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I
Mr*. Rolund 1?oodfaw
A A
THE
AMEKICAN CYCLOPAEDIA
VOL VII. EVESHAM-GLASCOCK.
808
THE
AMEKICM CYCLOEEDU:
opttto §xttxioimxj^
OF
G-BHBEAL KNOWLEDGE.
EDITED BY
GEORGE RIPLEY and CHARLES A. DAlf A.
WITJI SUPPLEMENT.
YOLUME m EVESHAM-GLASCOCK.
NEW YORK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
1, 8, ARD 6 BOND STBEET.
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.
1883.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 0. APPLETON AND COMPANY, in tho Clerk*B Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New Yoik.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, in tho Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, in tho Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
«
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tho year 1888, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
• t
- «
^•i-,.'
7-/
/■{.' .-* -w
Among the ContAhutora of New A7i>icles to the Seventh Volume of the Hevieed
Edition are the foUowinff :
V
c
"4^
^
Prof. Clbyeland Abb£, Washington, D. C.
Foo.
FlOST.
WnxABD Bartlett.
Oavoss. OAkaow Hills.
OlLOLO.
Prof. C. W. Bennett, D. D., Syracuse Uni- versity.
FnK, WlLBUB. FUBTOnKK, JOUK WlLUAM.
FoOTKB, Bandolph 8., D. D.
JULITTS BiNO.
Fatbs, Jules Clauds Oabbixl, FuAD Pabha, Gjucbbtta, L£ox,
and other articles in biography, geography, and histoiy.
Del A VAN Bloodoood, M. D., U. 8. N.
Faskaout, David Glasoob.
Fbancis 0. Bowman.
FnLD, John.
FoKifxs, Kael.
FosTxa, Stsphem Colldis.
Edwabd L. Bublingame, Ph. D.
FmAiroB,
and articles in biography and history.
John D. Ghampun, Jr. F1.A0,
Oallst, Obtsess.
QlBBALTAS,
and articles in biography and geography.
Pfof. E. H. Clabke, M. D., Harvard University.
Oallio Acid, Qalls,
and other articles in materia medics.
Hon. T. M. CooLEY, LL. D., Ann Arhor, Mich.
Excise,
£xTRADrnoir,
S^omvE,
and other legal articles.
Prof. J. 0. Dalton, M. D,
£xcEBnox, Flint, A, Jr.,
and medical and physiological articles.
Eaton S. Dbone.
Florida,
FUB,
and various articles in American geography.
Capt. 0. E. Button, U. S. A.
FOWLnVO PXBCB.
Kobebt T. Edes, M. D., Harvard University.
Articles in materia medlcB.
W. M. Febbiss.
Fribitds.
Oboxetet.
OiKGUEirfi, PiBBBB Loms.
Prof. Austin Flint, M. D.
Fevbb, and Fbvbbs.
Alfred H. Guebnset.
Febdebicksbubo, Baitlb or. Gbittsbubo, Battlb or.
J, W. Ha WES.
Fish Gultubb,
FiSHEBlBS, GALVBSTOMf
Oboboia,
and articles in American geography.
Chableb L. Hooeboom, M. D.
Fabadat, Michabl.
Febxentaixoii.
Flahb.
FUBBAOB.
Galvabisic. Gas.
Prof. T. Steeby Hunt, LL. D., Mass. Inst, of
Technology, Boston. Fossil Footpbintb. Gboloot.
Rossiteb Johnson.
£x mouth, Edwabd Pbllsw, Viscoont, KosTBB, John Wells, Gaines, Mtba Clabk,
and other biographical articles.
Prof. S. Kneeland, M. D., Mass. Inst, of Technology, Boston.
Fltino Lbxub, fobaxinifbba, Fulmae, Gibbon,
and other articles in natural histoiy.
Rev. Fbanklin Noble, ezzblino da bobako. Faubiel, Claude Ghablbs. Fbano. Geobob I. Gilbebt, Sir John.
Rev. Bebnabd O'Reilly, D. D.
ExOOMJiUNICATIOK. EXOBCISM. EXTBBMB nNCnON.
Flobbmcb, Council or.
Count L. F. de PouBTALis, Musenm of Com- parative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. Galapagos.
RiCHABD A. Pboctob, A. M., London.
Galaxy.
Prof. Rossiteb ^. Raymond, Ph. D.
Explosives.
Philip Ripley.
Fechteb, Chablbb Albbbt. Garibaldi, Giuseppe. Gatlikg, Kicuabd Jobdan.
Prof. A. J. Sohem.
Galatiakb, Epistlb to the. Gbbmant (geographical part).
J. G. Shea, LL. D.
Foxxs,
Froktknao, Louis db Buade, Connt de, Galvbz, Bernardo, Count do, and articles on American Indians.
Prof. Geoboe Thubbeb.
Fib,
Fuchsia, Gbbanium, Gilliplowbb,
GiNOKO,
Gladiolus,
and other botanical articles.
Prof. G. A. F. Van Rhyn, Ph. D.
Faieies,
Fbrjeb Islands,
Finds,
Gboboian Lanouagb,
Gbbmanic Baces and Languages,
and other archaeological, oriental, and philological articles.
I. DE YeITELLE. Gaucbos,
and other Bonth American articles.
0. 8. Weyman.
France, Wines of. Fbbbgo Painting. Gbbmant, Wines or.
Prof. Junius B. 'Wheeleb, U. S. M. A., West Point.
FORTinCATION.
Prof. J. H. WOBMAN. Flibdneb, Thbodob.
Prof. E. L. Y0UMAN8.
Evolution.
THE
AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA.
EVESHAM
EVESHAM, a parliamentary borongh and mar- I ket town of Worcestershire, Endand, nearly encircled by tbe Avon, 18 m. S. E. of Wokroester ; pop. abont 5,000. It is well built, and contains three churches, a mechanics' in- stitute, reading rooms, and a library. The re- maining tower of the once famous abbey of Eresham is one of the finest architectural spe- cimens of the time of Henry YIIL The chief occupation is gardening, but gloves, hosiery, and parchment are manufactured, and there is on active trade in malt and hops.
ETIDENCE. Judicial evidence differs from the proofs by which human judgment is or- dinarily determined in non-judicial matters, chiefly in certain rules established for the sake of facility in disposing of complicated questions of fact, or on grounds of public policy. These rnles may be reduced under the following heads : 1, cases in which a rule is prescribed for the purpose of getting at a certain conclu- sion, though arbitrary, when the subject is in- trinsically liable to doubt from the remoteness, discrepancy, or actual defect of proofs ; 2, cases in which evidence is excluded on the ground of being untrustworthy and tending to un- necessary prolixity, or from its very nature likely to be untrue ; 8, cases in which a legal presumption is substituted for actual proof^ or in place of what could be proved, being sup- posed to be more consistent with the real rights of the parties than any result which could be expected from positive testimony ; 4, the grad- uation of the weight of evidence, which will be found in some instances to be arbitrary in its origin, and perhaps not altogether in ac- cordance with the ordinary process of judg- ment.— Under the first class will be included various rules which have been adopted, not from exact uniformity per m, but for the sake of baviuff some rule of general application, among which may be specified the following : a. That after seven years' absence without
EVIDENCE
having been heard from, a man shall be pre- sumed to be dead. It is obvious in this case that the period fixed upon is no more certain than any other, but it was necessary, for tlie protection of the rights of parties who were compelled to act upon some presumption, that a legal rule shoula be established. If a man therefore has been absent seven years with- out anything being heard of him, his wife may marry again without incurring a penalty for bigamy, though it has not been provided that the second marriage shall be absolutely valid in case the husband should* afterward return ; and his heir, or the person entitled to his es- tate by succession, becomes vested with pre- sumptive ownership, the same as if his decease was actually proved, l. That after the ex- clusive possession of land or of an incorporeal hereditament for a certain period of time, a grant shall be presumed, and the title of the occupant will be sustained against all claimants. In England this period was formerly express- ed with some vagueness, as being beyond the memory of man, and the rule applied there only to incorporeal estates ; but by a statute (2 and 8 Wuliam IV.) the period has been limited to 20 years in cases of aquatic rights, ways, and other easements, and to 80 years in respect to right of common and other uses arising out of lands, except tithes and rents. In the United States the presumption is gen- erally the same both in respect to corporeal and incorporeal estates. In a large number of the states 20 years' exclusive, undisturbed, and uninterrupted possession, under claim of right, is sufficient to establish title to lands or ease- ments. In some states a shorter period is pre- scribed, either generally or for particular classes of cases, as for example those in which the claim of right is under purchase at a tax or ju- dicial sale. c. That deeds more than 80 years old may be used as evidence without proof of their execution; in other words, that they
6
EVIDENCE
prove themselves. The presamption in sach cases is that the subscribing witnesses or others by whom proof of execution is ordinarily made may be dead, but the rule is the same even if such witnesses are actually living. In offering such a deed in evidence, however, it is neces- sary to give some account of the custody of it, and to show that possession has been consis- tent with its provisions, so as to rebut any sus- picion in respect to its genuineness, d. An infant under the age of seven years is conclu- sively presumed to be without discretion. Be- yond that age it will be a subject of proof whether he is dolt eapax^ but prior to that time no inquiry is permitted. So an infant under the age of 14 is presumed incapable of com- mitting a rape, tnough in fact there are in- stances of sexual capacity before that age. So when husband and wife are living together and impotency is not proved, the issue will be presumed legitimate, although it should be proved that the wife has during that time com- mited adultery, e. By the common law, if a wife do any act in the presence of her husband amounting to felony, other than treason or murder, she is presumed to have been under coercion, and therefore not criminally liable. This presumption, however, is allowed but limited force in the United States. — The second class of cases includes two rules which were formerly of very frequent application, a. What is called hearsay evidence is inadmissible. By this is meant that a witness should not be per- mitted to testify what he has heard another person say, but only what he knows himself. To this rule there are some qualifications ra- ther than exceptions. Thus it is sometimes proper to prove what was said by a person at the time of performing a certain act, as having some tendency to explain the intent, and there- fore admissible as a part of the res gestm^ ac- cording to legal phraseology. In such a case, however, what was said does not strictly come nnder the designation of hearsay, but is itself a principal fact. So also it is admissible to prove what has been said by a party to an action. This again is a principal fact, or at all events comes under the designation of declara- tions or admissions, and as such is admissible. So it is permitted in cases of homicide to prove dying declarations, that is, what is said by the murdered person shortly before and in expec- tation of death. This is not unusual in trials for murder, and is competent evidence, both to show the manner of the death and who was the murderer; but it must be strictly con- fined to the homicide, and to facts which it would have been competent for the party to have testified to had he survived. The tes- timony of a witness on a former trial may also be proved on a second trial, in case of his de- cease prior thereto. Again, witnesses are al- lowed to testify to matters of tradition in respect to old boundaries of estates. The rule in England is limited to coses in which some pnblio right is involved, as when a right of
common is in question ; but in the United States it has been allowed in many cases where the lines of large tracts of land became mate- rial in determining the limits of smaller estates. The traditional evidence, as it is called in such cases, consists of proof of what has been said long since by persons who may be supposed to have had some personal knowledge, or to have heard trom others who had such knowledge. Pedigree, including the facts relating to birth, marriage, and death, may also be shown by proof of what has been said by members of the family or relatives of the person whose paren- tage or relationship is in question. Many other illustrations could be cited, but these will suffice. It should be remarked that upon the same principle by which the kind of evidence last referred to is admissible, other modes of proof, which are ordinarily classed under hearsay, though they in fact belong to that species of evidence in no other sense than as above ex- plained in respect to oral testimony, are admit- ted, such as a family register, inscriptions on monuments, and the like. But with the ex- ceptions, if they may be so called, which we have specified, hearsay evidence is wholly and absolutely excluded by the English law. The reasons usually given for this exclusion are its uncertain and untrustworthy character, the endless prolixity to which it would lead in the attempt to sift facts in judicial proceedings, the ease with which it might be manufactured for the occasion, and the probability that better evidence is attainable, h. Another rule relates to the competency of witnesses, and it has been more prolific of subtle distinctions and perplexing questions than any other rule in the law of evidence. A chief ground of ex- clusion was formerly interest in the subject of the action. The theory was that there is an inevitable tendency to suppress or pervert the facts under the influence of a supposed interest in the result. This of course con- stituted a proper exception so far as respects credibility ; but instead of receiving the testi- mony subject to a proper discrimination as to its effects, courts relieved themselves of all em- barrassment in determining its relative weight, by wholly excluding the testimony of an inter- ested witness. Under this rule not only the parties to the action, but all persons having an interest in the result, were, as a general rule, adjudged incompetent to testify. In determin- ing, however, the nature of the interest which should constitute a disqualification, it was found exceedingly diflicult to fix precise rules of gen- er^ application, and much confliction was in- volved in the decisions. Finally it was settled that the interest must be a direct gain or loss by the operation of the judgment in the action, or that the record would be evidence for or against the witness in some other action. But no interest other than pecuniary was sufficient to exclude, and therefore near relatives might testify for each other even in the most serious cases, and where the temptations to shield them
EVIDENCE
by nntmthfnl statements might be the strong- est possible. Bat husband and wife were not admitted to testify for or against each other, for which two reasons were principally as- signed: 1, that it wonld tend to destroy the domestic harmony ; and 2, that the wife was under snch coercion of the husband as would be likely to lead her to distort or suppress the truth. An exception, from the necessity of the case, was made of prosecutions for injuries done or threatened by one against the other. The conviction at length became general that the ezclosion of witnesses on account of inter- est worked ii^jnriously, and accordingly, both in England and the United States, the system has been virtually abrogated. By statute 8 and 4 William IV., c. 42, it was provided that no person offered as a witness should be excluded on the ground that the verdict or judgment in the action could be used for or against him. The act 6 and 7 Victoria, c. 85 (1843), provided tliat no one, except a party, or the husband or wife of a p^rty, should be excluded from testi- fying on the ground of interest in the subject of the action or event of the trial. The act 14 and 15 Victoria, c. 99 (1851), enacted that par- ties and persons on whose behalf a suit is broagfat or defended shall be competent and compellable to testify as witnesses for either p^jy except that in criminal proceedings for an indictable' offence neither the party charged nor the husband or wife of such party could be a witness ; and except also that the provision should not apply to actions founded upon adul- tery, or for a breach of promise of marriage. By a subsequent act, 16 and 17 Victoria, c. 83 (1853), the husband or wife of a party in a ci?il action was made competent as a witness except in cases of adultery, but with the quali- fication that such witness should not be bound to disclose any confidential communication made by either to the other during marriage. In the United States similar provisions have very generally been adopted ; and as a rule all persons having knowledge of material facts are competent and compellable to testify, except husband and wife against each other, and the defendants in criminal proceedings. The for- mer, however, are allowed to be witnesses for each other, and by consent may be called by the opposite party. In a number of the states the defendants in criminal crises are allowed either to testify in their own behalf under oath, or to make a statement without oath which the jury may receive as evidence ; but constitutional provisions forbid their being com- pelled to testify against themselves. — The third of the classes into which we have divided the roles of evidence consists of presumptions of law in lieu of actual proof, or of what could be proved, under which may be specified the following : a. The statutes of limitation, by which a period of time is fixed when a debt shall be presumed to have been paid, or satis- faction to have been received. This sort of presumption is made not for want of actual
proof, as the period is usually short, but to put an end to controversy within a reasonable period. The current business of life has enough to employ our attention without our being bur- dened with the memory of all former transac- tions. (See Limitation, Statutes of.) h. Es- toppels. A man is said to be estopped when it would be inconsistent with good faith or with the policy of the law to allow him to deny a certain fact or legal conclusion. Thus, if he claims under a deed or will, he is bound by all that is contained in it, and is estopped either from denying any recital therein, or from set- ting up any claim of title adverse to or incon- sistent with such deed or will. An estoppel in paisy as it is called in the old cases, is when a man is precluded by his own act or admission from proving anything contrary thereto. An instance of this is when a man has by some statement or admission induced another with whom he was dealing to enter into a contract ; he will not afterward be permitted to deny the truth of such statement or admission if the ef- fect would be to work an injury to such thu'd party. So a tacit admission, as when the owner of a chattel stands by while another sells it as his own, and neglects to give notice of his right ; this will operate as an estoppel to his setting up his claim against the innocent purchaser. To this head also belongs what is called res jttdieata^ that is to say, the rule that when a fact necessarily involved in an action is once determined it shidl not afterward be called in question as between the same parties or per- sons claiming under them. A judgment or de- cree of a competent court is final not only as to what was actually determined, but as to every matter which was involved in the issue, and which could have been decided. The record of the judgment is the only proper evidence of what was in issue, and it cannot be proved aliunde that some matter was in fact involved and taken into consideration which does not appear by the record to have been involved in the issue. This is the rule as to decisions of tribunals in our own country. In respect to foreign judgments and decrees, the effect is the same when the court had jurisdiction of the case, and no fraud has been practised. The record itself which must be produced, is not conclusive as to facts necessary to ^ve juris- diction, and a defendant will be permitted to prove that he was not personally served with process; so any fraud on the part of the court or its officers may be shown. But the regu- larity of the judgment having been established, it is conclusive upon all matters embraced in the issue. — ^Tlie fourth class in the arrangement we have made of our subject, viz., the comparative weight of evidence, is of a twofold character. Judicial discrimination may lead to the rejec- tion of testimony as being entitled to no weight at all, or it may determine the relative influ- ence which it should have if admissible in the decision of a question of fact. The former we have already considered, so far as respects
8
EVIDENCE
the incompetency of witnesses and the exclu- sion of hearsay testimony. But evidence is sometimes excluded for reaBons of more limited application. Thus, inferior testimony is not admitted when a party has it in his power to produce what is of a higher order ; as if the question be as to the title to real estate derived from a deed, the best proof will of course be the production of the deed itself, and no other proof will be admitted as a substitute, unless a satisfactory reason is given for its non-produc- tion, as where it has been lost or destroyed. But in this case, the substituted evidence must be exclusively as to the contents of the deed. But where under statutes providing therefor conveyances of real estate are recorded, the record or a certified copy is allowed to be read in evidence with the same effect as the original. So when a contract is in writing, it is necessary to produce the writing itself, and no other evi- dence can be given of the terms of such con- tract, without showing first the loss of the writing, or that for some other satisfactory reason it is impracticable to produce it ; upon making which proof, parol evidence may be given as to the contents. And whenever, in the course of a trial, a fact comes in question, the evidence of which is in writing, the same rule is applied, viz., that no other evidence can be admitted than the writing itself if in ex- istence, and if not, then only the substituted proof of its contents. It may however happen that nothing more than the purport can be shown, and not the exact phraseology; and some latitude will be allowed in such case, as by admitting proof of the acts of parties, and other circumstances, but still having in view to get at what was expressed by the writing. It does not follow, however, that when the best or what is called primary evidence cannot be produced, inferior or what is called secondary evidence will in all oases be admitted. Thus, hearsay evidence is in general excluded, even if none better can be procured. Upon the same principle, when a writing is put in evi- dence^ it nmst have effect according to its terms, and parol evidence is not admissible to give it a different construction, or to defeat its operation according to the import thereof; or even if the writing is ambiguous, it cannot be explained by other evidence, if the ambiguity is intrinsic, that is, if the phraseology \aper se doubtful. But if the ambiguity arises from something referred to but not fully expressed in the writing, explanation by other evidence is admissible. The latter is designated in law as a latent ambiguity, by which is meant that it does not appear upon the face of the instru- ment, but arises from something extrinsic. So also, when parties to a contract have under- taken to express it in writing, it will be as- sumed that they have expressed the whole, and nothing can be added by parol evidence, so far as relates to what the parties had in view at the time the contract was made. This is in effect saying that the written contract must
speak for itself, and will be presumed to con- tain all that was intended at the time, though this contract may be varied by a subsequent parol agreement for good consideration. To the general rule as above stated there are, however, some qualifications. 1. It is admis- sible to explain the subject of the contract and all the circumstances which may properly be supposed to have been had in view by both parties, for the purpose of understanding the phraseology which they may have used. 2. Terms peculiar to a science, profession, art, or trade may be explained by witnesses conver- sant therewith. 8. Parol evidence is admissible to impeach a written instrument, by showing fraud, illegality of the subject matter, or what- ever would operate in law to avoid it. — The admissibility of evidence is in judicial proceed- ings a matter of law, and in jury trials is deter- mined by the court. But it is not alone for this purpose that discrimination is required. A question of fact usually involves testimony on both sides, which must be collated, and the relative weight of which must be determined in order to reach a correct conclusion. Usually the court arranges and sifts the evidence in the instructions given to the jury, and it is obvious that without this aid the jury would be incom- petent to analyze the evidence in a complicated case. Since the disqualification to testify by reason of interest has been abolished, the rea- sons which formerly were insisted upon as grounds of such disqualification are still proper to be considered with reference to the credit of the witness. It would be out of place to discuss these reasons at large in the brief sum- mary of principles to which this article is neces- sarily limited. A single case may however be appropriately referred to, viz., the impeach- ment of a witness by direct testimony of other witnesses, showing that he is unworthy of credit. This kind of testimony is peculiar. The inquiry is limited to the general reputation of the witness whose veracity is in question, and the impeaching witness is not allowed to testify to particular facts. The usual course of examination is to inquire what is the gen- eral reputation of the witness as to veracity, and formerly it was permitted then to ask the impeaching witness whether he would believe the other under oath, but the authorities are in this country not altogether uniform as to the latter practice. It may not be improper h ere to say that the rule as to impeachment of a wit- ness is seldom of use, except where he is no- toriously destitute of principle. A witness is also dlowed to be impeached by showing that he has made out of court statements contra- dictory to his evidence in court ; but before these are pennitted to be shown his attention is called to them, that he may have opportunity for explanation. — We have thus briefly analyzed the general principles of the law of evidence. Our subject would however be imperfectly treated if we should not refer to some of the rules which have more particular relation to
EVIDENCE
9
the practice of the courts. One is that the best evidence must always be produced ; or in other words, that inferior evidence will not be received when a party has it ii^ his power to produce better. But it does not follow, as be- fore remarked, that when a party has not the power to produce the best, any other without restriction is admissible. The secondary proof must still be such as is held competent under other rules, or it will be rejected. The mean- ing of the rule is that inferior evidence, al- though otherwise competent, shall not be ad- mitted when better can be had. We have before adverted to the distinction between writings or documentary proof, and oral or, as it is usually called, parol evidence. The dis- tinction is founded upon the uncertainty of memory. Whatever has been put in writing can never be proved by mere recollection with perfect exactness ; the writing itself is of course the most trustworthy, and according to the rale above mentioned it must be produced or its loss proved before its contents can be shown by other evidence ; and this is true whether the writing relates to the principal fact or subject of the action, or is merely incidental. Again, when the question is as to a fact re- specting which there is evidence in writing, bat an offer is made to prove the fact by evi- dence aliunde without producing the writing or proving its contents, the rule is that if the writing was the concurrent act of both parties, as if it was signed by them or was prepared with the privity of both as an expression of their mutual understanding, it is thereby con- stituted the primary evidence of the fact to which it relates, and must be produced. This includes not merely a written contract which is the subject of the action or defence, but any other writing which the parties have agreed upon as the expression of any fact incidentally involved in the action. There is this difference, however, between the two cases : that in the former no other proof can be received but the instrument itself, or if lost, proof of its con- tents; whereas in the latter there may be other evidence bearing upon the same point which is admissible, together with the writing, and in some instances without it, where it is not intentionally withheld. Thus a written correspondence between the parties may be material to show their understanding in re- spect to some transaction, but this would not preclude proof of conversations or other acts. If^ however, the correspondence contains a contract, then, according to another rule, no other evidence can be received except what is necessary for the proper explanation of the meaning of the parties in the language used by them. . It is not material which party has pos- session of the writing ; the rule is the same in either case. If wanted by one party, and the other has possession of it, upon notice by him to the other to produce it, and its non-produc- tion, he may ^ve parol evidence of its con- tents. It is to be understood that the rule
above mentioned applies only to a writing in which both parties have concurred. When it is a memorandum by one without the privity of the other, it cannot be evidence at all, ex- cept under the recent modification of the law of evidence allowing parties to be witnesses, and is subject to the same rule that applies to any other witness. The rule as to a memoran- dum made by a witness at the time of the trans- action referred to in it is, that he may refer to it for the purpose of refreshing his memory ; but having done so, he is to testify what with this aid he is able to recollect. But if he has no recollection independent of the memoran- dum, the later doctrine is that on proving that it was made at the time of the transaction re- ferred to, and that he then had knowledge of the subject, the memorandum itself may be put in evidence. The mode of proving a writing which is attested by a subscribing witness is peculiar. In such a case the subscribing wit- ness must be called if living and within the ju- risdiction of the court ; but if dead or absent from the country, proof of his handwriting or that of the party will be sufficient to make the instrument evidence. The exclusion of proof of execution by any other person than the sub- scribing witness has often been the occasion of inconvenience ; and the reason usually assigned for it, viz., that the subscribing witness is sup- posed to have some knowledge of the subject which another would not have, is certainly very singular, as if he had such knowledge he would not be allowed to testify to it, if it would at all vary the effect of the instrument. In England, by acts 17 and 18 Victoria, c. 125 (1854), a subscribing witness to an instrument which is not required by law to be attested need not be called, but the instrument may be proved in the same manner as if there was no such witness. The rule that parol evidence is not admissible to contradict, vary, or explain a written instrument has been before referred to, and certain exceptions or qualifications were mentioned ; but it should be added that in a proper proceediug instituted to reform the in- strument, it may always be shown that, through accident, mistake, or fraud, it was not made to express the real intent and contract of the party. Such a proceeding must be in chancery, except where the common-law courts are vest* ed with equity jurisdiction. — In the examina- tion of witnesses, a very different mode is pre^ scribed to the party calling a witness from what is allowed to the opposite party. The counsel of the former must not put leading questions, and if the witness should make adverse or un- satisfactory answers, still he was deemed the witness of the party and could be examined only in accordance with that theory ; that is to say, he could not be cross-examined by such party. This at least was formerly the rule, but it has recentiy been relaxed so far as to allow him to be treated to some extent as an adverse witness, when it is apparent that he is so. On the other hand, cross-examination by the other-
10
EVOLUTION
party is allowed to an almoBt imlimited extent, and the privilege is often used to pervert ra- ther than elicit the truth. It would be difficult to fix a precise limit of restriction, as it neces- sarily rests very much in the discretion of the court ; but the prevailing practice seems to be suited rather to a remote period, when from the disorders of society and consequent laxity of moral principle there was little reli- ance to be placed on the oath of witnesses, than to the present advanced state of social order.
E¥OLUnON, the term n6w generally applied to the doctrine that the existing universe has been gradually unfolded by the action of natu- ral causes in the immeasurable course of past time. The question how the present order of things originated seems natural to the hyman mind, and has been put by all the races of men. The answer given in their cosmogonies, that it was created as we now see it by super- natural power, has been generally accepted as a matter of religious faith. The early Greek philosophers first brought the question into the field of speculation, and taught that all natural things have sprung from certain primal ele- ments, such as air, water, or fire. As regards the origin of life, Anaximander is said to have held that animals were begotten from earth by means of moisture and heat, and that man did not originate in a perfectly developed state, but was engendered from beings of a different form. Empedocles taught that the various parts of animals, arms, feet, eyes, &c., existed separately at first ; that they combined grad- ually, and that these combinations, capable of subsisting, survived and propagated them- selves. Anaxagoras believed that plants and animals owe their origin to the fecundation of the earth whence they sprung by germs con- tained in the air. Aristotle, the father of natu- ral history, entertained much more rational views upon the subject, and it is maintained that he held opinions as to the causes of di- versity in living beings similar to those that are entertained by the latest zoologists. It has been asserted that some of the earlv theolo- gians, including St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, announced doctrines that harmonize apparently with the modem views of evolu- tion. We however find no development of the ideas thus shadowed forth. LinnsBUS and Buf- fon seem to have been the first among modern naturalists who formed definite conceptions of a progressive organic development, but they did little to elucidate the idea. Immanuel Kant announced in 1755 his theory of the me- chanical origin of the universe, and supposed that the different classes of organisms are re- lated to each other through generation from a common original germ. Dr. Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin, in his Zoono- mia (1794), maintained the natural genesis of organic beings. But the first to frame a dis- tinct liypothesis of development was Lamarck, who published his PhUoBophie zoohgique in 1809, and developed his views still furtner in
1815 in his Euioire naturelle desaniinaux sans vertibres. He held that all organic forms, from the lowest to the highest, have been developed progressively from living microscopic particles. Similar conclusions were arrived at by Goethe in Germany, and by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in France in his work Sur le principe de P unite de composition organique^ published in 1828. The views thus far were of a general and high- ly speculative nature, and without firm scien- tific ground- work. It was only when the ques- tion was narrowed down to tbat of the muta- bility or immutability of species, and to the causes and extent of variation as determined by observation and experiment, that the real difficulties of the case were grappled with, and the inquiry assumed a strictly scientific char' acter. In 1813 Dr. W. 0. Wells read a paper before the London royal society, in which he recognized distinctly the principle of natural se- lection as applied to certain races of mankind. In 1822 the Rev. William Herbert, afterward dean of Manchester, declared his conviction that *^ botanical species are only a higher and more permanent class of varieties;^* and he extended this opinion to animals. Leopold von Buch, in his Physikalisehe Beschreihu-aig def Canarischen Ineeln (1825), expresses the opin- ion that varieties change gradually into perma- nent species, which are no longer capable of intercrossing. In 1826 Prof. Grant of Edin- burgh published a paper on the spongilla in the " Philosophical Journal," in which he held that species are descended from other species, and that they become improved in the course of modification. Karl Ernst von Baer, in his Ueber Entwickelungsgeschichte der Thiere Q823), maintains similar views as to animals. Oken, in his Katurphilosophie (1848), published his belief in the development of species ; and in 1846 J. d'Omalius d'Halloy of Brussels ex- pressed his opinion that probability favors this theory rather than that of separate creations. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, in his lectures published in 1860, gives reasons for his belief in the modification of species by circumstances, and in the transmission of differences thus produced. In 1852 Herbert Spencer argued that species have undergone modification through change of circumstances. M. Nau- din in the same year published a paper on the origin of species in the Revue horticole^ in which he averred his belief that botanical species are formed in a manner analogous to varieties under cultivation ; and Franz Unger, also in 1852, expressed similar opinions in his Versuch einer Gesehichte der Fflamentjoelt, In 1853 Dr. Schaffliausen, in a paper published in the Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins despreussischen Rheinlands^ &c., main- tained the doctrine of progressive development of organic forms. On July 1, 1858, two essays were read before the Linna^an society, one by Charles Robert Darwin, entitled "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties, and on the Perpetuation of Species and Varieties by
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EVOLUTION
11
means of Natural Seleetion;^' the other hy Alfred Bussel Wallace, entitled '' On the Ten- dency of Varieties to depart indefinitely from the Original Type.'^ These papers showed that these two natnralists had arrived at almost exactly the same general conclusions ; hut the priority may safely be assigned to Darwin, who, although he had not previously made public his views, had submitted a sketch of them as early as 1844 to Sir Charles Lyell, Dr. Hooker, and others. In 1859 he published the treatise entitled '^ On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection," which was the means of diffusing so widely the theory, elab- orated by him through years of patient and careful investigation, that it is commonly des- ignated by his name. In this work he did not apply the doctrine of evolution to the hu- man race, although he had long held the opin- ion that man must be included with other or- ganic beings ; and it was not until after Hux- ley, Spencer, Lyell, Lubbock, Gegenbaur, Vogt, Kolle, Haeckel, Oanestrini, Francesco, and others, had accepted the extreme conclu- sion, that he published *' The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex " (1871). In 1872 Haeckel, who previously had discussed th« genealogy of man in Naturliehe Schop- fmgsgeschiehte (1868), published his Mono- graphU der Salhtehwdmme, in which he claims togi^e an analytical demonstration of the prob- lem of the development of species. — The the- ory as now generally held is thus stated by Prof. Huxley: "Those who hold the the- ory of evolution (and I am one of them) conceive that there are grounds for believing that the world, with all that is in it, did not come into existence in the condition in which we now see it, nor in anything approaching that condition. On the contrary, they hold that the present conformation and composition of the earth's crust, the distribution of land and water, and the infinitely diversified forms of animds and plants which constitute its present popnlation, are merely the final terms in an immense series of changes which have been brought about, in the course of immeasurable time, by the operation of causes more or less similar to those which are at work at the pres- ent day." The idea expressed by the term development involves the same principle, but it is usually restricted to the evolution of or- ganic beings. We will first consider the doc- trine as applied to the development of the various forms of life, and then in its broader aspects as a theory of universal evolution. — It has been proved by geology that the earth and its life, instead of being called suddenly into existence a few thousand years ago, have existed for millions of years ; and as the moun- tains and continents are known to have at- tained their present iform by the action of natural agencies, it is thought probable that other objects of nature have been produced in a simiUr way. The earth has teemed with liv- mg beings through incalculable periods of time,
and fossil remains of them are found distributed through the rocky layers that have been suc- cessively formed, until they are several miles in thickness. But not all kinds of animals and plants existed from the beginning, leaving their mingled remains in the lowest strata; the low- est types of life, vegetable and animal, appeared first. The successive phases of life are so definite that they have been held as mark- ing off the earth's history into a series of ages. The invertebrates (radiates, mollusks, and articulates) are found in the Silurian or oldest stratified rocks ; and from the predomi- nance of the mollusks the period has been called the age of mollusks. Fishes, which are higher in the scale, begin to appear in the Silurian, but become so abundant in the later Devonian period that it is called the age of fishes. Amphibious animals, as an advance on the fishes, appear in the carboniferous age, which again is followed by the age of reptiles. To this succeeds the age of manunals, and last- ly comes the age of man, the series, which be- gan with the lowest forms of life, terminating with the highest. That the order has been progressive, and that its lower terms have been more general in character, while the later terms have been more specialized and perfect, is admitted by all naturalists. Prof. Owen says : " In regard to animal life and its assigned work on this planet, there has plainly been an ascent and a progress in the main ;'' and he has " never omitted a proper opportu- nity for impressing the results of observation showing the more generalized structure of ex- tinct as compared with the more specialized forms of recent animals.'' Prof. Agassiz holds that " the more ancient animals resemble the embryonic forms of existing species ;" that is, are lower in the scale of development than the later forms. Mr. Wallace remarks: ^*Aswe go back into past time and meet with the fossil remains of more and more ancient races of ex- tinct animals, we find that many of them are actually intermediate between distinct groups of existing animals;" the ancient fishes, for example, present unmistakable reptilian traits, while the early reptilians combined also the characters of birds which had not yet appeared. As regards the continuity of the course of life, Prof. Dana remarks: ^* Geological history is like human history in this respect ; time is one in its course, and all progress one in plan. . . . The germ of the period was long working on- ward in preceding time, before it finally came to its full development and stood forth as a characteristic of a new era of progress. . . . The beginning of an age will be in the midst of a preceding age ; and the marks of the fu- ture, coming out to view, are to be regarded as prophetic of that future. The age of mammals was foreshadowed by the appearance of mam- mals long before in the course of the reptilian age, and the age of reptiles was prophesied in the types that lived in the earlier carbonif- erous age." The animal kingdom displays a
12
EVOLUTION
unity of plan or a correlation of parts by which common principles are traced through the most disguising diversities of form, so that in aspect, structure, and functions the various tribes of animals pass into each other by slight and gradual transitions. The arm of a man, the fore limb of a quadruped, the wing of a bird, and the fin of a fish are homologous ; that is, they contain the same essential parts modified in cor- respondence with the difierent circumstances of t]pe animal ; and so with the other organs. Prof. Cope says : " Every individual of every species of a given branch of the animal king- dom is composed of elements common to all, and the difierences which are so radical in the higher grades are but the modifications of the same elemental parts.'' There are many cases of rudimentary and useless organs in animals and plants. During the development of em- bryos organs often develop to certain points, and are then reabsorbed without performing any function, although generally the partially developed organs are retained through life. Certain snakes have rudimentary hind legs hidden beneath the skiu ; the paddle of the seal has toes that still bear external nails; some of the smooth-skinned amphibia have scales buried under the dermal surface ; rudi- mental teeth have been traced even in birds ; and there are rudimentary eyes in cave fishes and rudimentary mammro in men. Classifica- tion is an arrangement of living beings by re- lated characters. In the earliest attempts the organic tribes were arranged in a serial order or a chain from the bottom to the top of the scale; but this has been abandoned, as also have those symmetrical systems which as- sumed that the characters of different groups are equivalents of each other. The endeavor to thrust animals and plants into these arti- ficial partitions is of the same nature as the endeavor to arrange them in a linear series ; and it assumes a regularity which does not exist in nature. Classification now represents the animal kingdom as consisting of certain great sub-kingdoms very widely divergent, each made up of classes much less widely divergent, severally containing orders still less divergent, and so on with genera and species, like the branches of a growing tree ; and the old meth- od of classification, as Mr. Spencer remarks, involves exactly the difficulty " which would meet the endeavor to classify the branches of a tree as branches of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth orders ; the difficulty, namely, that branches of intermediate degrees of com- position exist.'' There is a remarkable analogy between the present distribution of animals in space over the earth and their past distribution in time as we trace their fossils in the succes- sive geological formations. The larger groups, such as classes and orders, are generally spread over the whole earth, while smaller groups, such as families and genera, are commonly con- fined to limited districts; but when a group is restricted to one region, and is rich in the
minor groups called species, it is almost in- variably the case that the most closely allied species are found in the same locality or in closely adjoining localities. The same fact is seen in geological distribution. Mr. Wallace observes : " Most of the larger and some smaller groups extend through several geologi- cal periods. In each period, however, there are peculiar groups, found nowhere else, and extending through one or several formations. As generally in geography no species or genus occurs in two very distant localities without being also found in intermediate places, so in geology the life of a species or genus has not been interrupted. In other words, no group or species has come into existence twice." From these facts Mr. Wallace deduces the following important law : " Every species has come into existence coincident both in space and time with a preexisting closely allied species." The adherents of development maintain that these facts, and many others of kindred signifi cance, are only to be explained by the continuous operation of a great natural law of descent and divergence by which the present life of the earth has been derived from its preexisting life. That the numberless forms of life should have been held as independently created, so long as the earth was regarded as having been recently and suddenly called into existence, was inevitable; but now, when it is known that the order of nature is extended backward into immeasurable time, the supposition that species were called into existence by hundreds of thousands of separate and special creations, running through the geological ages, and as we approach our own epoch suddenly and un- accountably ceasing, is held to be an unwar- ranted assumption which science can no longer accept. As remarked by the Rev. Baden Powell : " The introduction of a new species is part of a series. But a series indicates a principle of regularity and law, as much in organic as in inorganic changes. Tlie event is part of a regularly ordained mechanism of the evolution of the existing world out of former conditions, and as much subject to regular laws as any changes now taking place. If the series be regular, its subordinate links must each be so ; the part cannot be less subject to law than the whole. That species should be subject to exactly the same general laws of structure, growth, nutrition, and all other functions of organic life, and yet in the single instance of their mode of birth or origin should constitute exceptions to all physical law, is an incon- gruity so preposterous that no inductive mind can for a moment entertain it." This is the ground taken by the great minority of contem- porary naturalists. They believe in evolution in some form as a great fact of nature ; but many think that we know nothing as to how it has been brought about, while others hold that the problem of the modes and causes of evolution, although obscure, is no more barred from successful investigation than are the other
EVOLUTION
13
phenomena of natnre. — The following facts have been offered as throwing light npon the wajr in which the diversities of life have ori- ginated. Organic beings differ from inorganic in their modifiability. Thej are capable in various degrees of adaptation to new condi- tions. Plants taken from their native situa- tions and cultivated in gardens undergo changes so great as often to render them no longer rec- ognizable as the same plants. The muscles are strengthened by exercise and the skin thick- ened and hardened by pressure, while the bones of men who put forth great physical exertion are more massive than the bones of those who do not labor. In the words of Mr. Spencer : " There is in living organisms a margin of functional oscillations on all sides of a mean state, and a consequent margin of structural variation." These variations may become fixed through the law of he- reditary descent. It is the law of trans- mission of characters which preserves species and varieties from generation to generation, oaks being always derived from oaks and dogs &ora ancestral dogs. It is not only the normal qualities that are perpetuated, but malforma- tioos^ diseases, and Individual peculiarities are &lai) transmitted. While offspring tend to grow in the likeness of parents, they also tend to grow in nnlikeness ; while moulded npon the IMrental type, the resemblance is usually im- perfect. Nor are variations confined to any particular organs or characters, but they may be manifested by every part, quality, or in- stinct of the creature. These divergences may be selected and fixed by breeding so as to give rise to new kinds or varieties. Nature begins the variation, art secures its perpetuation and increase. How profound are the modifications that may be thus produced is shown in the numerous breeds of dogs, all of which belong to the same species. Not only have they reached extreme diversities in size (the largest being, according to Ouvier, 100 times larger than the snfaliest), but in muscular, bony, and nervous development, in form, strength, fleet- ness, and variety of instinct and intelligence, their divergences are almost equally remark- able. Domestic pigeons afford another ex- ample of the great plasticity of the living or- ganism, by which it can be moulded into the extremest diversities. Naturalists believe that from a sngle species, the wild rock pigeon, there have arisen no fewer than 150 kinds that breed true or hold to the variety ; and how deep have become the differences among them is thus stated by Prof. Huxley: **In the first place, the back of the skull may differ a good deal, and the development of the bones of the face may vary a good deal ; the beak varies a good deal ; the shape of the lower jaw varies; the tongue varies very greatly, not only in correlation to the length and size of the beak, but it seems also to have a kind of independent variation of its own. Then the amount of naked skin round the eyes and at
the base of the beak may vary enormously ; bo may the length of the eyelids, the shape of the nostrils, and the length of the neck. I have already noticed the habit of blowing out the gullet, so remarkable in the pouter, and com- paratively so in the others. There are great differences, too, in the size of the female and the male, the shape of the body, the number and width of the processes of the ribs, the development of the ribs, and the size, shape, and development of the breast bone. We may notice, too (and I mention the fact because it has been disputed by what is assumed to be high authority), the variation in number of the sacral vertebreB. The number of these varies from 11 to 14, and that without any diminution in the number of the vertebrsB of the back or of the tail. Then the number and position of the tail feathers may vary enor- mously, and so may the number of the primary and secondary feathers of the wings. Again, the length of Uie feet and of the beak, although they have no relation to each other, yet ap- pear to go together ; that is, you have a long beak wherever you have long feet. There are differences, also, in the periods of the acquire- ment of the perfect plumage, the size and shape of the eggs, the nature of flight, and the powers of flight, so-called ^ homing ^ birds having enor- mous flying powers ; while on the other hand, the little tumbler is so called because of its extraordinary faculty of turning head-over- heels in the air, instead of pursuing a distinct course. And lastly, the dispositions and voices of the birds may vary. Thus the case of l^e pigeons shows you that there is hardly a single particular, whether of instinct or habit, or bony structure, or of plumage, of either the internid economy or the external shape, in which some variation or change may not tidce place, which by selective bree<Sng may become perpetuated and form the foundation of and give rise to a new race." Nor is this variation confined to domestic animals. Wild species both of plants and animals vary, become diversified, and give rise to new varieties. As many as 26 varieties of oak have been made out within the limits of a single species. The wolf species exhibits some 15 varieties, and lions, tigers, bears, hyse- nas, foxes, birds, reptiles, and fishes all exhibit marked varieties, which show that wild species undergo modification in a state of nature. What was needed to make out the analogy of variation between wild and domesticated ani- mals was to discover some process in nature which is the equivalent of human agency in breeding. Mr. Darwin believes that he has discovered this process, and calls it the princi- ple of ^^ natural selection." He says that Uving beings in a state of nature are subject to cer- tain external conditions, such as climate, situa- tion, character of soil, and exposure to enemies, by which they are surrounded and limited. They are endowed with enormous powers of increase, so that any one of the hundreds of thousands of species of plants or animals, if all
14
EVOLUTION
its progeny were preserved, would go on multi- plying until it covered the earth or filled the sea. Space is fixed and food limited, and the consequence is a universal conflict, the war of races ; and in the ^^ struggle for existence *' multitudes perish and comparatively few sur- vive. This survival is not a matter of chance. Mr. Darwin maintains that it is regulated by law, and that those only survive which are in some way best adapted to the conditions of life. The strongest, the fleetest, the most cunning, and the . best adapted to the condi- tions will live and multiply, while the less fit will disappear. The introduction of European plants and animals into New Zealand aflbrds an instructive example of how races encroach on each other's areas, the weaker being extir- pated by the stronger in the competition for existence. Br. Hooker says : " The cow grass has taken possession of the roadsides; dock and water cress choke the rivers; the sow thistle is spread over all the country, growing luxuriantly up to 6,000 feet; white clover in the mountain districts displaces the native grasses ; and the native (Maori) saying is : 'As the white man's rat has driven away the native rat, as the European fly drives away our own, and the clover kills our fern, so will the Maoris disappear before the white man him- self.' " Mr. Darwin in his works gives a great number of facts showing how apparently trifling variations give advantages to their possessors, which determine their survival and become perpetuated in the race. The principle of natural selection, or, as it is termed by Her- bert Spencer, the " survival of the fittest," is now generally recognized as a genuine agency or wra ecm»a^ and the opponents of develop- ment admit that it may give rise to varieties, although they deny that it is competent to produce the deeper diversities of species. The extent of its operation remains yet to be de- termined, but many naturalists agree with Prof. Helmholtz that Mr. Darwin has contrib- uted to science an *^ essentially new creative idea." Mr. Darwin, however, does not as- sume to be the discoverer of the principle of natural selection, and he points out that others before him have recognized the action of the process, though without seeing its fall significance. What he claims is to have first shown the efficacy of the principle in producing divergency of types under the laws of variation and heredity. But having discovered a new factor in organic development, and published his work on the " Origin of Species " at the fortunate moment when naturalists had be- come widely dissatisfied with the old views, he became prominently identified with the devel- opment doctrine, and this has led many into the error of regarding Darwinism as the equiva- lent of evolution, of which, as we are now to see, it is but a minor part. — The advance of civilization in the historical period gave rise to the modem idea of progress, which was strengthened by the discoveries made early in
the present century concerning the past course of terrestrial life. The process was crudely conceived, in the one case as the successive development of all living creatures in a graded and linear series, and in the other case as the continuous movement of humanity toward a state of final perfection. About the year 1850 Mr. Herbert Spencer entered upon the system- atic study of the subject. The problem was strictly a scientific one, and he had a wide and accurate preparation for it by a mastery of scientific knowledge which Mr. Mill has pro- nounced " encycloptedic." Mr. Spencer was also remarkable for his power of analysis, his grasp of wide-reaching principles, and his in- dependence of opinion. The essence of pro- gress is change. Mr. Spencer asked what, then, are the laws of change by which it is eflected? Complyiug with the Newtonian canon that the fewest causes possible are to be assumed in the explanation of phenomena, he took up the question as resolvable in terms of matter, motion, and force. Progress being a theory of the successive changes by which things are produced, his task was to ascertain the dynamical conditions or laws under which the forms of nature rise, continue, and disappear. The objects of nature coexist and are maintained in a certain order in space. Newton discov- ered that this is eflected by the operation of a simple and universal law. The objects of na- ture undergo changes in time, emerging and vanishing, some quickly and others slowly : is there a universal law by which these changes also are governed ? Tliis was the aim of the re- search. Mr. Spencer early found that the con- ception of progress which implies movement in one direction only is erroneous. There is no unbroken march of events ; breaks and regres- sions alternate with advancement, and de- scending as well as ascending changes have to be accounted for. He therefore rejected the term progress as having erroneous implica- tions, and adopted the term evolution, as more fully indicating the scope of the inquiry aaid better expressing the strictiy scientific natwre of his theory. The naturalist Von Baer had already attempted to define and generalize tljo changes of organic growth, and had formulated them as from the homogeneous germ state to the heterogeneous adult state by a process of difiTerentiation. Mr. Spencer soon found that this formula gave but a very partial account of what taJces place in organic development. The change was shown to be not only from uniformity to unlikeness, or a diflferencing of parts, but from the indefinite to the definite, from the incoherent to the coherent, producing the integration of parts, or increasing unity with increasing complexity. The conditions and course of changes in which organic evolu- tion consists being ascertained, the question arose as to their extent, and Mr. Spencer be- came convinced that the law of organic move- ment is not an isolated fact in nature, but *^ that the process of change gone tiirough by
EVOLUTION"
15
each erolving organism is a process gone through hj all things." Bcience had shown that the nniverse, past and present, is subject to orderl J changes ; he discovered that funda- mentally this order is one. The nebular hy- pothesis proposed by Kant, confirmed by Her- schel and L^lace, and accepted by astrono- mers, explained the origin and motions of suns and planets by slow condensation from a nebu- lous mist difiVised through space. The geolo- gical history of our earth shows that it has un- dergone a vast series of progressive changes, and, as Prof. Dana says, ^^ was first a feature- less globe of fire, then had its oceans and dry land, in course of time received mountains and rivers, and finally all those diversities of sur- face which now characterize it." The course of organic life, as we have seen, was a pro- gressive unfolding into greater diversity and specialty. Mind is developed with the body, and therefore mental phenomena obey a law of unfolding. As human society is made up of units that are capable of these changes, it presents in the past a gradual development of iDtelligence, arts, and institutiona, as now em- bodied in our diverse and compl^ civilization. By a carefiil analysis of the phenomena in these widely separated cases, Mr. Spencer showed that they all conform to a great general law, of which individual life is but a special case. £()ua]ly in the inorganic, the organic, and the super-organic spheres, the progressive changes are from the homo^neous to the heteroge- neous by differentiation. But with increasing divergences there is also increasing definite- ness, coherence, complexity, and integration. Evolution is thus a universal law, while the development of the individual and the career of the race, so far from being exceptional phe- nomena, are but parts of the great system of change to which the whole cosmos conforms. Evolution being thus disclosed as a universal dynamical law, the question next arises, how is it to be inteipreted ? Is it an ultimate law like gravitation, or is it a derivative principle deducible as a necessity from the established laws of matter, motion, and force? Mr. Spen- cer proves that evolution is a resultant of dy- namical agencies, and that, given matter as a vehicle of change, motion as the result of change, and force as the cause of change, such are their established laws of interaction that evolution follows as an inevitable consequence. We can here only touch upon the leading ele- ments of the elucidation, and must refer the reader to Mr. Spencer's "System of Philoso-
Shy'' for the full elaboration of the subject, lodem science has established the great prin- ciples of the indestructibility of matter and the conservation of force. (See Gobbklation of FoBCBs.) Mr. Spencer maintains that these resolve themselves into the single law of the persistence of force, and that this is the funda- mental postulate of evolution. "Whatever in- terpretation is given to the principle, it cer- tainly becomes a fundamental condition of the
809 VOL. TIL— 2
changes taking place in nature. If matter and force throughout the universe are neither cre- ated nor destroyed, all changes must be changes of transformation. The stock of material and energy being limited, each new efifect must be at the expense of something preexisting; and hence in the ongoings of nature one thing is necessarily derived from another, while the problem of advance becomes one of trans- mutation. Mr. Spencer traces out the several causes of transformation or factors of evolu- tion, and shows that they are all coroUaries from the supreme law of the persistence of force. Briefly indicated, these are as follows: 1. The principle of the rhythm of motion. Under the law of the persistence of forces and the diversity of their forms, there arise constant conflicts of efiect, so that motions are not uniform but varying. Action is met by counteraction, and the result is that move- ments take a rhythmical form. Boughs, for example, sway in the wind, water is thrown into waves, sound arises in vibrations, earth- quakes are propagated in shocks, planets swing through eccentric orbits, breathing is recur- rent, the heart beats, scarcity alternates with abundance, and prices rise and fall. From the minutest organism throughout the whole frame of things to the most distant systems, from momentary pulses to geological cycles, the agitations of things take tlie form of thrills and surges, which produce incessant and uni- versal redistributions of matter and force. How are these redistributions directed? 2. They are controlled first by the law of the in- stability of the homogeneous. The relatively homogeneous is the commencing stage of all evolution, and Mr. Spencer has shown that this is an unstable condition, and under rhyth- mic disturbance tends constantly to rearrange- ment and greater complexity. No object can exist without being acted upon and altered by forces, and no mass can be thus acted upon in all parts alike ; unequal action therefore tends to destroy homogeneity and produce ever in- creasing diversity. For this cause the nebu- lous condition could not continue ; the homo- geneous germ divides into unlike parts ; a class of animals or plants distilbuted over a geo- graphical area, being unequally acted upon by environing conditions, would fedl into diversity; and for the same reason a uniform social con- dition would be resolved into heterogeneous societies. 8. The transformations of evolu- tion are farther explained by the dynamical principle of the multiplication of effects. Throughout all nature simple agencies produce diverse consequences, every impulse of force yielding a multiplicity of results. A simple mechanical collision of two bodies may pro- duce efieots of sound, heat, light, electricity, and various chemical and structural changes ; an accident to the foot may entail a train of consequences affecting the whole constitution ; the upheaval of a continent may produce the most extensive alterations in the life of races ;
16
EVOLUTION
while an inyention like that of the steam en- ^e works its multiform effects throughout civilization. By this law the principle of the instability of the homogeneous is powerfully reinforced, and the cause of universal move- ment toward greater diversity is rationally ex- plained. But these modes of action alone could only result in a vague chaotic hetero- geneity, and could not account for that orderly heterogeneity in which evolution essentially consists. 4. This finds explanation in the principle of segregation. When a mass is acted upon by forces which promote the re- distribution of its parts, its units are not only differentiated and regrouped, but there is a se- gregation of like units which become separated from the neighboring groups. A familiar ex- ample of this is seen in the winnowing pro- cesSf by which a force applied to a mixed mass brings all the grain together in one place and the chaff in another. The same thing is seen when several salts are dissolved in a liquid, and each crystallizes out by the combi- nation of like chemical molecules. The or- ganism conforms to this principle from its ear- liest stage of growth, the special elements of the bony, muscular, and nervous systems being withdrawn from the nourishing fluids and se- gregated in the distinctive parts. We have already seen that natural selection is a win- nowing process, by which the unfit are ex- cluded, and the better adapted are separated and preserved. In social development the same thing is seen. Not only are there con- tinual differentiations of groups and classes by which society becomes heterogeneous, but these groups are unified by similarity of oc- cupation, character, taste, and race. Stock brokers cluster in Wall street, and the Mor- mons segregate in Utah. Thus in all the spheres of change redistribution leads to unification. 5. This end is further promoted by the important dynamical law that mo- tion takes place along lines of least resis- tance. The operation of this principle in in- organic nature is self-evident. Water forms its channels in the direction of least obstacles. Mr. James Hinton has shown that organic growth takes plac^in obedience to this law, and Mr. Spencer proves that it governs both mental and social changes. This law, in con- nection with the principle that movement set up in any direction is a ciiuse of further move- ment in that direction, by which lines of con- nection become established, goes far to account for that integration of structures and functions which is disclosed in all phases of evolution. But can evolution go on for ever, or is it lim- ited? This brings us to the process by which it is constantly antagonized and always finally terminated, the counter-agency of dissolution. All redistributions of matter and motion are either evolution or dissolution, but neither of these processes ever goes on absolutely unquali- fied by the other, and the change in either di- rection is but a differential result of the con-
flict Mr. Spencer^s formula, to be complete, must embrace both sets of correlative changes, and its determination led him to the following universal law: 6. Every change wrought in an object milst be either a transposition of its mass, or a variation of its internal or molecu- lar motion. As it loses this contained or in- sensible motion, there follows a concentration of the parts and increasing integration ; if it acquires insensible motion, there is dispersion of the particles, or disintegration ; that is, with concentration of matter there is dispersion of motion, and with absorption of motion there is diiflusion of matter. These are the two as- pects of the universal metamorphosis, and when approximately balanced there is equilibration. Evolution is integration; dissolution is disin- tegration. We have here confined ourselves to the most abstract statement of Mr. Spen- cer's theory ; its concrete applications will he found extensively worked out in his "First Principles'' and in the biological, psycholo- gical, and sociological divisions of his ^^ Philo- sophical System." As a method of philoso- phy it aims only to explain phenomena; all phenomena being regained as manifestations of the unknotvn power which transcends the reach of thought Philosophy is regarded as the highest explanation of things, and as each science is unified by its largest induc- tions, tlie family of sciences is brought into a completer unity by a law that comprehends them all. — Whatever ultimate form the the- ory of evolution may take, its infiuence must be powerfully felt in the direction of future inquiries ; for many who withhold their assent from it as an established truth of nature never- theless recognize it as an invaluable working hypothesis. As remarked by Prof. Grove: " The first question is, does the newly proposed view remove more difficulties, require fewer assumptions, and present more consistency with observed facts than that which it seeks to supersede f If so, the philosopher will adopt it, and the world will follow the philosopher, after many days." Mr. Spencer's theory has been clearly summed up by himself in the fol- lowing propositions: "1. Throughout the uni- verse, in general and in detail, there is an un- ceasing redistribution of matter and motion. 2. This redistribution constitutes evolution where there is a predominant integration of matter and dissipation of motion, and consti- stutes dissolution where there is a predominant absorption of motion and disintegration of mat- ter. 8. Evolution is simple when the process of integration, or the formation of a coherent aggregate, proceeds uncomplicated by other processes. 4. Evolution is compound when, along with this primary change from an inco- herent to a coherent state, there go on secon- dary changes due to differences in the circum- stances of the different parts of the aggregate. 5. These secondary changes constitute a trans- formation of the homogeneous into the hetero- geneous— a transformation which, like the first,
EVOLUTION
fiVREUX
17
h exhibited in the nniverse as a whole and in ftll (or nearly all) its details : in the aggregate of stars and nebulie ; in the planetary system ; in the earth as an inorganic mass.; in each or- ganism, vegetal or animal (Von Baer^s law); in the aggregate of organisms throughout geo- logic time; in the mind; in society; in all prodacts of social activity. 6. The process of integratioii, acting locally as well as generally, combines with that of ditferentiation to render this change not simply from homogeneity to heterogeneity, bnt from an indefinite homoge- neity to a definite heterogeneity; and this trait of mcreasing definiteness, which accompanies the trait of increasing heterogeneity, is like it exhibited in the totality of things, and in all its divisions and subdivisions down to the mi- natest 7. Along with this redistribution of the matter comi)08ing any evolving aggregate, there goes on a redistribution of the retained motion of its components in relation to one another; this also becomes step by step more definitely heterogeneous. 8. In the absence of a homogeneity that is infinite and absolute, this redistribution of which evolution is one phase is inevitable: The causes which neces- sitate it are : 9. The instability of the homo- geneous; which is consequent upon the dift*er- eot exposures of the different parts of any lim- ited aggregate to incident forces. 10. The trans- formations hence resulting are complicated by the multiplication of effects : every mass and part of a mass on which a force falls subdi- vides and differentiates that force, which there- upon proceeds to work a variety of changes, Bod each of these becomes the parent of simi- larly DDoltipIying changes; the multiplication of the9« becoming greater in proportion as the aggregate becomes more heterogeneous. 11. "These two causes of increasing differentia- tions are furthered by segregation, which is a process tending ever to separate unlike units And to bring together like units ; so serving oontinnally to sharpen, or make definite, dif- ferentiations otherwise caused. 12. Equilibra- tion is the final result of these transformations which an evolvmg aggr^ate undergoes. The changes go on until liiere is reached an equill- hrinm between the forces which all parts of the B^egate are exposed to, and the forces these parts oppose to them. Equilibration may pass through a transition stage of balanced motions (m in a planetary system) or of balanced func- tions (as in a living body) on to the ultimate ^nilibrium ; but the state of rest in inorganic bodies, or death in organic bodies, is the neces- ^Ty limit of the changes constituting evolution. 13- Dissolution is the counter change which ^nerar later every evolved aggregate under- ^^ Remaining exposed to surrounding forces that are unequilibrated, each aggregate is ever liable to be dissipated by the increase, gradual ^f sndden, of its contained motions; and its disipation, quickly undergone by bodies lately animate and slowly undergone by inanimate ^Mses, remains to be undergone at an indefi-
nitely remote period by each planetary and stel- lar mass, which since an indefinitely remote period in the past has been slowly evolving; the cycle of its transformations being thus completed. 14. This rhythm of evolution and dissolution, completing itself during short pe- riods in small aggregates, and in the vast ag- gregates distributed throughout space, comple- ting itself in periods which are immeasurable l)y human thought, is as far as we can see uni- versal and eternal ; each alternating phase of the process predominating now in this region of space and now in that, as local conditions determine. 15. All these phenomena, from their great features down to their minutest details, are necessary results of the persistence offeree, under its forms of matter and motion. Given these in their known distributions through space, and their quantities being unchangeable either by increase or decrease, there inevitably result the continuous redistributions distinguish- able as evolution and dissolution, as well as all those special traits above enumerated. 1 6. That which persists unchanging in quantity but ever- changing in form, under these sensible appear- ances which the universe presents to us, trans- cends human knowledge and conception — is an unknown and unknowable power, which we are obliged to recognize as without limit in space and without beginning or end in time." — Besides the works already mentioned, the following are important : Spencer's " First Principles," " Principles of Biology," " Princi- ples of Psychology," " Principles of Sociology," and " Descriptive Sociology "(1860-'73); Dar- win's " Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication" (1868); St. George Mivart's "The Genesis of Species" (1871); Huxley's "Man'« Place in Nature" (1864), "Lay Ser- mons" (1870), and "Critiques and Addresses" (1878). The relation of the doctrine of evo- lution to Christianity is discussed in "The Bible and the Doctrine of Evolution," by W. W. Smyth (1873) ; "The Theory of Evolution," by the Rev. E. Henslow (1878) ; " What is Darwinism? " by Oharies Hodge, D. D. (1874) ; and " The Doctrine of Evolution," by Alexan- der Winchell, LL. D. (1874).
EVORA, a city of Portugal, capital of the prov- ince of Alemtejo, 75 m. £. 8. E. of LisDon ; pop. about 12,000. It is surrounded by a wall, and has remains of two ancient forts. It is the seat of an archbishop, and has a splendid Gothic cathedral, a number of convents, hos- pitals, a house of charity, a diocesan school, barracks, a museum, and some manufactures of hardware and leather. A university, estab- lished in 1650, and placed under the direction of the Jesuits, was suppressed at the time of the exile of that order (1767). Among the nu- merous monuments of antiquity are a mined temple of Diana, and an aqueduct by which the city is still supplied.
fi¥REUX (anc. Mediolanvm, or Civitas Ehu- rovieum), a city of Normandy, France, capital of the department of Eure, 55 m. W. by N. of
18
EWALD
Psria, in a pleasant valley on the Iton, which flowB through the city in three bratiches ; pop. In lS6fl, 13,820. It is eorroimded b; gardens, vineyards, end highly cultivated fields. It is the seat of a bisliop and of several coarts and schools, has a botanical garden, a public li- brary, a rnusontQ of antiquities, a large bospi- tal, tm insane asylam, and cotton and woollen mills, and is the centre of a large trade in gro-^ ceries and grain. Among the notable bnildings are the abbey church of St. Taurin, dating from the Tth, and the cathedral, from the 11th centnry. At a little distance from the town was the fine old chit«au of Navarre, founded in the 14th century, which was the residence of Charles Edward Stnart from 1746 to 1?48, and of the empress Josephine for some time af-
EWBANE
ter her divoroe, and was destroyed in IBSS.^ The town was taken from the HomaiiB by Clo- tIs, and in 892 the Normans captured and
sacked it. Id 989 it became the capital of a county of its name erected in favor of a son of Kichard I., duke of Normandy. It passed into the possession of England witii the rest of Nor- mandy, and the name of the Deverenz, earls of Essex, was probably derived from it. King John ceded it to Philip Augnstns in 1200. In 1298 the county was given to Louis, son of Philip the Bold of France ; and in 1928 bis son Count Philip became by marriage king of Na- varre, Tlie county was confiscated from the son of the latter, Oharies the Bold of Navarre, in 1878. In the vicinity, at Vieil fivreut, ex- have lad to the discovery of the re-
mains of a theatre, baths, Ac, which are sup- posed to mark the site of Hediolanum ; and manymedols and household ntenails found here have been deposited in the museum of £vreuz. EWiLD, Georg HriniM Ingut t«b, a German orientalist, theologian, and historian, bom in Qottingen, Nov. 16, 1808. In 1031 he was ap- pointed to the chair of philosophy, and after- ward to those of oriental languages and theol- ogy, at Gottingen. Ha was one of the st "" professors who were dismissed in 1637 on connt of their remonstrance against the constitutional proceedings of King Ernest Au- gnstns of Hanover. He spent some time '~ England, and was professor of theology TObingcD from 1838 to 1848, when, he was reinstated in his chair at GOttingen. Among his linguistic works ore : Orammatiea Cri- tUa Lingua Arabiem (2 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1881-8); Ueher diu itthitntUche Bueh nenoeh (18B4); Aiafuhrliehu LehrbnchierhebraUch- en Spraehe de* alten BunAa (Bth and enlarged ed., 1B6& ; also abridged, Hebrdiiehe Spraeh- lehre /Ur Aa/anger. 3d ed., 18fl2). His critical writings are verv nnmerons, embracing works on Canticles, "The Poetical Books of the Old Testament," "The Prophets of the Old Testa- ment," "Th^ Three First Gospels," St. Panl,
John, Ac. His great historical work is his Oe-
tehiekU dt» Volke» Irratl hit Chrigttu (8d ed., 7 vols., Gottingen, 1684 et teq. ; translated by J, Estlin Carpenter, "History of Israel," vols. i.-v., London. 1668-'73). He was the projector of the ZeiUohrift fWr dU Kutvi* da Morgenlandi, and edited the Jahrbvehtr der MhlUehen Wutaacht^, in which he pro- pounded his theological views. His leanlngto- ward Banr and other adherents of the Tubin- gen school, with whom he became acquainted during his residence in that city, involved him in many controversies. In 1841 he was enno- bled by the king of WDrtemberg. When Pnis- sia took possession of Hanorerln October, 1866, Ewald's fidelity to the eitingnished dynasty subjected him to a trial for treason ; but he was acquitted, and in May, 1869, he was elected a member of the North German parliament His latest published works are Bat Sendtehrtiben an die ffehrder vnd Jacohot' Rundiehrtihm (1871 ), and SUhen 8end»ehreiben des neuen 5ti«- det (1S71).
EWILD, JtkuBM. See Evald.
EWBUTK, TtMas, an American writer on
B-actical mechanics, bom at Bamard Castle, urham, England, March 11, 1792, died in New York, Sept. 16, 1870. At the age of 13 Q"
EWELL
EWING
19
was apprenticed to a tin and copper smith, and about 1819 emigrated to New York. In 1820 he commenced the mannfiacture of metallic tubing in that city, and retired in 1886 to de- vote himself to literary and scientific pursuits. In 1842 appeared his " Descriptive and Histor- ical Account of Hydraulic and other Machines, Ancient and Modem ; including the Progres- sive Development of the Steam Engine/' of which the loth edition was published in 1870. In 1845-'6 he made a visit to Brazil, recording his observations in a work entitled " Life in Brazil," with an appendix descriptive of a col- lection of American antiquities, New York (1856). From 1849 to 1852 he was United States commissioner of patents. He also wrote "The World a Workshop, or the Phvsical Relation of Man to the Earth'' (1855); "Thoughts on Matter and Force" (1858); "Reminiscences in the Patent Office" (1859); and a variety of miscellaneous essays on the philosophy and history of inventions, which appeared chiefly in the ^^ Transactions of the Franklin Institute." His "Experiments on Marine Propulsion, or the Virtue of Form in Propelling Blades," was reprinted in Europe. Ab a member of the commission to examine and report upon the strength of the marbles ofi^red for the extension of the national capi- tol, he made some suggestions which led to the discovery of a means of greatly increasing the power of resistance to pressure in building stones. He was one of the founders of the American ethnological society.
SmELL, Bichard Stoddard^ a general of the Confederate States of America, bom in the District of Columbia in 1820, died at Spring Hill, Tenn., Jan. 25, 1872. He graduated at West Point in 1840, and became lieutenant of dragoons. He served in the Mexican war ft*om 1846 to 1848, and was breveted as captain for gallant and meritorious conduct in the bat- tles of Contreras and Ohurubusco. In 1859 he was wounded in a skirmish with the Apaches. In May, 1861, he entered the confederate ser- vice, and commanded a brigade at the battle of Bull Run. Early in 1862 he was promoted to m^or general, and commanded a division in Jackson^B campaign in the Shenandoah valley. He was conspicuous in the battles of Gaines's Mill, Malvern Hill, and Cedar Mountain, was worsted by Hooker at Bristoe Station, and lost a leg at the second battle of Bull Run. He was made a lieutenant general in May, 1863, aud succeeded to the command of Jackson's corps, with which he was present at Gettys- burg, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania Court House. During the siege of Petersburg, be- ing disabled ft'om active service in the field, he had command of the garrison of Rich- mond. At Sailor's creek, during the con- federate retreat, he was cut ofif by Sheridan, and surrendered, with 6,000 or 7,000 men, three days before the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. Toward the close of the war he baa married a daughter of Judge Campbell
of Tennessee, and subsequently took up his residence in that state, and engaged in stock raising, in which he was very successful.
EWINC) Joba, an American clergyman, born in Nottingham, Md., June 22, 1732, died in Philadelphia, Sept. 8, 1802. He was educated in the college of New Jersey, was tutor in that college and instructor of the philosophical classes in the college of Philadelphia, and in 1759 became pastor of the first Presbyterian church in Philadelphia. In 1773 he visited England, and had interviews with Dr. Robert- son, Lord North, and Dr. Johnson ; the last of whom, aflSrming that the Americans were as ignorant as rebellious, said to Dr. Ewing, *^ You never read. Youhavenobooksthere." "Par- don me," was the reply, " we have read the * Rambler.'" When the college of Philadel- phia was changed in 1779 to the university of Pennsylvania, Dr. Ewing was placed at its head as provost, and remained in this station together with his pastorate till his death. He was vice president of the American philosoph- ical society, and made several contributions to its " Transactions." His collegiate lectures on natural philosophy (2 vols., 1809) and a volume of sermons were published after his death.
EWIMG) TlioBUU) an American statesman, bom in Ohio co., Va., Dec. 28, 1789, died at Lancaster, Ohio, Oct. 26, 1871. In his 20th year he left home and worked in the Kanawha salt establishments, nntil he had laid up money enough to pay for the farm which his father had purchased in 1792, in what is now Athens CO., Ohio, and enabled himself to enter the Ohio university at Athens, where he graduated in 1815. He studied law in Lancaster, Ohio, was admitted to the bar in 1816, and practised with great success in the state courts and the supreme court of the United States. In March, 1831, he took his seat in the United States senate. He spoke against confirming the nom- ination of Van Buren as minister to Great Britain, supported the protective tariff sys- tem of Clay, and advocated a reduction of the rates of postage, a recharter of the United States bank, and the revenue collection bill known as the ** force bill." In 1834, and again in 1835, as a member of the committee on post offices and post roads, he presented a minority report on abuses in the post office which re- sulted in the reorganization of that depart- ment. He opposed the removal of the depos- its from- the United States bank, and on Deo. 21, 1885, introduced a bill for the settlement of the Ohio boundary question, which was passed March 11 and June 15, 1836. During the same session he brought forward a bill, which became a law, for the reorganization of the general land office ; and on several occa- sions he opposed the policy of granting pre- emption rights to settlers on the public lands. He spoke against tKl admission of Michigan, and presented a memorial for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, which he insisted ought to be re-
20
EWING
EXCHANGE
ferred, thongh he was opposed to granting the prayer of the memorialists. Iix July, 1886, the secretary of the treasury issued what was known as the " specie circular," directing re- ceivers in land offices to accept payments only in gold, silver, or treasury certificates, except from certain classes of persons for a limited time. In December Mr. Swing brought in a bill to annul this circular, and another declar- ing it unlawful for the secretary to make such discrimination, but the bills were not carried. His term expired in March, 1837, and he re- sumed the practice of his profession. In 1841 he was appointed secretary of the treasury by President Harrison, and retained that office under President Tyler. His first official report proposed the imposition of 20 per cent, ad to- lorem duties on certain articles for the relief of the national debt, disapproved the indepen- dent treasury act passed the preceding year, and urged the establishment of a nationid bank. He was requested to prepare a bill for the last purpose, which was passed with some al- teration, but was vetoed by the president. Mr. Tyler thereupon indicated a plan for a bank of moderate capital for the regulation of ex- changes, and at his request Mr. Ewing helped to frame a charter, which was immediately passed and in turn vetoed. Mr. Ewing, with all the other members of the cabinet except Mr. Webster, consequently resigned (Septem- ber, 1841). On the accession of Gen. Taylor to the presidency in 1849, he took office as secretary of the newly created department of the interior, which he organized. Among the measures recommended in his first report, Dec. 8, 1849, were the extension of the public land laws to California, New Mexico, and Ore- gon, the establishment of a mint near the Cal- ifornia gold mines, and the construction of a road to the Pacific. On the death of Taylor and the accession of FiUmore, in 1860, Mr. Oorwin became secretary of the treasury, and Mr. Ewing was appointed by the governor of Ohio to serve during Corwin*s unexpired term in the senate. In this body he refused to vote for the fugitive slave law, opposed Clay's compromise biU, reported from the commit- tee on finance a bill for the establishment of a branch mint in California, and advo- cated a reduction of postage, river and harbor appropriations, and the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. In 1851 he retired from public life. Among the most elaborate of his written professional arguments are those in the cases of Oliver v. Piatt et aL, involving the title to a large part of Toledo, Ohio ; the Methodist church division ; the Mclntire poor school V, Zanesville ; and the McMicken will, involving large bequests for education. In February, 1861, he was a delegate from Ohio to the peace conference in Washington. — Thomas, his son, born at Lancaster, Ohio, Aug. 7, 1829, was chief justice of Kansas in 1861, served in the civil war, and received the brevet of major general of volunteers in 1864.
ElARCH (Or. l^apxoc, leader), in the eastern Roman empire, an ecclesiastical or civil dig- nitary invested with extraordinary authority. At first exarchs were officers delegated by the patriarch or synod to visit a diocese for the purpose of restoring discipline. The exarch was also the superior of several monasteries, in distinction from the archimandrite, who was the superior of one, and was of a rank inferior to that of patriarch and superior to that of metropolitan. In the modem Greek church the exarch is a legate a latere of the patriarch. He visits the provinces to investi- gate ecclesiastical cases, the difierences be- tween prelates and people, the monastic dis- cipline, the administration of the sacraments, and the observance of the canons ; and he usu- ally succeeds to the patriarchate. — As a civil officer, the exarch was a viceroy intrusted with the administration of one or more provinces. This title was given to the prefects who from the middle of the 6th century to the middle of the 8th governed that part of Italy which was subject to the Byzantine empire. They were instituted after the reconquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths by Narses, to oppose the progress of the Lombards, then threatening to occupy that country. They held their court at Ravenna, and combined civil, military, judicial, and often ecclesiastical authority. They ap- pointed dukes as vice governors for several parts of Italy. The exarchate was destroyed by the Lombards in 752. When Pepin of France conquered Ravenna, it was ceded to the pope. The title of exarch for high civil and military officera remained in the West till the 12th century.
EXdXLEBrCY, a title borne originally by the Lomhard kings, and then by the emperors of the West from Charlemagne to Henry VII. It was adopted in the 15th century by the Italian princes, who exchanged it for that of highness (altezza) after the French and other ambas- sadors had been permitted to assume it. In France it became about the middle of the 17th century a common title for the highest civil and military officers ; and in Germany it was given also to doctors and professors in univer- sities. It is the title of every nobleman in Italy; in France, a duke is addressed as ex- eellence, and a prince as altesse. It is the usual address of foreign ministers and of the govern- ors of British colonies. The president of the United States is sometimes called his excel- lency the president, but there is no legal sanc- tion for this, the founders of the government having decided after discussion to bestow no title upon the president. A committee of the senate reported in favor of the style " his high- ness," but the house opposed any title besides those expressed in the constitution. Massa- chusetts is the only state whose constitution grants the title of excellency to its governor.
EXCELHiNS. See Exelmans.
EXCHANGE, a gathering place for the transac- tion of business. In Venice, Genoa, and other
EXCHANGE
EXCHANGE (Eell or)
21
Italian cities, regular commercial gathering places existed at an early day. The modern institation of exchanges, however, dates more pardcalarly from the 16th century. In conti- nental Europe the name Bihve in German, bourse in French, and hirzha in Russian, originated from tbe belief that the first gathering of the kind took place in the early part of the 16th cen- tury at Bruges, in Flanders, in the house of a famUy of the name of Van der Be urge. Accord- ing to another tradition, the first exchange was held at Amsterdam in a house which had three parses hewn in stone over the gates, thus ac- conndng for the use of the word bonne. Pre- vious to the latter part of the 16th century the London merchants used to meet without shelter in Lombard street. Sir Richard Gresham, hav- ing seen the covered walks used for exchanges abroad, contemplated erecting a similar build- ing in London. The scheme was carried into effect by his son Sir Thomas Gresham, who offered to erect a building if the citizens would provide a plot of ground. The site north of Corohill, in the city of London, was accordingly purchased in 1566 for about £8,600. On Jan. 23, 1570, Queen Elizabeth caused it to be pro- eUimedthe ** Royal Exchange. ^^ This structure was destroyed in the great fire of 1666. The sew exchange was commenced at the end of Ml, and publicly opened for business Sept. SS, 1669. This building, which was 210 ft. by 175, cost nearly £60,000, and was destroyed bj fire Jan. 10, 1838. The comer stone of the present royal exchange was laid in 1842, and the building was opened Oct. 28, 1844, by Queen Y ictoria. It is an imposing edifice, em- bellished with many statues, and cost £180,000. The area appropriated to the meetings of the merchants is 170 ft. by 112, of which 111 ft. by 53 is uncovered. Here the English, Ger- man, Greek, Mediterranean, and other foreign merchants, all have their appropriate places and corners, and meet daily for the transaction of basiness. The busiest hour is from 8f to 4^ P. M. The two great days on Vhange are Tues- day and Friday, when an extra meeting for transactions in foreign bills of exchange takes place previous to the regular meeting, which is attended by the principal bankers and mer- chants of London, and which derives great im- portance from the immense business transacted vithin about half an hour. The whole foreign commerce which centres in Londdh is here concentrated in a handful of bills of exchange. There is much less excitement than at the gen- eral exchange. A few brokers pass between the bankers and merchants, and the bills are bought and sold almost in a whisper. — ^The most celebrated continental exchange is the bourse of Paris, which .was inaugurated in 1824. The building has the shape of an ancient peripteral temple, and is calculated to hold more than 2,000 persons. The Paris exchange is a com- bination of a stock and bill exchange, and con- fines itself chiefiy to these branches of business. The St Petersburg exchange, built between
1804 and 1810, approaches the Paris bourse in splendor. The Hamburg exchange resembles it both in shape and grandeur. The exchange of Amsterdam was finished in 1618, and is an edifice of great magnitude. The bourse of Antwerp, one of the oldest and most remark- able of Europe, which was chosen by Sir Thomas Gresham as a model for the first royal exchange in London, was totally destroyed by fire, Aug. 2, 1858, and has since been rebuilt in the rue de la Bourse. A large portion of the commerce of the world was transacted in it for a considerable time. At Amsterdam, Ham- burg, Vienna, Constantinople, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Frankfort, &c., the exchanges are nu- merously attended, but the exchange of London stands unrivalled in Europe for the magnitude of its transactions. — The merchants* exchange in New York was founded in 1817. Its first building, in Wall street, between William and Pearl streets, was built of Westchester marble, three stories in height, with the city post ofiSce in the basement, and insurance and other ofiSces on the third floor. It was opened in 1827, and was destroyed by the great fire of Deo. 16, 1885. The second exchange, on the same site, was built of Quincy granite, at a cost, including the value of the ground, of $1,800,000. It was subsequently sold to the general government to be used as a custom house. The present exchange has an imposing marble front in Broad street, near Wall street, with entrances also in Wfdl and New streets. Buildings for similar purposes, and generally of large size and great cost, exist in all the principal cities of the United States.
EXCHANGE, Bill of, in commercial transactions, a written instrument designed to secure the payment of a distant debt without the trans- mission of money, being in effect a setting off or exchange of one debt against another. This important instrument is of modem origin. It was not because its use was not perceived that it was unemployed in ancient commerce, but because its basis is mercantile integrity, which never existed till a recent period in trading cotnTnunities to a sufficient extent to warrant putting money or other valuable commodities at risk upon so f^ail a security. Thus we have evidence in the case of the Athenian banker, which is the subject of one of the dis- courses of Isocrates, that the convenience of such an exchange as is now usual among mer- chants was well enough understood then, but it was deemed necessary to take security for the payment of the bill. Transactions of the same kind have doubtless occurred at all pe- riods where parties have had sufiScient con- fidence in each other ; but that they were un- frequent is manifest from the silence of the Roman law in respect thereto. It is said that the Jews of the middle ages first introduced bills of exchange into ordinary use, and this is entitled to credit, inasmuch as the frequent migrations and spoliations to which they were suQected in those times of persecution made
22
EXCHANGE (Bill of)
an easf transmission of wealth and its safe keeping in foreign countries almost a necessity. Of conrse the bills drawn bj them were upon persons of their own race. The negotiation of bills of exchange by law can be traced back about ^ centuries, the earliest being an or- dinance of the city of Barcelona in 1894 re- specting the acceptance of bills of exchange. An edict of Louis XI. in 1462 is the first notice of the subject in the laws of France. (See Kent's ^^ Commentaries,'^ vol. iii., p. 72, note.) — In form, a bill of exchange is an order or re- quest addressed by one person to another di- recting the payment of money to a third person. The first is called the drawer ; the second is the drawee until the bill has been presented and accepted, and then he is called the ac- ceptor; the third is the payee. But some- times the bill passes through several hands, which may be either by successive indorse- ments specifying to whom payment is to be made, or by what is called an indorsement in blank, by which is meant that the payee, or the subsequent holder to whom the bill has been indorsed, merely writes his own name on the biU, which is equivalent to making it payable to bearer. The most important incident of a bill of exchange is its negotiability, that is to say, facility of transfer from one person to another. For this purpose it is essential that the engagement of the several parties, whether drawer, acceptor, or indorser, should be dis- entangled irom all matters not appearing upon the face of the bill. This, therefore, is the general rule, subject to some exceptions which will be presently mentioned. Equally neces- sary is it that the bill itself should by its terms involve no uncertain contingency, as to depend upon an event that may not happen, or upon some condition which may be the subject of controversy. Hence it has been uniformly held that it must be payable at a fixed time, that is to say, at some period which is certain ; but it may be so far contingent as to depend upon an event which must inevitably happen, though the precise time cannot be specified. Thus a bill may be payable a certain time after the death of a particular person ; but it would not be a good bill if made payable afber the arrival of a certain vessel. The one event is certain to happen at some period, though it may be remote ; the other may not happen at all. Again, a bill of exchange must be ex- pressed to be for the payment of money only, and would not be good if payable in cattle or other species of property, nor even if made payable in bank bills, though it is held in some oases that if payable in currency it is a good bill, as this implies specie or its equivalent. When it is said that a bill is not good if sub- ject to any contingency or payable otherwise than in money, it is intended merely that it is not negotiable with the legal effect whid) ap- pertains to a bill drawn in the prescribed form. It may nevertheless constitute a valid contract between the original parties, and may even be
transferred so as to vest in the assignee the same right which the payee would have had against the drawer or acceptor. The transfer in such case will, however, be subject to the same rules that apply to other personal con- tracts usually denominated ehoMs in action. In other words, the transfer is itself a contract ; and although it is not necessary that it should be in writing, yet it derives no aid from mer- cantile usage respecting the indorsement of bills. The delivery of a note not negotiable may give an ownership if so designed, and this is so in respect to a bond or other contract. But by the common law there was this limita- tion, that the right of the holder could be en- forced only in the name of the original obligee, it being a rule that a chose in action was not assignable. In equity, however, the right of the assignee was recognized, and so to a certain extent it came to be in the conunon law courts, the formality of using the name of the assignor in a suit brought upon such chose in action he- ing all that is retained of the old strictness. In most of the states even this has been abro- gated, and the real party in interest, by which is meant whoever has the actual ownership, may be the party to the action. Again, such trans- fer confers no greater right than the original payee or obligee had, and is subject to any de- fence, legal or equitable, which the other par- ties had against such payee or obligee prior to actual notice of the assignment, or what in law would be tantamount thereto. The bill, or rather contract, as it should be termed in the case supposed, is itself also subject to one important rule distinguishing it from a proper bill of exchange, viz., that it does not import a consideration unless expressed. If, therefore, no consideration is specified, parol evidence there- of will be necessary, as the rule of the common law is that a consideration is an essential requi- site of a contract ; but parol evidence will be inadmissible in all those cases in which by statute it is required that the contract should be in writing, as when the contract is not to be performed within one year, or when it is to answer for the debt of another person, &c. It will now be understood what is the negotia- bility above referred to as being the peculiar incident of a bill of exchange. The bill, in the first place, imports per se to have been given for value, even if it does not contain the usual clause **for value received," which, though generally inserted, is mere surplusage ; and every successive holder who has received it before it was due, in the regular course of business, for a valuable consideration, is enti- tled to enforce it according to the terms of the obligation expressed therein, without regard to any transactions between tbe original parties. To this rule there are some exceptions, as when the bill was given for a gaming debt or when usury is mvolved, in which cases the bill is declared to be absolutely void by stat- utes in England, which have been generally re^nacted in the United States. When there
EXCISE
23
hAs been fraod in tbe transaction to which the bill relates, which would have been a defence as between the original parties, the rnle is that a honafde holder for value is not affected thereby ; with however this limitation, that the bill has been received not only without knowl- edge of the fraud, but without such notice of the circumstances as should have induced sus- picion and inquiry. If the bill at the time of trausfer has become due, this is in law deemed suSScien!; to call for inquiry, and the indorsee in such case takes the bill subject to whatever defence there would have been against the party from whom he received it. When a bill has been stolen or lost, and has been put into circulation again, a bona fide purchaser is en- tided to enforce it against all previous parties, provided there were no circumstances that should have led him in the exercise of ordinary prodence to inquire into the title of the party from whom he received it It will in such a case be a question of fact whether due dili- gence has been used by the holder, and the burden of proof is imposed upon him, upon its being shown that the bill had been stolen or lost The question in such case would be be- tveen the person who had lost the bill or from whom it had been stolen, and the person who hsd received it after the theft or loss. The Hability of the original parties is not affected. —Bills of exchange are of two sorts, foreign and inland ; the former being drawn by a mer- chant in this country upon another residing abroad, or by a foreign merchant upon one re- siding here ; the latter when both drawer and drawee reside in the same country. The prin- cipal rules relating to bills of exchange grow oat of mercantile usage respecting foreign bills; but by statute in England and the United States both are now put upon the same footing, with the exception only that damages are allowed upon foreign bills which come back protested for non-acceptance or non-pay- ment By statute in England and the United 8tatea, promissory notes are made negotiable in like manner as inland bills of exchange. The same principles therefore, in respect to negotiability and the legal incidents thereof, apply to both.
EXCISE, a term employed to designate a par- ticular form of taxation. Excise taxes or du- ties are distingnished from customs in being such as are imp>osed upon domestic commodi- ties, chiefly manufactures, such as glass, paper, spirits, &c., while customs are duties levied npon merchandise imported or exported. Both kinds are included under the common term imposts. Excise duties were first imposed in Great Britain by the long parliament in 1643, but a number of articles of foreign production were included in the act, as tobacco, wine, sQgar, Ajo., which were charged with a duty in the hands of the retailer in addition to what had been paid on importation. Since that time they have heen regularly continued, but with modifications from time to time as to the
articles subject to the duty and the rate of charge. The articles of foreign growth and manufacture are now transferred to the de- partment of customs. At the present time excise duties are nearly all collected on fer- mented and distilled liquors and chiccory, though license duties are also classed with the excise taxes. For the year ending Mai*ch 81, 1872, the excise duties collected in the United Kingdom amounted to £28,886,064, of which £6,670,955 were collected on malt, £12,274,- 596 on spirits, and £8,781,979 for licenses. — Excise duties have not been generally levied in the United States, but the national government has relied upon customs as its principal source of revenue. An excise duty on the manufac- ture of spirits during Washington's administra- tion led to what was called the whiskey insur- rection in Pennsylvania, which was soon sup- pressed, but the tax was not continued. Oth- ers were imposed in 1818, but repealed in 1817. After the breaking out of the civil war in 1861 it became necessary to resort to every available source of income, and an elaborate system of excise duties was established, de- signed in some form to reach nearly every spe- cies of manufacture. The most of these du- ties have successively been abolished, but those on spirits and tobacco are retained. For the purposes of comparison with the excise duties collected in Great Britdn in 1872, the follow- ing figures are given. The duties collected on the manufacture and sale of distilled spir- its for the year ending June 80, 1872, were $49,475,516 86; on fermented liquors, $8,009,- 969 72 ; on tobacco, $18,674,569 26.— The rela- tive advantage of excise duties and customs has been much debated. The latter are evaded to a large extent by smugglers, but the excise du- ties are also evaded, particularly in respect to spirits. This was strikingly illustrated in the United States, where it was found that a tax of $2 a gallon on the manufacture of whiskey produced less revenue than one of 50 cents. Excise duties are also objected to on the same ground with an income tax, namely, that they expose the manufacturer's private operations. Another objection that has tended to make them more obnoxious than any other is the ar- bitrary manner of enforcing them, which is felt to be an interference with private liberty and independence, which the common law has sed- ulously protected. It is supposed that in this matter of collecting its revenue the government considers itself entitled to dispense with all the ordinary protections to individual right and liberty, and to provide the most uinust and arbitrary proceedings at discretion. This was illustrated in a very remarkable manner in the recent case of Henderson, in which it was held by the msgority of the United States supreme court that a hana fide purchaser of liquors stored in a government warehouse, who had paid in full all dues, might afterward have the liquors seized in his hands and forfeited to the government because a former owner had at
24
EXCOMMUNICATION
one time bad a design to evade payment of the duties upon them ; a purpose of which the purchaser was wholly ignorant. (14 Wallace^s Reports, 44, 64.)
EXCOHMUlflClTION (Lat. ex, out of, and cam- municatiOy intercourse), the cutting off* a mem- ber of a religious society from intercourse with the other members in things spiritual. This penalty was familiar to the pagan nations of antiquity, as well as to the Jews ; and from them it passed into use among Christians. In Greece, persons guilty of enormous crimes were given over to the Furies with certain terrible forms of imprecation. There were three kinds of excommunication among the Greeks. By the first, the criminal was excluded from all intercourse with his own family ; by the sec- ond, he was forbidden to approach any temple, or to assist at any sacrifice or public rite ; by the third, it was forbidden to give him shelter, food, or drink. The Romans borrowed the rite from the Greeks, and the formulas sacrU interdicerej to forbid the use of sacred things, dirts devovere, to devote one to the Furies, execrariy to curse, &c., have much the above meaning. According to CsBsar, the highest punishment inflicted by the druids, among Cel- tic nations, w^as to exclude an offender from all their religious rites. Such a man was con- sidered by all as wicked and an enemy of the gods ; he was shunned even by his own kindred, denied all justice and hospitality, and lived and died in infamy. The Semitic races, in ancient and modern times, have practised excommuni- cation, and it is now in use wherever Moham- medanism extends. We have the testimony of Josephus that excommunication was prac- tised among the Jews, and he notes the ex- treme rigor with which the Essenes applied it. Among them, the criminal who was thus put out of the society of his brethren not only could hold no communication with them even for the necessaries of life, but was bound by vow not to ask food or shelter from strangers. Thus driven to subsist on herbs and hide in caves, they eked out a miserable life, which often ended in a tragic death. There were three kinds of excommunication among the Jews. The mildest form consisted in a tempo- rary exclusion from reli^ous and social inter- course for 80 days. If during this interval the culprit did not repent, another term of 80 days was added, which was lengthened to 90 days if he still remained obdurate. If he per- sisted at the end of that time, he was visited with the more severe and solemn form of ex- communication, that is, publicly cast out of the synagogue, with awful execrations taken from the law of Moses. When this penalty and all other human means had been tried in vain, he was given over to the divine judgment as an irreclaimable sinner. — In the early Christian church we find excommunication practised by St. Paul, and ei\joined both by him and by St. John. In the post-apostolic ages it was the universal custom both in the East and West,
modified only from the Jewish practice in ac- cordance with the requirements of Christian belief and worship. The lowest degree con- sisted in the reixisal of eucharistic communion; the next in exclusion from the church and the liturgical service ; the third in total exclusion, by solemn denunciation, from membership with the church, and from all intercourse, social or religious, with Christians. This highest degree of exco^^nunication was accompanied in some instances by an awful form w^hich explains the anathema maranatha of St. Paul. When the person excommunicated was not only guilty of apostasy or heresy, but one who sought to draw the multitude after him, a prayer was made by some churches that God should come down in judgment and cut the seducer off, as in the cases of Julian the Apostate and Arius. — In the Latin church, since the publication of Gra- tian^s Decretumj aiid the regular adoption of canon law, two kinds of excommunications have been described by canonists, the minor and the migor. The former excluded the offender from the use of the sacrament and the benefit of certain ecclesiastical privileges and immunities. It was incurred for sins that were not public, or for communicating with persons under the solemn ban. The m^gor ex* conmiunication out tlie offender off not only from church membership, but from social inter- course with Christians. He was solemnly and by name called vitanduSj ** to be shunned by all.'^ As heresy, public apostasy, and. great crimes by which excommunication was incurred, came early to be recognized as state offences and misdemeanors punishable by the laws of the empire, so it was soon decreed by statute that the excommunicated should incur privation of office and rank, loss of civil rights, and forfeit- ure of property. These dispositions became more or less a part of the common law of western as well as of eastern Christendom. When the Roman empire was restored in Charlemagne, and the German emperors were wont to receive the imperial crown from the pope, public excommunication pronounced against them was held to involve a forfeiture of their crown. This was also held to be the case with sovereigns whose kingdoms were fiefs of the see of Rome. It was against such high offenders that the migor excommunication was fulminated, with the awful ceremonies mentioned in history. In the present discipline of the Roman Catholic church the excommuni- cation of sovereigns is reserved to the pope, and has been very rarely practised since the 16th century. In 1570 Pope Pius V. excom- municated Queen Elizabeth of England, and formally absolved her subjects from their al- legiance. In the modem Greek church ex- communication cuts off the offender not only from the ** communion of saints," but from all intercourse, religious or social, and consigns him, living and dead, to the evil one. — The power of excommunication w^as maintained by the reformers, who claimed it as a prerogative
EXCRETION
EXECUTION
25
of the Christian commnnity, while the Roman Catholic and eastern chnrohes vested it in the episcopal order. In the church of England the vigorous provisions of the old canon law were for the most part kept in force after the reformation, and were a part of the law of the land until the reign of George III., when (52 (xeorge III., c. 127) excommnnioations and the consequent civil effects were done away with, except for certain specified cases. When the peraoD excommunicated for the offences men- tioned in the act allows six months to pass without submitting to correction, the bisnop certifies this contumacy to the court of chan- cery, which issues its writ to the sheriff. The severest penalty enforced is six months* im- prisonment In Scotland, when the lesser excommunication has failed, the delinquent is sabjected to the greater, and the faithful are warned to avoid all unnecessary intercourse with him. In the Protestant Episcopal church certain offences entail the privation of holy communion, while "great heinousness of of- fence " is followed by loss *^ of all privileges of church membership.** The Methodist Epis- copal church vests the power of exoommuni- i^n in the minister, after a trial before a jorr of peers of the accused. Excommnnica- im is intlioted among the Presbyterians, Con- gragationalista, and Baptists by the church, ac- cording to the view of the early reformers.
EICKFriON (Lat. exeemere, exeretum^ to pargeX the elimination of waste or effete matters from the living body. There is evi- dence that during the vital processes every exertion of activity by a living tissue or or- gan is necessarily accompanied by a molecular change in its chemical constitution. So inti- mate is this connection between the alteration of sabstance in a living organ and its physiolo- gical action, that it is impossible to say with certainty which of these two is the cause and which the effect. The &ct is however that, as we have said above, every manifestation of vital activity involves a change in the immedi- ate constitution of the active organ. The con- sequence of this is that, in the living body, new substances, the result of its internal dis- integration, are constantly makiqg their ap- l^earance. These substances, termed excre- mentitious matters, must not be allowed to re- main and accumnlate; for in that case the constitution of the organs would become so changed from their original condition that they would be no longer capable of performing their proper functions. These matters must therefore be gotten rid of, or eliminated from the body, as fast as they are produced; and the process by which this is accomplished is call^ excretion. The mechanism of this pro- cess is as follows: The excrementitious mat- ters produced in the solid tissues are absorbed from them by the blood, carried by the circu- lation to some organ adapted to the purpose, exhaled or exnded in the gaseous, fiuid, or semi-fluid form, and thus discharged from the
body. The two principal excretory organs are the lungs and the kidneys. The venous blood in passing through the lungs discharges the carbonic acid which it has absorbed from all the vascular parts of the body, and returns to the left side of the heart purified and renovated. The blood which passes through the circulation of the kidneys exhales, together with its watery parts, urea, creatine, creatinine, and the com- pounds of uric acid ; nitrogenous crystallizable matters produced in various parts of the sys- tem, and which form the important ingredients of the urine. Thus the blood constantly re- lieves the solid tissues of the excrementitious matters produced in their substance, and i^ it- self relieved of them by passing through the excretory organs. Should this process from any cause be suspended or retarded, the ac- cumulation of excrementitious matters in the body would soon make itself felt by a derange- ment of the health, and especially by its iivju- rious effects upon the nervous system. Pain, loss of appetite, confusion of mind, disturbance of the special senses, and in extreme cases con- vulsions, coma, and death, result from the ar- rest of excretion, which is therefore no less important to life than nutrition.
EXECUTION, in law, the final process to en- force the Judgment of a court, according to the old maxim, exeeutio est fruetuM et JlnU legU, In its larger application it includes the process of sequestration formerly used by the court of chancery to carry into effect its decrees, at- tachments for contempt of court, and process in summary proceedings, as upon mandamus and the like; but in its ordinary acceptation it is a writ issued to enforce a judgment in a suit or action in a court of common law. It is unnecessary to speak of the execution in the various real actions which have become obsolete. In England the actions for recovery of real estate, whether corporeal or incor- poreal, are, by statute 3 and 4 William IV., c. 27, now limited to ejectment, ^uar^ impedit, and actions for dower. The first is the ordi- nary mode of trying a title to lands, and the execution upon a judgment of recovery is a writ of possession, which in form is directed to the sheriff, commanding him to deliver to the plaintiff the possession of the lands so re-- covered. Quare impedit is an action by which the right to a benefice is determined, and takes \\» name from a clause in the old Lflitin form of the writ by which the defendant was com- manded to appear in court and show the reason why he hindered the plaintiff from presenting a proper person to a vacant office in a church. Upon judgment in favor of the claim, the exe- cution is a writ directed to the bishop com- manding him to admit the person nominated by the prevailing party. The action also lies for an ofSce in eleemosynary institutions, as hospitals and colleges, which are endowed for the support of their inmates ; and the execu- tion in such cases is the same, except that it will be directed to the corporate officers or
26
EXEOUTIOlf
persons who have the control of the institu- tion. In respect to lay officers, as they are called in distinction from ecclesiastical and eleemosynary, the mode of proceeding is by gu4> warranto or mandamus. The former was strictly a proceeding in behalf of the crown against any one who had intruded into an office, but is now allowed by statute in Eng- land (9 Anne, c. 20) to determine di8i)ute8 be- tween private parties claiming an office ad- versely to each other. The proceeding in that case, although in form in behalf of the crown, yet is stated to be on the relation of the per- son prosecuting, and upon judgment in his fa- vor execution issues to remove the intruder. Mandamus is a remedy where there is a re- fusal to admit the claimant to an office, or where he has been wrongfully removed. If the claim be established, a peremptory man- damus issues, directed to the defendant, com- manding him to admit or restore the claimant, who is in this case, as well as in the proceeding by qito toarrantOy called the relator. This is, however, not strictly an execution, as if not obeyed it must be enforced by another process called an attachment. In other actions, where the subject is an injury to real estate, usually the remedy is a recovery of damages; but in some instances specific relief is given, as in an action for a nuisance there may be a judg- ment that it be abated, and the execution in such case follows the judgment. So in some personal actions, formerly, there might be judgment for the delivery of the specific thing, as in detinue, which was brought to recover possession of chattels, and the judgment was enforced by an execution called a distringas, which commanded the sheriff to make distress of any goods of the defendant until he com- plied with the judgment ; but if he still re- fused, there could only be an assessment of the value of the thing recovered, and a sale of de- fendant's property to pay the same. In the action of replevin, which was originally limited to the recovery of property which had been wrongfully distrained for rent, the writ by which the action was conmienced directed the sheriff to replevy, that is, take the property in question, and deliver it to the plaintiff upon pledges to prosecute. If the defendant suc- ceed in the action, the judgment is that he have return of the property, or if he elects, he may have an assessment of the value, and re- cover that amount as damages. In the former case the execution is for redelivery of the property, in the latter merely for the damages. — Before proceeding to the consideration of other actions, it will be proper to state the modifications which have been made in the United States in respect to those already no- ticed. All the common-law real actions are generally abolished except ejectment, which, in a simplified form, is used for the trial of title to land in all cases. Quare impedit is not retained, nor is there any action for the re- covery of an office except the proceedings by
quo warranto or mandamus. The action of detinue has been generally abolished, and the action of replevin has been extended to all cases of the wrongful taking or wrongful de- tention of personal property. In the latter ac- tion the plaintifi^ instead of an actual replevy of the goods, may arrest the defendant and compel him to give bail, and the final judgment in such case wUl be for damages ; and so the defendant, if he succeeds in a case where the goods have been replevied, may take judgment for the value, the execution being in either of these cases merely for damages. — We now come to the ordinary actions in. which there is judgment for a money demand. At common law there are three forms of execution upon such a judgment : 1, a fieri facias, so called from the terms of the writ by which the sheriff is commanded that of the goods and chattels of defendant he cause to be made the amount of the debt or damages recovered ; 2, elegit, which is a writ given by an ancient statute (18 Edward I., c. 18), whereby, if the plaintiff elected, possession of the goods and chattels of defendant was delivered to plaintiff under an appraisement of the value thereof, which to that extent was to be a satisfaction of the judgment; but if not sufficient, then possession of one half of the freehold lands of defendant was also to be delivered until from the rents and profits thereof the judgment should be paid ; 8, a capias ad satiqfaeiendum, which is a writ directed to the sheriff com- manding him to take the body of the de- fendant, and keep the same until satisfaction of the debt. The course of proceeding upon this writ was to imprison the defendant in the debtors' jail, of which the sheriff had in law the charge. (See Debtob and Cbeditor.) Having traced the origin of the terms applied to executions, we shall limit ourselves to a brief explanation of the legal incidents as now prescribed by statute in the United States. The two forms of execution are the Jieri facias and the capias ad satisfaciendum, which have been already explained, and which are desig- nated by the abbreviated terms ^. fa. and ea. sa. The fl. fa. is a writ directed to the sheriff by which he is commanded to make the amount of the judgment by sale of the defen- dant's goods and chattels, or if these should not be sufficient, then of the lands of which he was seized on the day when the judgment was docketed. An exemption is made of certain
Property from levy under execution, viz.; ousehold furniture, necessary provisions and fuel for the use of the family for a specified time, stock in trade, necessary wearing ap« parel, bedding, &c., tools and implements to an amount named, a family Bible, family pic- tures, school books, the family library, &c., and in addition, a lot and building occupied as a residence by the debtor, being a householder and having a family, to a value named, which in most states is $1,600 or upward. (See FiEBi Facias.) The ea. sa, is the old form of
EXECUTOR
EXETER
27
execution a^inst the person of the defendant, and since the abolition of imprisonment for debt can be issued in a few cases only. (See Bankbupt, and Debtob and Grsditor.)
EXfiCrnWy the person appointed to carry into effect the directions contained in a last will and testament. By the common law of England^ or rather by the law as administered in Sie ecclesiastical courts, an infant of the age of 17 was qualified to act as executor. Prior to that age, letters of administration were granted to some other person durante minore aUUs; but by statute 38 George III., c. 87, sach administration must now continue until the person named as executor has reached the age of 21. A married woman cannot act as &D executrix without the assent of her hus- band, inasmuch as he is responsible for her acts. When executors are not named in a will, or are incompetent, or refuse to act, letters of administrati(tt with the will annexed may be issued, under which the same powers may be exercised that could have been by competent execntors duly appointed. An executor de son t&rt, as he was formerly called, i. e., one who intermeddled with the estate without having lawful authority,, was liable to the extent of U17 assets which he might have appropriated to be sued as an executor of his own wrong, kt was not entitled to institute a suit as exe- eator. The doctrine of executor de 9on tart can scarcely be said to be recognized in Amer- ica, but summary remedies are given against intermeddlers. (See Will.)
ElELMANS, or Excduns, Bcny Jeseph bidtre, connt, a French general, born in Bar-le-Duc, Nov. 18, 1775, killed by a fall from his horse in July, 1852. He served first in Italy, became an aide-de-camp of Murat, went with him to Ger- many, and was made colonel after the battle of Ansterlitz, and brigadier general in 1807, after that of Eylau. He accompanied Murat in 1808 to Spain, where he was made prisoner and carried to England. He made his escape in 1811 and rejoined Murat, then king of Naples. When disagreement arose between Marttt and Napoleon, Exelmans returned to France, and served in the Rusaan campaign with the rank of general of division. He re- tamed his position in the military service after the first restoration, but resumed his duties in the army of Napoleon upon his return from Elba, and was raised to the peerage. He did not take part in the battle of Waterloo, being nnder the command of Grouchy. Under the second restoration he was in exile till 1819. He was restored by Louis Philippe to the chamber of peers, and denounced in that body the execution of Ney as an ** abominable assas- sination." Under the presidency of Louis Na- poleon he was made grand chancellor of the legion of honor, marshd of France, and senator.
EXEm, a town and one of the county seats of Rockingham co.. New Hampshire, situated on Exeter river, a branch of the Piscataqua, and on the Boston and Maine railroad, 12 m.
8. W. of Portsmouth; pop. in 1870, 8,487. The falls at this point, which ftimish good wa- ter power, are the head of tide water and the limit of navigation for small vessels. The prin- cipal village, built around the falls on both banks of the river, occupies a plain, and is laid out with wide streets shaded with elms. Be- sides the state courts for the county, sessions of the United States circuit and district courts are held h ere. The Exeter manufactu ring com- pany, incorporated in 1829, has more than 10,000 spindles in operation, and produces about 2,000, - 000 yards of sheetings annually. It has just erected another, mill of equal capacity. The wool business is one of the principal branches of industry and trade in the place, bemg carried on by several large establishments. There are also several manufactories of carriages, 1 of drain pipe, 8 of harnesses, 8 grist mills, 1 iron foundery, 1 planing mill, 1 saw mill, 1 machine shop, a national bank, and 2 saving institutions. The town is chiefly noted as the seat of Phil- lips academy, founded in 1781 by John PhiUips, LL. D., who bequeathed to it a large portion of his estate. It is one of the most celebrated schools for preparing boys for college in the country, and in 1872 had 4 instructors and 162 students. The original building, in which some of the most famous men of the country were educated, was burned in 1870 ; a new one was completed in 1872. The Robinson female sem- inary, organized in 1869 with an endowment of $300,000, has a collegiate department, and in 1872 had 9 instructors and 252 students. Exeter contains several public schools, a town library of 8,428 volumes, a weekly newspaper, and 7 churches. It was settled in 1638, and suffered severely during the Indian wars from 1690 to about 1710. During the revolutionary
Eeriod it was the capital of the state and the eadquarters of its military operations. EXtTTEB, a city, port, and parliamentary borough of England, capital of Devonshire, and a county in itself, on the Exe, 10 m. from its mouth in the English channel, and 159 m. W. 8. W. of London; pop. in 1871, 84,646. It is 194 m. from London by the Great Western railway, and is the point at which railways centre from South Devon, North Devon, Salis- bury, and Exmouth. The Exe is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge leading to the sub- urb of St. Thomas. The city, standing on a steep acclivity, has two wide principal streets, which cross each other at right angles near its centre«> It is generally well built, has many fine squares and terraces and ancient houses, and in its sub- urbs and environs are numerous elegant villas. It was formerly strongly fortified, but its exte- rior wall is now in a ruinous state, and a part of the rampart has been converted into a prom- enade. On an eminence N. E. of the town is Rougemont castle, anciently the residence of the West Saxon kings, repaired by William the Conqueror. Exeter is the seat of a bishopric founded about 1050. Its cathedral, a magnifi- cent building of cruciform shape, was begun
28 EXHADSTION
ftbont tbe jear 1100. Its entire length ia 408 ft. ; it ha« two Norman towers 130 ft. in height, tea chapels or uratories, and u chapter bouse. Ona of the towers contains an immense bell weigh- ing 12,G00 Iba., and tbe other has a chime of 11 bells. Among the nnmeroas schools is a free grammar Bchool founded hy the citizens in tbe reign of Charles I., in which tbe sons of freemen are instructed gratuitonslj, and wbicb has 18 exhibitions to either of the uni- versities. Eicter has a theatre and various literary and charitable institutions. Ita com- merce is much less now than formerly, bnt it baa Bome internal trade, and is an important corn and provision market. The river Exe ia navigable for vessels of large burden to Top- abam, i m. below Exeter; and hj means of a
EXMOUTH
canal built in 1G68, aabsequently ranch en- larged, and. one of the oldest in England, ves- sels of 400 tons burden can come up to the quaj near tbe walls of the town. Serges and other woollen goods were formerly manufac- tured in this city and the neighboring towDB to a large extent, and shipped to the continent and the East Indies; bat the introduction of machinery and tbe lower price of fuel in the north of England have very much diminished this trade,— This city is of nnknown antitjuity, and is supposed to be tbe Caer-Isc of tbe Brit- ons, and the Isca Damnoniomm of the Bomana. It was the capital of the West Bazons, sad in the reign of Alfred in 876 it was surprised by the Danes. It was besieged and taken by "Wil- liam tbe Conqneror. In tbe civil war it es-
ponsed the royal cause, was taken by the par- liamentarians, was retaken by Prince Maurice, became the headquarters of the royalists in tbe west and the residence of Charles's queen, and in 1646 surrendered after a blockade to Fairfax.
EXHlDmOK (Lat. etkaurtrt, to draw ont), amethod of tbe ancient geometry, applied with Buccesa by Archimedes and Eaclid, by which the value of an incommensnrable quantity was Bonght by obtaining approximations alternately greater and less than the trnth, until two ap- proximations differed so little from each other that either might be taken as the exact state- ment. Thus tlie length of a circumference was sought by calculating the length of inscribed and circumscribed polygons, and increasing the number of sides until the lengths of the outer and inner polygon were sensibly the same, when that of the circunifereuoe could cot differ sen- sibly from either. By this method the space between tbe polygons and tbe curve was ex-
hausted, as it were, and hence tbe term. Ex- hanstion is now interesting chiefiy because it was one of the methods which led, in the 1 7th centnry, to tbe invention of the differential calculus.
EXiniTH, a town of Devonshire, England, 10 m. S. E. of Exeter: pop. about 6,000. Itis a celebrated sea-batbing place, and is beauti- fully wtuated on the E. side of the entrance to the estuary of tbe E le, in an opening of the cliffs which surround the shore. The modem part; of the town consista of detached villa* and ter- races surmounted by neat houses, and there are many pleasant nronienades. A gradually sloping sandy beach below the town is the principal resort of bathers. There ia a hand- some parish church with a tower more than 100 ft. high. Fisheries constitute the princi- pal occupation ; and many of the women are engaged in lace making.
EXHOCTB, Edward Pdltw, viscount, an Eng- lish admiral, bom at Dover, April 19, 176T,
EXODUS
29
died at Teignmouth, Jan. 23, 1838. He en- tered the navy at the age of 13, and first dis- tinguished himself in the battle of Lake Cbam- piain, Oct. 11, 1776. In 1782 he became a post captain, and from 1786 to 1789 he was stationed off Newfoundland. In 1793, commanding the frigate Nymphe, of 36 gnns, he captured the French frigate La Cl^op&tre, of equal metal, after a desperate battle. Thi«i was the first prize taken in the war, and Pellew was knighted. He was then employed in block- ading the French coast. At Plymouth in 1796, by great bravery and presence of mind, he saved the lives of all on board a wrecked transport, leaving the ship himself just before it went to pieces. For this he was made a baronet, and received other honors. Mean- while, in command of the Arethusa, 44 guns, he had fought a number of engagements with French vessels, being always victorious. He also commanded successively the Indefatigable, 49 guns, and the Imp^tueuz, 78 guns. In 1802 he was elected to parliament, but in 1804 was agaia called to the naval service, promoted to rear admiral, and made commander-in-chief in the East Indies. In 1808 he was made vice admira], and in 1810 was sent to command in the Mediterranean. In 1814 he was created Baron Ezmouth of Canonteign, with a pension of £2,000, and in the same year was made a foil admiral. During his command in the Med- iterranean lie concluded treaties with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, for the abolition of Chris- tian slavery. The dey of Algiers having vio- lated his treaty, Exmouth sailed into the har- bor of Algiers, Aug. 26, 1816, with 19 vessels, accompanied by a Dutch fleet of 6, and en- gaged the Algerine fleet and batteries at close quarters. After an action of seven hours, every Algerine ship and the arsenal and sev- eral other buildings were on fire. The dey conceded everything that was demanded, and signed a new treaty. In this affair Lord Ex- month received two alight wounds and had his clothes torn to shreds by the shot. About 1,200 Christian slaves were liberated, and on his return the admiral was made a viscount. He retired from public service in 1821.
ElODUS (Gt, i^odoc, departure), a book of the Bible, the second of the Pentateuch. It derives its name from the principal event re- corded in it, the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, and contains the history of that people from the death of Joseph until the building of the tabernacle. The researches of modem Egyptologists have thrown much light on the Biblical narrative. The land of Goshen, where the Hebrews had been p<?r- mitted to settle, was east of the delta of the Nile, on the borders of Syria, and the places mentioned in connection with the exodus have b^n identified as follows: Rameses as the town Nashuta, in the E. part of the wady Tumilat ; Succoth, the Thaubasium of the Ro- mans, N. E. of Lake Timsah ; Etham, the forti- fied wall on the Syrian frontier ; Pi-hahiroth,
the modem Kalat Agmd, N. W. of Suez; Migdol, Uie place formerly called Kambysu, where the Persian monument stands ; and Baal- zephon as the Atakah mountains. The hiero- glyphic inscriptions render it probable that the oppressors of the Hebrews were Seti I. and his son Rameses II., and that Memeptah was the Pharaoh of the exodus. (See Egypt, vol. vi., pp. 461-'2.) They show also that the He- Drews had been employed to build temples, fortresses, and granaries; and several monu- ments depict them at work making bricks, with overseers standing by and sometimes beating them with rods. This does not ne- cessarily lead to the conclusion that the Pha- raohs of the period were reckless tyrants. They were severe military rulers, who fore- saw that the Hebrews would make common cause with their kindred in Syria in case of an invasion. They strengthened accordingly the fortified wall on the borders, which the Pharaohs of the 12th dynasty had erected, and built new fortresses in Goshen, partly for protection against invasion and partly for keeping watch over the Hebrews. According to the monuments, the troops stationed here were chiefly Libyans, who were not likely to sympathize with the Hebrews. A treaty made by Rameses II. with the chief of the Khitas in Syria, found on a stele in the temple district of Karnak, provides for the extradition of fugitives escaping over the border. Mer- nept^'s policy was to prevent the Hebrews from gathering into bodies too large to be con- trolled, which he effected by compelling them to labor in small detachments on the public works. His refosal to allow them to assemble for the purpose of worshipping their God in the wilderness was prompted by fear of some hostile movement on their part, and nothing but the dread of greater disasters than those which would naturally follow their departure induced him to permit Moses to lead them away. Nor are monumental indications want- ing for establishing the historical character of Moses. His interview with Memeptah is supposed to have taken place at Tanis, the temporary residence of the last three Pharaohs. He and his people marched first to Takusa, a city south of Tanis, and thence to Shekh Mnsa, in the neighborhood of Pithom. The route touched the most important Hebrew towns and enabled their inhabitants to join the emi- grants. Moses marched them in an easterly direction through the wady Tumilat, whi<^ Hebrew labor had supplied with a canal. The Hebrew population was especially dense in this fertile oasis. The Hebrews rendezvoused at Rameses, a central point in Goshen. A journey northeastward of about 150 m. would have taken them to the borders of Canaan, but would have brought them into conflict with the warlike Philistines. Moses led them in almost the contrary direction ; " For God said, Lest perad venture the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.^' The general
30
EXODUS
EXOGENS
route of the exodus is now fairly estabHshed. The Hebrews marched S. E. for three days, then turned 8. W., and finally E., their fourth encampment being at Pi-hahiroth, a few miles S. of the present Suez, near a point where the gulf of Suez suddenly narrows to a quarter of its former width. They were on a narrow tri- angular plain bounded N. by a range of clifb and S. E. by the expansion of the sea. The Egyptian king had meanwhile gathered a con- siderable force, especially of chariots, the cav- alry of the time, and was following hard upon the fugitives, who, hemmed in between the clilfs and the water, had no apparent way of escape. At the point here assumed as that of the passage there is still a shallow, stretchiug from shore to shore, almost fordable at low tide. "The Lord caused the sea to go by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided." That is, the east (or more strictly easterly) wind piled up the waters toward the head of the gulf, leaving the shallow dry. The idea which painters have popularized, that the waters stood up as a solid wall on each side, is whoUv without warrant in the sacred text : all that is implied is that there was deep water on each side of the passage. The crossing was apparently made during the day. At night- fall the Egyptians came up, and seeing the pas- sage still dry attempted to follow. It is ap- parently implied in the text, though not directly stated, that the wind now shifted ; for an east- erly wind would have carried the bodies of the Egyptians to the west side, whereas the Hebrews beheld them thrown on the eastern shore, upon which they were. All the impli- cations of the narrative are that the refiux of the waters was gradual ; for we are told that "the Lord took off For rather clogged up] their chariot wheels, and made them go heavily;" that is, probably, the returning waters slowly filtered into the sand, making it difficult for the chariots to move. The Egyptians, seeing the waters rising, endeavored to retreat; but in the darkness, their returning van encounter- ing their advancing rear, they could go neither way, and were swallowed up by the rising tide. That this passage was really miraculous is everywhere asserted or implied by all the sacred writers who speak of it. Their route at first lay parallel with the eastern shore of the gulf of Suez, which they apparently touched at one point, the halting places being specified, and several of them are identified with reasonable certainty. At one of these, Rephidim, they were attacked by a body of Amalekites, who were defeated by the Israel- ites under the command of Joshua. After three months they reached the region of Sinai, in the heart of the Arabian peninsula, where they remained until 14 months after their de- parture from Egypt, and then set otf upon their long wanderings toward the promised land. During this interval the law was given, and those religious and civil institutions were
framed which in the course of a generation transformed the Hebrews into a military peo- ple, able to cope with the enemies whom they were about to encounter. The history, as re* lated in the book of Exodus, properly closes with the encampment around Sinai, and is con- tinued in the book of Numbers. (See Sinai.) — The best works on the historical narrative are Ebers^s Aegypten und die Bueher Motels (Leip- sic, 1868 et seq,) and Dureh Gosen turn Sinai (Leipsio, 1872), and Pahner's " The Desert of the llxodus" (London, 1872).
EX0GEN8 (Gr. I^u, outward, and ^evi^v, to generate), a class of plants so called because their woody matter is increased by additions to the outside of that which first surrounds the central pith. As there are no specific limits to the age of exogenous trees, their diameter indefinitely increases by this annual process, a distinct external layer being added by each year's growth. The stem of an exogen con- sists of a central column of pith or medulla, woody zones, and bark. Processes from the central medulla called medullary rays cross the zones transversely. The bark of an exogen parts readily from the underlyiug wood at a particular season of the year, when a viscid secretion called camhivm is produced between the wood and the inner surface of the bark. It is at this period that the leaves expand and the trunk lengthens. The woody fibres in the leaves are prolonged into tlie stem or trunk, passing down among the cambium, and adher- ing partiy to the wood and partly to the bark of the previous year. By this means new living matter is continually deposited upon the outer portion of the woody stem and the inner portions of the bark. It is in this part of the stem that the intensest vitality exists, the outer and older layers of the bark and the inner and older concentric rings of the wood becoming inert and falling off or decaying without in- jury to the vegetative parts. The office of the medullary processes is very important as means of communication between the centre of the stem and the outside layers or rings ; and they are conduits, so to speak, by which the fluid matter passing down the bark can reach the wood next the medulla or pith. These pro- cesses, which resemble thin plates, are of a spongy nature similar to that of the pith from which they originated. They sometimes as- sume sinuosities and undergo partial oblitera- tion ; and sometimes the wood itself assumes an excessive irregularity. As these circum- stances are to be found mostly in tropical ex- ogenous trees, vines, and climbers, difficulty is somethnes experienced in perceiving from transverse sections their claims to be consid- ered as exogens. This natural character of an outward growth in the exogens is asso- ciated with other peculiarities of development of other organs. Thus, the leaves have veins ramifying from the midrib outwardly to the circumference; or if there are several ribs, the veins are still of the same quality, so as to
EXORCISM
EXOSTOSIS
31
form an irregular network. These veins never mn parallel to each other without ramifica- tionsy and even some which appear to do so will be found to possess secondary veins. The leaves also fall away from the branches, being disarticulated from their places of insertion, leaving a clear scar behind. Certain foliolate organs, called stipules, are also frequently at- tached to the leaves, which is very unusual in endogens. The flowers are mostly quinary, that is, they have five sepals, five petals, and five stiunens, or some multiple of that number. The tall and feathery outline of the palms 'is never seen in the ezogens, as none of them de- pend on a single terminal bud for their develop- ing gro w th. From the very germination of the seed the difference is apparent in the form of the embryo and in the dicotyledonous char- acteristics of the young plant.
EXORdSM (Gr. kiopKio/i6cy a^uration), a rite having for its object to cast out evil spirits, or to withdraw irrational things from their influ- ence. As the natural attendants of a belief ia demoniacal possession, exorcisms have been practised in every age and country. The pa- gans of old, like those of to-day, were firm believers in the malignant influence of spirits, genii, or demons. Mysterious diseases and other incomprehensible calamities were at- tributed to such influences. The ^* medicine dances '* in use among the American Indians are found to spring from the same belief which gave rise to the fumigations of the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Persians. Among the Greeks exorcising was a profession, ^schines and Epicurus were the sons of women who lived by exorcism, and when young practised the art with their mothers. Besides incanta- tions, the burning of certain herbs and drugs, the use of magic ointments, the wearing of amulets, &c., human sacriflces were exception- ally abo resorted to ; and they are still in use among the tribes of south Africa. The Semitic nations, who kept alive the belief in the one God, form no exception. Among the Hebrews we read of David playing on a harp to procure the departure of the evil spirit which troubled Saul, and that Tobit, by command of an an- gel, burned the liver of a fish to expel the evil spirit which followed his betrothed wife ; and Solomon, according to Josephus, was a mighty exorcist, and leffc several formulas to be em- ployed in the rite. Christ, who drove out devils himself, bears testimony to the fact that the Jews did so in his day. This power he also committed to his 70 disciples when he sent them on their first mission, and promised that it should be exercised in the church atter him. All early Christian writers bear testi- mony to the fact that exorcisms were practised nniversally in the churches. This was done more particularly for catechumens, who were adults converted from paganism, and defiled by the unclean initiations and practices of demon worship. The great number of those considered really possessed in these ages, and 810 VOL. vu.— 8
the frequent exorcisms performed on catechu- mens during their long probation, caused the creation of the order of exorcists, which still exists both in the Greek and Roman Catholic churches. In both also the rituals prescribe exorcisms not only for adult, but even for in- fant baptism, on the ground that by the fall the entire human race has come under the power of Satan. And as the power of th^ evil one extends to the whole inferior creation, both churches exorcise water, salt, oil, &c., before blessing them and using them as sym- bols and instruments of Christ^s redeeming grace. As the earth was cursed after the fall, so now the church extends Christ^s blessin^^ to it and all it contains. Hence the prayers and exorcisms prescribed in the ritual for allaying storms, checking the ravages of hurtful insects, and putting an end to droughts. From the same principle proceeds the custom of blesnng habitations, fields, cattle, food, &c. Extraor- dinary exorcisms, in the present discipline of the Roman Catholic Church, are such as are used in coses of attested demoniacal possession. These are only performed with the permissTon of the bishop, in rare instances, and with un- usual solemnity. The only forms of exorcism recognized by that church are those contained in the Roman ritual and missal. — Luther, in his Tau/buchleinj preserved partly the form of renunciation of the devil ; he considered it as useful to remind the people of the power of sin. TIjese views were adopted in the Lu- theran parts of Germany. In the Swedish church, when the Augsburg Confession was again proclaimed at the council of Upsal in 1593, exorcism was retained as a free cere- mony in baptism, and on account of its utility. Calvin and Zwingli rejected it, and it became a sort of test between Calvinists and Lutherans. It had become gradually obsolete among the German Lutherans when an attempt was made in 1822 to revive its use. In the first liturgy of Edward YI. a form of exorcism at baptism was retained, which was omitted in the sub- sequent revision of the prayer book. Canon 72 of the church of England reserves to the bish- op the power of granting a license to exorcise. The only remnant of the old baptismal exor- cisms to be found in the rituals of the church of England, and the Protestant Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal churches, is the question : ^^Dost thou renounce ^he devil and all his works ? " — See Bingham, Origines Ecolestasti" e<B ; StoUe, De Origine ExorcUmi in Baptismo; Ferraris, Prompta Bihliotheca ; and Thesavr rus Bxorcismorum et Conjurationum (Cologne, 1608).
EXOSMOSE. See Endosmosb.
EXOSTOSIS (Gr. ef, out of, and bareov, bone), an osseous tumor developed on the surface of a bone, originally or eventually continuous with its substance, circumscribed, without interior cavity, having the same structure and life as the bone on which it is found. There are two varieties of this growth : in one the bone, like
82
EXOSTOSIS
EXPANSION
all otber tissaes of the system, takes on a mor- bid development, an eccentric hypertrophy of its sabstance, forming a well defined tamor on its snrface by the mere excess of interstitial osseoos deposit ; in the other the new ossific matter is deposited originally on the surface, under or between the laminsB of the periosteum, separated from the bone at first by cartilage, but afterward becoming consolidated to it in the usual manner of bony processes. The first variety may affect the greater part of a bone, and deserves rather the name of hyperotUms ; and the second, by the process of ossification, may be converted into the first ; this distinc- tion is of considerable importance in the prog- nosis and treatment of the affection. The muscles and soft parts over an exostosis are generally not changed, unless the tumor be of considerable size and in the neighborhood of large nerves and vessels ; but the periosteum is almost always thickened, and less adherent to the bone than usual. In the first variety the form is regular, and the bony fibres diverge frpm the natural direction to enter the tumor, as in other forms (^ eccentric hypertrophy ; in the second variety the form is irregular, of- ten fantastic and rough, and there is an evi- dent base by which it is as it were immovably articulated to the supporting bone, except in very old growths ; this base in recent cases is cartilaginous and readily separated, and shows that this kind of exostosis originates from and is nourished by the investing periosteum; it indicates also a method of treatment which has been found successful, by denuding them of their periosteum and causing their necrosis and separation from want of nutrition. If the cartilaginous base rests upon the bone, un- der the periosteum, the removal of this mem- brane will cause an exfoliation of the subjacent bone ; but if between the laminsB of this enve- lope, a shnilar operation will effect the fall of the tumor without ii^ury to the surface of the bone; the cartilage soon becomes ossified, and the exostosis forms one body with the bone, resembling the first variety in having no basal line of separation. In course of time the ex- cessive deposit of phosphate of lime in these growths may convert them into a substance having the appearance, consistence, weight, and polish of ivory. — Among the constitutional causes of exostosis are syphUitic poisoning, the scrofulous diathesis, and the gouty and rheu- matic conditions; the immediate cause is in- flammation, produced by mechanical or other means, leading to a deposit first of plastic and then of osseous matter, the development being similar to that of normal bone. In some con- stitutions there is such a disposition to the de- posit of ossific matter, that the slightest con- tusion is sufiicient to cause the development of these bony growths, not only on bones but in the substance of tendons and ligaments ; and the affection is often hereditary. When the growth takes place in the cavity of a bone, aa in the cranial cavity, it has been caUed en-
ostosis, but with doubtful propriety, because in this case the growth is upon the bone and oat- side of its structure. The prognosis varies, principally in proportion to the rapidity of the growth, which when very slow may not be much regarded, except when interfering with the functions of some important organ, as a joint, or into the cranial cavity. The treat- ment also varies with the prognosis. Often the removal is not a matter of moment, as ex- ostoses may be carried through life without much inconvenience ; and the removal may be a hazardous undertaking, as when the tumor encroaches upon a joint whose cavity would become opened by the operation. If the cir- culation in an important artery is impeded, re- moval becomes desirable, and should be under- taken when there is reasonable hope of a suc- cessful result. Topical applications are often beneficial, and in the earlier stages, in the form of blisters and strong counter-irritants, often effect the removal by absorption. A strong tincture of iodine, or a solution of iodine in iodide of potassium, is often very serviceable. The constitutional treatment, particularly when syphilis has preceded the affection, should not be neglected. Preparations of mercury may be cautiously administered, particularly the iodide, and iodine may be given in combination with potash or soda salts. When much pain is experienced, anodynes may be administered, either by the mouth or topically.
EXPiifSION, the property displayed by mat- ter of enlarging in bulk by dimmution of pres- sure, increase of heat, or in a few instances by increase of cold, and also of moisture. It is seen in solids in the common operation of set- ting the tire of a wheel ; the iron ring, bemg heated in the circle of burning chips and coals, enlarges in bulk so as easily to slip over the fel- ly, which it compresses tightly as it grows cool on the application of cold water. It is seen in liquids in the rise of mercury in the thermome- ter ; and in aeriform bodies in the ascending cur- rents of heated air, or more plainly in the burst- ing of a tight bladder as the air it encloses swells by exposure to heat. The amount of expansion exhibited by different bodies by any given increase of heat is very various. Those only which exist in the aeriform state, or as vapors, can be classed together in this respect They all expand very nearly if not exactly alike by the same increase of temperature. Like air they increase in bulk from the freezing to the boiling point, so that, according to Gay-Lus- sac, 100 measures at the lower degree fill 187i at the higher. For each degree of Fahrenheit the expansion of air, according to the accurate determinations of Regnault, is, under a con- stant volume, ^-Jt7 of its volume ; for the less condensable gases it is perceptibly larger. Each solid body has its own rate of expansion, which however is not uniform for equal incre- ments of temperature, but increases at high degrees in a faster ratio. This, unless special allowance is made for it in the graduation, in-
EXPANSION
33
trodaoes error in thermonietera, those marked off in equal divisions for the high degrees evi- dentlj not heing oorrect. Another source of error in these instmments is the unequal ex- pansion of the different materials. The mer- carj from the freezing to the hoiling point of water expands, according to Regnaolt, in vol- ume 1 part in 55*08 ; between the latter and 392°, 1 in 54*61; and between this and 572°, 1 in 54*01. Glass expands in the same nagp of temperature, in the first division,
YfV r t 1^ ^® second^ Jf\^ « '^^ ^ ^® third,
Sfy.y. In a mercurial thermometer it is the fference of expansion between the mercury and the glass that is indicated, and the tem- peratnre indicated hj 586* would correspond to 667* determined by the expansion of glass alone, or to 572* by the air thermometer. Varioas instruments called pyrometers have been devised to determine high degrees of tem- perature by the amount of expansion of bars of different metals. They are all approximate only in their results, unless the rate of expan- sion of the metal bars has been accurately in- Testigated by the help of the air thermometer ; and the labor attending such a study has rarely been bestowed upon these instruments, which in every form are now generally superceded hj the air thermometer itself or by the electric pjrometer of Siemens. (See Ptbometeb, and Thssmombtxb.) The expansions of various 0olids from 82* to 212* are presented in the following table :
AnthMiilM.
MAIRA. |
ExpMMlM |
BxpaaslOD |
in length. |
la balk. |
|
Zioceast |
lin 886 |
1 In 112 |
- sheet.... |
1 •» 840 |
1 - 118 |
T.etd |
1-851 1 »* M6 1 •* W4 |
1 - 117 1 - 172 1 - 176 |
TiB |
||
?av«r |
||
Bnu |
1-586 1-582 |
1 - 179 1 - 194 |
^::::::: |
||
1-682 |
1 " 227 |
|
Blsorath. |
1 - 712 |
1 »*^ 289 |
Iron |
1-846 1 " 928 |
1-282 1-807 |
intimoBy.... |
||
Cntempered |
||
itoet |
1-926 |
1 " 809 |
Pkihdium.... |
1 -1,000 |
1 - 888 |
Phttamn |
1 "1,181 |
1 " 877 |
GiiM wtthoat |
||
leid |
1 "1,148 |
1 - 882 |
FHotglau.... |
1 -1,248 |
1 - 416 |
Daolell. Bmeatoa.
LftTolsler «ad La- place.
Smoaton. DnloDff and Petit Smeaton.
Lavoisier and Laplace. WoUaaton.
{-Dnlongr and Petit
Lari^ierand Laplaee.
The expansion in bulk is found by measurement to be about three times the linear expansion, as it should be on geometrical principles of the relations between the side and the volume of a cabe. When metals become liquid by fusion, a change takes place in their density; their specific gravity increases in the cases of iron, biamath, and antimony, as is shown by solid pieces floating upon the surface of a melted maaa of the same metal. Thus it is that in castings the mould is entirely filled in its mi- AQtest parts. On the other hand, phosphorus, mercury, gold, silver, copper, and many other sobstances contract as they become solid ; and this is the reason why coins of the last
three metals cannot be oast, but require to be stamped. — A great difference is shown in the amount of expansion of different liquids ; thus water gains \ in bulk when its temperature is raised from 82* to 812*, oil of turpentine •^, and mercury in a glass tube ^. A remarka- ble exception to the general law of expansion of liquids in proportion as they are heated ts shown in the case of pure water. When this is cooled from the temperature of 60* it con- tin ues to contract until it reaches 89 *2 *. From this point it expands until it freezes at 82*, its rate of expausion being about the same from 89* whether it is heated or cooled; but if kept perfectly quiescent, Despretz found that below 82* water retains its liquidity and con- tinues to expand. He gives the following de- termmationB:
OnUgnds. |
1 Dmlty. 1 |
Owlignd*. |
JhotHj, |
-90 6 8 0 |
0-998^71 0*990,062 0-999 J^77 0-999.S78 |
+8* 4 5 6 |
0-999,999 1-000,000 0-999,999 0-999,969 |
An important beneficial effect of this peculiar- ity in the expansion of water is seen in the pro- tection it affords to the natural bodies of this fluid, as lakes and ponds, against being frozen throughout. For, as the surface of the water is cooled below 89* by the cold air above, this portion by its expansion becomes specifically lighter than the water below, and consequently remains at the top. At 82* a covering of ice forms over the water, which being a poor con- ductor of heat preserves the great body of water from falling to a lower temperature than 89*, the point of its greatest density. The pas- sage from the liquid to the solid state on the abstraction of heat is determined to a very con- siderable extent by the superficial tension of the liquid ; thus Despretz finds that in fine ca- pillary tubes water may be cooled to — 20* 0. ( — 4* F.) without solidification. — So great a power is exerted by the contraction of metals on cooling after being expanded by heating, that this has been applied as a mechanical force, as in the bringing together of heavy walls of buildings which had separated by un- equal settling. Strong iron bars are passed horizontally through the opposite walls, and being heated throughout their length are close- ly keyed up and then allowed to cool ; and the process is repeated until the desired effect is obtained. This suggests the danger of insert- ing bars of metal closely in walls of masonry, as the force exerted by their expansion tends to thrust portions of the wall out of place. The expansion of water has been practically applied to the rending of rocks, the fiuid being poured into the fissures and allowed to freeze. This is one of the most efficient agents employed by nature for the disintegration of rocky cliffs. The expansion by access of moisture is exhib- ited in the swelling of the fibre of wood or of
84
EXPLOSIVES
ropes. This, too, is sometimes employed as a powerful mechanical force, as by inserting wedges of wood into cracks, or into holes drilled for the purpose in rocks, and then cot- ering the wood with water. As this is absorbed, the wood slowly expands, exerting a steady pressure of surprising force. The presence of nfoisture in the atmosphere is ascertained by instruments based on this principle. (See Ht- OROifSTBT.) For the effect of expansion of steam, see Steam.
EXPLOSITEBt An explosion may be occasioned by the sudden removal of resistance to an ex- panding force, as in the case of steam boilers ; but it is more frequently the result of a sudden generation of energy by chemical reactions. Most explosions of this kind are instances of rapid combustion ; and an explosive compound, as distinguished from a merely inflammable one, may be defined as one which contains with- in itself the elements of combustion or other chemical change, liberating mechanical energy. Thus the fire damp of coal mines, when pure, is inflammable ; but mixed with a certain pro- portion of atmospheric oxygen, it becomes ex- plosive. The ingredients of an explosive com- pound remain inert unless the condition of chemical reaction is supplied. This is usually heat, produced by the direct contact of a heated body, or by pressure or percussion. In some instances, however, the introduction of a new substance, or the change of aggregate condi- tion in one or more of the ingredients, may occasion explosion. The number of explosives known to chemists is considerable. Chiefly those which are employed in the arts will be considered in this article. — Gunpowder, Of these, gunpowder is the most widely employed, partly because the longest known, but mainly because it is not liable to spontaneous change, or explosion from otiier causes than a very high temperature (that of a spark or flame, for example), and because the manufacture can be cheaply carried on to any required extent, and can be so varied as to control the qualities of the product according to the proposed use. Gunpowder presents to the eye a mass of grains, usually angular and of uniform size, dark color, and polished surface. The different varieties range from 0*5 to 4*5 mm. in diameter of grain. Its specific gravity is 1*8 to 2*0. It explodes when rapidly heated above 800® 0. It IS composed of charcoal, sulphur, and nitre, the two former being the combustible ingre- dients, and the latter, by the surrender of its oxygen, supporting their combustion. Ac- cording to the theory formerly held, the nitre is reduced during the combustion of rifle powder to nitrogen and potassium, the latter forming with sulphur potassium sulphide, while all the oxygen combines with the carbon of the charcoal to form carbon dioxide (carbonic acid). The formula expressing this reaction would be 2KNOa+S + 80=8CO4-K,8+2N; and the proportions of ingredients in 100 parts would be: nitre, 74*84; sulphur, 11*84; char-
coal, 18*82. From blasting powder, on the other hand, carbonic oxide as well as carbonic acid is formed, and the theoretical reaction is shown in the equation EN0s+S-i-2C=KS-h N + C0« + CO, requiring the proportions : nitre, 64*4; sulphur, 20*4; carbon, 15*2. How near- ly these formulas are adhered to will appear from the following tables of analyses :
I. MlUTAXT POWDBB.
VARIETIES.
Theoretical proportloDa Aastrian
English
Frendi .. PnuaUn.
ordnance . . amallarma
Baaaian
United SUtea.
Char* CIMl. |
Sal. pbnr. |
Nitre. |
18-82 |
11-84 |
74-64 |
181 |
11-8 |
Tft-6 |
lfi-0 |
10*0 |
760 |
1842 |
12-80 |
78-78 |
U-22 |
8-68 |
77-16 |
18-7 |
10-1 |
762 |
160 |
10-0 |
750 |
12-6 |
12-5 |
760 |
12-5 |
12-5 |
76-0 |
18-5 |
11-6 |
75-0 |
17-7 |
11-7 |
70-6 |
14 (or |
100 |
76 (or |
16) |
75) |
Aothorftjr.
Linck.
Lottoer.
KArolyL
Uro. Otto. CkMnbea. Magnaa. Gottlieb. Meyer.
Ordnanee Man- oaL
II. Bou OR Spoktimo POWDXI.
American Engliah ..
French.
"B"
Gennaa Italian.. Boaaian
14-4 |
9-9 |
76-7 |
12-5 |
7-8 |
79^ |
170 |
8-0 |
76-0 |
14-0 |
8-0 |
78-0 |
12-0 |
10-0 |
78-0 |
18-6 |
9-6 |
76-9 |
15-5 |
10-5 |
74-0 |
11-27 |
9-84 |
78-99 |
18-2 |
8-6 |
78-2 |
12 0 |
80 |
80H) |
III. BLAsniro Powdbe.
Theoretical proportiona
Anatrian
iVench'' round ^
French ** ordinary "...
Freiberg '* doable **
Harte, coarae, atrong...
**■ mediom
** weak, fine
Italian
Ifanafeld
Buaaian
Weetpbaltan
16 21
2 86
1800 ]6'00 18-00 20-48 21-87 19-48 12-00 20-96 16-70 16-88
20-4
18-45
20-00
20-00
18-'40
26 44
16-56
16-24
16-00
11-76
16-60
16-88
64-4
60-19
6200
66-00
78-60
€8-12
61-94
64-82
70-00
67-20
66-70
€8-84
Ott&
Combea^
Otto.
Berue de FAr*
tUlerle. Bnnaen. Precha
Bzlha.
Gombea.
Bzlha.
Lottner.
Dingier.
Bzf^
u
These variations are due partly to the variable quality of the ingredients, particularly the charcoal, which always contains water and ash. The best coal (from light non-resinous wood, like poplar, black alder, or willow) rarely contains over 83 per cent, of carbon. The composition of powder has been also varied from the theoretical formulas to ob- tiain a variety in its effects, and the researches of Bunsen, Shishkoff, Karolyi, Craig, and Fe- dorow have shown that the simple reactions upon which the formulas were based do not take place ; that the products of combustion, which vary somewhat with the pressure under which ignition takes place, comprise, among the gases, small quantities of carbonic oxide, hydrogen, sulphuretted hydrogen, and free ox- ygen, and, in the smoke and residue, chiefly the sulphate and carbonate, not the sulphide, of potassinm. Bunsen found the gases from rifle powder to be but 81*4 per cent of the weight. The pressure generated by the com-
EXPLOSIVES
35
bDsdon of ganpowder has been variouslj esti- mated. Odtzschmann gives the foliowing ta- ble, compiled from different aathorities :
AuAuHj, ErtlsMto In •tmiiplMm.
Koblll 1.000
Hotton 1,700 to 2,500
Myer 8,800 to 4,000
BriaOfOD. 4,000
Prechtl 4,400
Kaniuvsch and Heeren 5,000
Gurtt 8,980 to 8,640
Plobert 7,600
Benoain 10,000
Bomfiml 29,178 to 54,740
The nsoal estimate at present is for rifle pow- der 4,000, and for blasting powder 2,000 at- mospheres. It is believed that in practice half these fignres are realized. The latest re- searches npon the heat set free by the com- bojttion of powder, those of Ronx and Sarran {Comptet Rendui^ July, 1878), give the fol- lowing resolts :
VABBTDS.
Ffne sporting.
Ctimon
B moflket. . . .
Export
Blasting
OOMPOUTIOIf. |
OkloriM pwkllo- grunOM. |
||
KIti*. |
Sal- phar. |
Char- coal. |
|
78 75 74 72 62 |
10 12-5 10-6 18 20 |
12 12-5 15-5 15 18 |
807-8 762-9 780-8 694-2 570-2 |
Weigfatof KMiper
kilo- gnuiuiM.
0 897 0-412 0-414 0-446 0-499
The time within which this pressure is devel- oped is an important element in the practical effect. The particles of the powder are suc- cessively ignited and combustion becomes gen- eral. The rate of ignition is more rapid, and that of combustion is slower, the larger the grain of the powder. The fl nest-grained pow- der, when pressed closely together, behaves like a single mass, burning with comparative slowness, and hence showing less explosive power. It is employed in rockets and fire- works. For rifled guns, a coarse grain is now preferred, since its qaick ignition gives the force required to press the projectile into the grooves, while its prolonged combustion aug- ments the pressure until the projectile leaves the gDQ with maximum velocity. Blasting pow- der, which is required to lift and split, rather than to throw, is usually coarse-grained, though modem practice is tending to the employment of " quicker " powders ; a change due to the observed effectiveness of the nitro-glycerine compounds. The composition of ordinary blasting powder, as above shown, effects a slow combustion. — A blasting powder now used to a considerable extent in this country ' contains Chili saltpetre (nitrate of soda) in- stead of nitre. It is unsuitable for sporting or military pnrposes. Another variation from the usual formula is Oliver's powder, made in Pennsylvania, in which peat is substituted for charcoal, with increased safety of manufacture and cheapnese of product. The West Virginia mineral grahamite, a hydrocarbon, has also been experimented npon as a substitute for
charcoal, with favorable results. Oommon powder soaked at the moment of using in nitro-glycerine has been used in Swedish quar- ries, with trebled effectiveness. Dynamite is safer and better. Pyronene is a cheap, infe- rior blasting powder, made of 52*5 parts nitrate of soda, 20 parts sulphur, and 27*5 parts spent tan. In Davey's powder a part of the char- coal is replaced by flour, starch, &c., for safety in preparation. Slow-burning powders used in Germany (Neumeyer's, Klip's, &c.) contam less sulphur and more coal than the ordinary kind. They are recommended for safety and small amount of smoke. — An intimate mixture of 8 parts nitre, 2 parts dry carbonate of potassa, and 1 part sulphur will when slow- ly heated (tf.^., in an iron spoon) first melt, and soon after explode with deafening noise. The sulphur acts upon the carbonate of potassa, producing " liver of sulphur," a mixture of the sulphide with tbe sulphate of potassa; this is suddenly oxidized by the decomposition of the nitric acid, and nitrogen gas is liberated. The experiment should be tried with a small quantity only, say as much as will cover the tip of a knife blade. (See Gunpowdeh.) — Pyroxylins, In the explosives classed above under gunpowder, the sulphur plays the part of a stimulant of chemical action, by its supe- rior readiness to ignite. It is the nitric acid and the carbon which, forming voluminous gases, generate the explosive force ; and these substances can be brought together in such ways as to form explosive compounds which have the advantage of leaving no solid residues or smoke. Pyroxyline is the name given to the class of detonating substances produced by the action of concentrated nitric acid upon the cellulose of cotton, hemp, paper, sawdust, &c. Gun cotton was discovered in 1846 by Schdn- bein, and also by Bdttger. The conversion of cotton into gun cotton by the action of nitric acid scarcely changes its outward appearance. Chemically, it contains much hyponitrlc acid. It will ignite at 50"* to ISO'' 0., and leaves no residue after explosion. Its effectiveness ia variously estimated at from two to six (prob- ably four) times that of gunpowder. Accord- ing to the best modem formula, gun cotton is trinitro-cellulose, 0«H»(NO,)80s. The pro- ducts of combination are entirely gaseous. Karolyi gives the following, in 100 parts :
OONSTJTUSNTS. |
By TOlVBMa |
Bjr wtlRhl. |
Onrhonlr! ozldff , r, , t - |
28-W 19-11 1117 8-88 8*fi6 1-89 SI -98 |
28'9S |
iJarbonlc acid |
80-48 |
|
Ifanh nu |
6-47 |
|
Binoxide of nitromn |
9-69 |
|
Nitrogen |
8-71 |
|
Carbon |
1-60 |
|
Aauaoofl vsDor |
14-28 |
|
10000 |
10000 |
When burned under pressure, the nitric oxide reacts more coinpletely with the carburetted hydrogen, and the result of this and other
86
EXPLOSIVES
causes is a greater yolame of evolved gases. The actual product of heat units as compared with the combustion of gunpowder is propor- tional, according to Dr. Craig, to the respective amounts of oxygen concerned in the two cases ; but the greater volume of the gases from gun cotton renders their temperature lower and their mechanical effect greater. This material bums without explosion when ignited in the open air. Ordinary percussion sometimes ig- nites it — a source of peril in packing bore holes. The acid and aqueous gases which it evolves have prevented its use in ordnance ; moreover, it is very hygroscopic and liable to spontaneous decomposition, sometimes leading to explosion, rendering its storage perilous. Many of these objections, together with that of bulk, have been removed by AbePs process of manufac- turing gun cotton in compressed solid cylinders, which bum harmlessly, can be stored and trans- ported with safety, and explode with great power when ignited under confinement by means of a detonating powder. The experi- ments of Gen. Lenk, in Austria, led to this im- provement. The compressed gun-cotton is adopted in that country for artillery. Gun cotton is used as a filter for strong acids, and also (dissolved in ether) as a varnish. (See Collodion, and Gun Cotton.) — Xyloidine is the white, pulverulent, and very explosive sub- stance obtained by Braconnet in 1888, by treating starch with concentrated nitric acid. Lithofracteur is the name originally given to a white blasting powder, consisting of coarsely ground saltpetre and sulphur, with a third substance, supposed to be sawdust or bran, treated with nitric acid. The improved litho- fracteur described below is a different sub- stance.— Schnitzels chemical powder, some- times called wood gunpowder (introduced in 1864), contains no sulphur; and the charcoal is replaced with wood which has been tritu- rated, deprived of its acids, soluble salts, pro- teine, and albumen, and treated with concen- trated sulphuric and nitric acid. These grains of wood are subsequently saturated with nitrate of potash or baryta, or both, and dried. The powder can be wet and dried again without weakening it; hence it may be kept or trans- ported in a damp state with perfect safety. It 18 about one third as dense as gunpowder, is more powerful, and leaves but a trifling residue. But it seems to have been superseded by nitro- glycerine compounds. Some inexplicable ex- plosions have occurred with it. The gases produced from it in mining have been com- pliuned of, possibly without good reason. — Haloxyline is a powder tried in Austria, which contains no sulphur, and in which the char- coal is apparently represented by woody fibre. Like tlie slow-burning Neumeyer powder, it gives comparatively little noxious gas, is hygro- scopic, and works better in solid than in fis- sured rocks. It is asserted to bum harmlessly in the air; but like many other ** harmless" powders, it has given rise to some strange and
disastrous explosions. The above account of its composition follows the Oesterreichuehe Zeitsehr\fl (1866 and 1867); Wagner's '' Tech- nology " (1870) says it contains charcoal, nitre, and yellow pmssiate of potassa. — Nitro-glyce- vine. This substance, known also as fnlmina- ting oil, nitroleum, trinitrine, glyceryl nitrate, and glonoine, and undoubtedly the most impor- tant explosive since gunpowder, was discovered in 1847 by Sombrero, then a student with Pe- louze in Paqs. It is formed by treating gly- cerine with concentrated sulphuric and nitric acid. (See Gltcerinb.) Until 1864 it found no practical application, except as a homoeo- pathic remedy for headaches similar to those which it causes. In that year Alfred Nobel, a Swede of Hamburg, began its manufacture on a large scale, and, though he sacrificed a brother to the terrible agent he had created, has persevered until in its later and safer forms nitro-glycerine has come into wide use and popularity. It is a clear, oily, colorless, odor- less, and slightly sweet liquid, heavier than water and insoluble in it, but soluble in ether and methyl alcohol; crystidlizes^in long needles at 4° to 11* 0. At —15° C. it becomes after a while thick ; prolonged exposure to — 2° O. solidifies it. It detonates in the open air, under a strong blow or shock ; ignites with difficulty when poured out in a thin sheet, and even then burns incompletely without explosion. It can be evaporated at 100° C, if boUing is avoided ; but boiling, or the temperature of 180° 0., causes an explosion. Confined or frozen, so as to permit the instantaneous transmission of an impulse through the mass, it will explode, sometimes under a very slight shock. It is usa- ally exploded with a detonating fuse. When badly prepared or preserved, it is liable to de- composition, yielding ^es which exert a pres- sure within the contaming vessel and create a condition of perilous sensitiveness to external shocks. The modem formula is CiH^NsOb, or
(NO.). I ^' ' ^^"^® ^* ^* glycerine, ^^^* | O,, in whicn 8 atoms of H have been replaced by 8 atoms of NO.. Its specific gravity is 1*6; and 100 parts yield on combustion :
CONSnTUKNTS.
AqneooB Twor
Carbonic ACJa
Oxygen
Kitrofen
Bywitght. |
20 63 8-5 18-5 |
100*0 |
60,400^
46l900
8.000
88,600
1»«800
According to L'H6te, the oxygen is united with part of the nitrogen as protoxide. The heat liberated by the combustion is estimated to be twice as much as that of gunpowder; hence, while one volume of the latter yields in practice 200 volumes of cold gases, expanded by heat to 800 volumes, an equal weight of nitro-glyoerine yields 1,298 volumes of gas, ex- panded to 10,884 volumes, giving 18 times the force of gunpowder. Bat the explosion takes
EXPLOSIVES
37
place much more suddenly than that of gnnpow- der ; hence the practical gain in effect is greater than the above figures show. The saddenness with which the forcd is developed renders nitro-glycerine nnsnitable for ordnance. The verj dangerons character of this material has led to various restrictions npon its transporta- tion. It continnes to be nsed in many places, and is prepared on the spot as it is required. In the Uooeac tunnel, Massachusetts, the Uni- ted States works at Uallett's Point, New York, and at San Francisco, it was employed. Its insolubility in water and its liquid form and high gravity render it very convenient for sub- marine operations and blasting in wet ground. But its form brings a danger that portions of it, unexploded even in bore holes, may be scat- tered in rock fissures, or portions may be split accidentally, or may remain in vessels once filled, and afterward be exploded by accident. The proper way to get rid of it is to pour it into a running stream. To remove the great dangers connected with the preparation and traitfportation of this material, many proposi- tions have been made, principally for mixing the oil with some substance (wood spirit, sul- phate of zinc, lime or magnesia, &o.) which would render it inexplosive, and which could afterward be removed by simple means (e, g,^ bj water) when the oil was to be used. None of these have come into use. When congealed it has been thought more dangerons than when fluid; but this view is now contradicted by many practical authorities. Certainly careless handling and thawing of frozen nitro-glycerine has caused much loss of life and property. Through the pores or in the stomach, even in small quantities, this oil causes a terrible head- ache and colic. Headache likewise results from inhaling the gases of its combustion ; but all persons are not alike affected by these ; and it is probable that most persons suffer litUe in- eonvenience from this cause when they have become accustomed to it. — ^Nobel introduced in Swedish quarries the practice of soaking comm3n gunpowder with nitro-glycerine be- fore blasting. The effect produced was very great; but this method was soon superseded by the invention of dynamite or giant powder, also introduced by NobeL Dynamite is finely pnlverized silex, or ulicious ashes, or infusorial earth (most frequently the last), saturated with about three times its weight of nitro-glyoerine, and constituting a mass resembling damp Gra- ham flour. The pulverulent form prevents the transmission of ordinary sudden shocks, except nnder pressure in a confined space. The pres- aare of the inert mineral constituents serves ^ to absorb heat, so that a high temperature cannot be so easily imparted to the whole ; but when Imparted, this temperature effects a great expansion of the gases and increased effective- ness of explosion. Ijpited in the open air, dyna- niite bams quietly with nitrous fumes. Exploded ^asoally by means of a fulminating fuse or cap), ft gi?es carbonic acid, nitrogen, and hydrogen,
and leaves a white ash, with little or no smoke. Under favorable circumstances, the effective- ness of dynamite is equal or supenor to that of nitro-glycerine ; a fact not surprising, if it be remembered that the latter is liable to scat- ter unexploded drops, by reason of the maxi- mum rapidity of its ignition. Dynamite is now generally recognized as the safest of all explo- sives. It is not affected by a prolonged tem-i perature of 100° C, nor is it as dangerous a9 nitro-glycerine when it solidifies (at 8*^ C). Neither light nor electricity nor ordinary shocks cause it to decompose or explode. The prin- cipal dangers connected with its use are those of the strong fulminating powders used in the percussion fuses to explode it. It is also poa- sible that if dynamite is carelessly made, it may contain an excess of nitro-glycerine, which, overcoming the capillary force of the mineral particles, may collect in drops and settle f^om the mass, becoming a source of serious accidents. Moreover, it may be that freezing, or thawing after freezing, has a tendency to segregate the oil. — Dualline, introduced in 1869 by Lieut. Dittmar, is another nitro-glycerine powder, consisting probably (the exact composition is a secret) of Schnitzels wood gunpowder, sat- urated with this oil. Another formula is, in 100 parts, 50 of nitro-glycerine, 80 of 6ne saw- dust, and 20 of nitre. It has been considera- bly used in Germany and the United States. As compared with dynamite (which it resem- bles in many respects), it has the advantage that it can be exploded under confinement with an ordinary blasting fuse; tiiat it does not congeal so easily as dynamite ; and that it is cheaper. As a disadvantage, Serlo mentions, that under some conditions it partially ex- plodes, partially burns, and in this case pro- duces noxious gases. — ^Improved lithofracteur, or lithofracteur-dynamite, manufactured by Krebs at Deutz near Cologne, is supposed to be the former lithofracteur saturated with ni- tro-glycerine. Another formula is, in 100 parts, 52 of nitro- glycerine, 80 of silex, 12 of stone coal, 4 of nitrate of soda, and 2 of sul- phur. This would be a mixture of dynamite with a very bad gunpowder. The safety and effectiveness of dynamite are claimed for this powder, with an additional advantage that it can be exploded at much lower temperature — as low, according to some experiments, as — 12° 0. — ^Nobel has recently patented new nitro-glycerine powders, of different degrees of strength. The strongest consists of 68 parts nitrate of baryta and 12 parts rich bituminous coal, saturated with 12 parts nitro-glycerine. Nearly as powerful is a mixture of 70 parts nitrate of baryta, 10 parts resin, and 12 parts nitro-glyoerine. The effect of each may be in- creased by adding 5 to 6 parts sulphur. They are exploded with percussion fuses. — Dr. Jus- tus Fuchs, formerly in NobePs employ, has proposed as an improvement on dynamite a compound containing 85 instead of 75 per cent, of nitro-glyoerine, and instead of infusorial
88
EXPLOSIVES
earth a chemically prepared substance, possess- ing greater absorbing power, and capable of complete combustion with almost no solid resi- due.— ^The Oolonia powder, manufactured in Cologne, is said to be a black gunpowder, with 80 to 85 per cent, of nitro-glycerine. It is ex-
$loded by artificial means only. — Chlorate of "^otassa Powders. The property of acids con- taining large proportions of oxygen to part with it readily is strongly shown by chloric acid, HC10», in which the oxygen is very loosely held. The anhydric acid cannot be isolated ; but the salts (particularly of potassa and baryta) have been extensively employed in the manufacture of explosives, by mixing with combustible ma- terials. Even the heat of percussion or friction causes them when so mixed to detonate. A few centigrammes of chlorate of potassa rubbed in a mortar with sulphur or sulphide of anti- mony, will explode loudly and perhaps shatter the mortar. A chlorate should never be mixed by rubbing with a combustible substance. A mixture of chlorate of potassa with sugar, sul- phur, sulphide of antimony, or similar substan- ces, may be ignited by sunlight alone, or by a drop of sulphuric acid. On this principle were based the matches (now out of fashion) which were tipped with a mixture of chlorate of po- tassa and sugar, and were ignited by pressing them u[)on asbestus. saturated with sulphuric acid. During the French revolution, it was attempted to replace nitre in gunpowder with chlorate of potassa ; but the mixture was too explosive for artillery purposes. Berthollet^s experiments at Essonne, in 1792, were stopped by a terrible explosion ; he had a narrow es- cape, and several were killed. A cane, striking powder on the floor, was the cause. Percus- sion caps were formerly filled with gunpowder out of which the nitre had been leached, and to which this chlorate had then been added. Sir "William Armstrong uses a mixture of amor- phous phosphorus and chlorate of potassa as a percussion powder for discharging ordnance. A mixture of equal weights of black sulphide of antimony and chlorate of potassa is general- ly employed for this purpose. — ^White gunpow- der, introduced in 1849 by Augendre, for bronze ordnance and shells, is composed of 28 parts yellow prussiate of potassa, 28 parts loaf sugar, and 49 parts chlorate of potassa. According to Wagner, the gaseous products of complete combustion should be 47*4 per cent., and the solid residue (cyanide and chloride of potassium and carburet of iron) 62*6 per cent. The gases from 100 grammes would amount, at 0° G. and 769 mm. barometric pressure, to 40,680 cubic centimetres ; and at 2604*5° C, the estimated temperature of combustion, to 481,162 cubic centimetres. The cost and corrosiveness of this powder have prevented its adoption. — Blake's "safety explosive," patented in Eng- land, consists of one part sulphur and two of chlorate of potash. These substances are kept dry and separate, and mixed when required. The powder burns slowly when ignited, but its
explosion is effected by means of a detonating tube, containing the compound itself, flilmina- ting mercury, and ordinary powder. The last is ignited. — A blasting powder is made at Plymouth, England, consisting of tan bark soaked in chlorate of potash and covered with powdered sulphur. It is said to bum slowly in the open air, but to explode with great en- ergy when confined. — Explosive paper is pre- pared by impregnating paper with a mixture of 9 parts chlorate of potassa, A\ of nitre, 8f of ferrocyanide of potassium, 81 of powdered charcoal, y^ of starch, yf^ of chromate of po- tassa, and 80 of water which has been boiled about an hour. The paper, when dry, cannot be exploded by jar or percussion, or by a tem- perature less than that of its combustion. Ex- periments with it in Austria have given good results. — Chloride of nitrogen is perhaps the most terrible explosive known to chemists. Dulong, who discovered it in 1812, and lost an eye and several fingers on the occasion, kept the discovery a secret, lest other chemists should repeat his perilous experiments. The unfortunate result was that Davy, who subse- quently made the same discovery, was also in- jured. It is sometimes unintentionally pro- duced in the treatment of ammoniacal solutions with chlorine. In such cases the chemist, hav- ing discovered its presence, quietly retires, locks the laboratory, and leaves the dreadful intruder to spontaneous and harmless decom- position, which takes place in the course of a day or two. Hypochloric acid, in gas or liquid form, is scarcely less dangerous. — Pierate of Potash Powders, Picric acid, obtained by the action of nitric acid upon carbolic acid, is a compound of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, the formula, as given in "Wag- ner's " Technology," being CtH.(NO,).0. Its salts are explosive per se, and have been used in torpedoes. Their preparation has given rise to some frightful explosions; one at the Sorbonne, in 1869, killed five persons, and wounded many more. DessignoUe's powder for blasting is a mixture of pierate and nitrate of potassa, to which for a gunpowder charcoal is added. Sulphur is unnecessary. The ad- vantages claimed for it are the harmless charac- ter of the products of combustion (nitrogen, aqueous vapor, and carbonate of potash), and