stone with which an attraction can be given to the needle;' but this property of the lodestone could not fail to have been observed at a very much earlier time. At first the Chinese would appear to have used the compass exclusively for guidance in travelling by land, and we hear of their using it by sea only somewhere about 300 A.D. According to one account, a knowledge of the compass was brought to Europe by Marco Polo on his return from his travels in Cathay; but as against this, the late Mr William Chappell, in a letter to Nature (June 15, 1876), produced evidence to show that we owe the appearance of the compass in Europe in the 12th century to independent discovery, and not to importation from China.

The ordinary mariner's compass is made up as follows: The needle is a magnetised strip of steel, or in the better compasses a number of thin strips magnetised separately and then bound together. This is balanced so as to swing horizontally on a fine pivot. Fastened to the upper surface of the needle and swinging with it is a circular card marked with the thirty-two points,' and having the point marked N immediately over the end of the needle that is attracted to the north. The pivot on which the needle swings stands up from the bottom of a copper bowl, which has a glass covering to protect the contents from wind and weather. The compass-bowl is made of copper (a good conductor of electricity) in order to damp the vibrations of the needle. For the needle in moving induces currents of electricity in the

E&N

E

E&S

ESE

SEBE

SE

Fig. 2.

tween N. and E. is called NE., that again between N. and NE. is called NNE. (read north-north-east), and so on. The remaining sixteen points, such as NbE. (read north by east), are named on a plan which will be readily made out by an examination of the figure. These thirty-two points are often further subdivided into halves, quarters, and even eighths, and then we have NE., and so on. When the ship lies in the magnetic meridian, and points to the north, the N. point on the card is directed towards a black line, called the lubber's line, marked on the inside of the compass-bowl. Boxing the compass means reading off from memory the thirty-two points in order going round either

copper bowl, the electro-magnetic forces of which tend (according to Lenz's Law) to oppose the motion producing them. For the same purpose also the com

way.

Modified forms of the compass are in use on land by surveyors and miners, and need not be further alluded to here.

By way of summarising the qualifications of a good compass, we shall describe the best compass in use-Sir William Thomson's, patented in 1876: A thin aluminium ring (fig. 2) is connected by silk threads with an aluminium boss, which rests on an aluminium cup having a centre piece of sapphire poised on an iridium point (fig. 3). Instead of a single needle there are eight thin strips of steel fastened to the silk threads as shown in the figure. The thin paper rim bearing the points is divided at intervals so that the contractions and expansions due to change of temperature may not produce warping of the aluminium. The whole arrangement weighs only 200 grains or so, and thus there is very little tendency to flatten the point of the

supporting needle. Hence the friction error' can be made very small-in fact, if it is found that a card can be made to rest even half a degree out of the magnetic meridian, the supporting point is rejected for a sharper one. The weight, such as it is, being mostly in the rim, the period of vibration of the card is long (40 seconds, or so), which makes the card very steady. The bowl is saved from violent oscillation by having in the bottom a quantity of castor-oil. The gimbals are supported on knife edges, and their being made of brass wire-rope dispenses with the not very durable india-rubber pads otherwise used. A simple device prevents the card from jumping off the pivot when heavy guns are fireda matter of some importance Fig. 3. in an engagement. The binnacle has complete provision for stowing away the magnets, soft iron bars, and spheres used to counteract the magnetism of the iron of the ship.

Along with Thomson's compass is supplied a piece of apparatus for converting it into an azimuth compass, which is a compass for finding the angle subtended at the observer's eye by the projections of two objects on the horizontal plane.

For the earth's action on a magnetised needle suspended free to move horizontally and vertically, see the articles MAGNETISM, DECLINATION.

The great difficulty connected with the use of the compass arises from the disturbing influence of the ship's magnetism, of which part is considered permanent, and part-due to the soft iron —is temporary, and varies with the position of the ship. Various methods are in use to regulate this difficulty, which in iron vessels is sometimes so great as to make an ordinary compass almost useless. The principal are (1) counteracting the permanent induced magnetism by properly placed permanent bar magnets; and (2) supplying about the compass soft iron masses in such a way that, however the ship turns, the transient induced magnetism on the left of the compass shall be exactly equivalent to that on the right. Many of the best ships carry a standard compass placed as far as possible from the iron of the ship, especially from vertical masses like iron masts and funnels. When it is mentioned that an error of one point (11) in steering means an error of about one mile in five, the necessity for the various precautions will be readily recognised. For details on this subject, see the Admiralty Manual on the Deviations of the Compass, and the references there given.

Compasses, instruments for transferring and marking off distances, or for drawing circles, &c. The common compasses are simply two rods or 'legs' joined together at one end by a pivot-joint, and pointed at the other; when used for drawing circles, the lower part of one of the legs is replaced by a pen or pencil. Spring dividers are much in use by workmen; in these, the legs are united by a strong steel spring, the action of which is to stretch them open; but half-way down, a screw passing between the legs, regulates by means of a nut, the degree of opening. The value of these depends upon the permanency with which they retain any degree of opening given to them, pivot compasses being liable to slip. A more delicate variety of the spring dividers is

COMPETITION

also made for use in mechanical and architectural drawing.

Beam Compasses consist of points sliding on a long bar, to which they may be clamped at any distance from each other. They are used for greater openings than pivot compasses can safely span, and, when delicately made, for more accurate dividing. See GRADUATION.

Proportional Compasses have a point at each end of each leg and the pivot between, thus forming a double pair of compasses opposite to each other, end to end. The pivot is a clamping screw moving in an elongated slit in the legs, by means of which any proportion between the ends may be attained. They are usually provided with scales of proportions for lines, solids, cubes, and circles. They are very useful in making reduced or enlarged copies of drawings, especially mechanical drawings.

Triangular Compasses have three legs, so that the points of a triangle may be all transferred at once. For Calliper Compasses, see CALLIPERS.

Scottish law to denote the claim which arises to the Compensation is used in both English and owner or occupier of land which is taken for the purposes of a public undertaking under statutory powers, or which is injuriously affected by the execution of public works. The question is generally referred to arbitration, under the Lands Clauses

Act, and the award is final as to the amount of damage. The claim includes such matters as loss of profits from shop, interference with access and amenity, nuisance from smoke, &c. Formerly, fifty per cent. used to be added for compulsory purchase, but latterly awards have been more in recent statutes to the right of an outgoing tenant moderate. Compensation is also the name given in respect of certain classes of unexhausted improvements which are scheduled to the acts. See AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS ACT. The word is loosely applied to any claim of damages arising tion interfering with the business of the publicans in respect of injury. Thus in event of legisla(in the way of limitation or prohibition), it is by others, that the publicans are entitled to comstrongly affirmed by some, and as strongly denied pensation. In Scots law its proper meaning is that mutual creditors and debtors may set off one debt against another. This applies, as it did in the civil law, to most pecuniary obliga tions, but in order that one debt may extinguish another, so as to stop interest, &c., compensation claim of damages is opposed to an ascertained debt, must be pleaded. Even where an unliquidated time will be given to constitute, if the claims arise under the same contract.

Compensation of Errors, in Physics, a method of neutralising errors which cannot be avoided, by introducing others into the experiment or observation, of an opposite nature, and equal in amount. The compensation pendulum illustrates the principle. See PENDULUM.

Competition (Lat., 'a seeking together ') has been well defined by Dr Johnson as the act of endeavouring to gain what another endeavours to gain at the same time.' In political economy it is simply the form taken by the struggle for exist ence as applied to industry. Formerly, prices and generally the economic relations of men to each other were regulated by custom or authority. The growth of freedom has now brought it about that these relations are determined by individual effort. The general rule is that each man must be responsible for his own economic well-being. The workman brings his labour to the market and gets what he can for it. The capitalist engages labour on the terms most favourable to himself, and sells his produce at such price as it can bring. The