COMPANY. 228 COMPARATOK. British South Africa Company, in the same year. All of the.se companies have had qualified rights of soveieiyiity and powers of government vested in them, and they have all continued the role of the older companies in expanding the limits of the British Empire. See Anderson, Origin of English Commerce; Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce; Schanz, Eng- Usche lliindelspoUlik; Cawston and Keane, Early Chartered Comi>aiiies ; Westlake, Interna- tional Iauv (London. 1S80) : Hall, Treatise on the Foreiqn I'oners Jurisdiction of the British Crotvn (O.xford, Eng., 1804) ; and the comprehensive treatise of Bonassieux, Les grandes compagnies de commerce (Paris, 1892). City Companies. The incorporated trades or guilds of the city of London. The origin of these companies is to he traced hack to the close organization and exclusive memhership of the media>val craft or trade guilds, which appeared in England in the early part of the twelfth cen- tury. These had various privileges conferred upon them from time to time by royal charter until, in the latter part of the fifteenth century, they exercised all the powers of government within the city of London, and, indeed, consti- tuted its entire citizenship. Thereafter the 'freedom of the city' consisted in membership, as a 'liveiyman,' or 'freeman.' of one of the city companies, and the franchises of the city were exercised in this fashion until 1725, when the companies were deprived of some portion of their political authority by act of Parliament. They were further restricted by the reform legislation of 1832 and 1807, but still retain the right of choosing the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff, Chamber- lain, and other civic officers. Though the com- panies have b_v lapse of time entirely lost their trading character, they still retain their ancient organization, many of their exclusive privileges, icnd, in some cases, great wealth. There survive 12 great companies and 62 lesser ones. See Guild; London ; and consult Brentano, Guilds; Gross, Gild Merchant; Norton. The City of London (London, 1820) ; and Report of the Royal Commission on the Licery Companies (Parlia- mentary Papers, 1884). Modern Trading Comp.vnies. In a legal sense, the term company may be applied to any association of individuals for business purposes. This may be a partnership of the ordinary type, a joint-stock association — which is commonly a large partnership formed and conducted in ways ];rescribed by statute — or a business or trading corporation." It is in the last sen.se that the term is commonly employed in England. In the United States' it has no such definite legal signification. though there is no inappropriate- ness in ap|)lying it here to any of the three forms of association above enumerated, it usually refers to the second or third form. The ex- pression 'company law' may have reference either to 'the law of business corporations or of unincorporated associations. All of these forms of association for trading purposes are dealt with under their resjjective heads. See Corpora- tion : Joint-Stock Association ; P.vbtnership; Voluntary Association, and the titles and authorities referred to thereunder. COMPANY. In military organization, an ali- quot part of a regiment or battalion, though not absolutely or necessarily so. In the United States all infantry regiments are divided into companies, as is also the .corps of engineers. Troops of cavalry and batteries of artillery gen- erally correspond in command and organization to companies of infantry. The average strength of companies in the United States and British armies is 100 men. On the Continent of Europe the number varies from 100 to 2o0 men in Ger- many and Russia. In the former country the captain of infantr^■ is a mounted officer, and has three subaltern oMicers under his command. The general trend of modern military tactics is to reduce the size of the imit of command in attack formations, largely because of the vast area over which comp.arativelj' small bodies of troops are .scattered, and the corresponding difficulty of their effective control ; thus the importance which heretofore has attached to the regiment or l)attalion is likely to attach to the company, and greatly alter its present formation and or- ganization. See Army Uru. ization ; Tactics, Military. COMPANY, John. The popular name for the old East India Company (q.v.). COMPANY, Ship's. All persons who are regularly employed in various capacities on board a ship. In the United States Navy it is also frequently used to designate the crew only. See CoiiPLEsrENT; Crew. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. For defini- tion, sco])e, and bibliography, see Anatomy, and Anato.vy, Comp.r.tive. In this work all the larger topics dealing with the anatomy and Jjhys- iology of men and animals have been treated comparatively and with reference to their evolu- tion. Such is the character of Alimentary Sys- tem ; Circulatory' System ; Ear ; Excretory System; Eye; Foot; Hair; Hand; Integume.nt: JNU'.scfLAE System; Nervous System; Pelms; PiEproductive System ; Hespiratory System : Skeleton; Skull, and similar articles, in which the reader will find the methods of comparative anatomy exempli fieil. COMPARATIVE GRAMMAR. See Gram- mar. COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY. See :Myth and .MvTUOi.oiiV. COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY. See Phi- I.OLOIIY. COM'PARA'TOR (Lat.. comparer, from com- parare, to compare, from com-, together + par, equal). An instrument used in comparing the lengths of two graduated scales and in deter- mining accurately the amount of their difference. It consists essentially of two microscopes, each fitted with cross-hairs and capable of being moved by a micrometer screw, or else supplied with a micrometer eye-piece, or often both. (See DIicrometer. ) These micrometer microscopes are so mounted that they may be moved both laterally and forward and backward, and through them the observer looks down on the scale which is being examined. The microscopes are then moved so that their cross-hairs are either at the end or over some division of the scale, which often is so magnified that in making a settin" it is convenient to bisect the enlarged image of the mark. By means of rollers or other mechanism the platform containing the first scale is temporarily removed and a second intro- duced in its place. In this case the intersections of the cross-hairs are probably some small dis-
