The eagle was an ancient Irish coin made from base metal, used around 1270 and so named from an impression of an eagle stamped on it.
The American eagle was a gold coin of 10 dollars authorised in 1792 and first issued in 1794. It was so called on account of the eagle stamped on the reverse. Eagles were not minted between 1805 and 1837 and in 1834 its weight was slightly reduced. Research Eagle
The Early Closing Association was established in 1842 to abridge the hours of labour, and to abolish Sunday trading. In 1888 a bill raised by Sir John Lubbock calling for shops to close at 8 pm and 10 pm on Saturday's was rejected by the commons. In 1904 the Shop Hours Act provided for the early closing of shops by 'closing order' under the local authority. Research Early Closing Association
Easement is a privilege without profit, i.e. a right attached to one piece of land which allows the owner of the land to use the land of another in a particular manner. Research Easement
The East India Company was an incorporated company trading with India and the East Indies. East India Companies were founded in the 17th and 18th centuries by many European countries, the most important being the British East India Company with a close rival in the Dutch East India Company.
The British East India Company was a great English company, originally simply a trading association, which played an important part in the history of Hindustan. It was formed in 1599 in London, with a subscribed capital of about 30,000 pounds, for the purpose of trade with the East Indies. A charterwas granted to it by Queen Elizabeth I on the 31st of December, 1600 1000, for fifteen years, renewable for a similar period. In this charter the company was styled, ' The Governor and Company of the Merchants of London trading- into the East Indies.' The first voyages resulted in large profits.conferring the monopoly of trade with the East Indies.
In 1609 the charter was renewed by James I, and made perpetual, reserving power to the crown to recall it at three years' notice. Additional power was granted to the Company of seizing and confiscating ships and goods of contraband traders, either in the British dominions or in any of the places where they were authorized to trade.
Among the motives which had induced the Company to press for this renewal of their charter was the necessity they had experienced from the jealousy of the Dutch and Portuguese to send out vessels fitted not only for trade, but for defence and indeed attack. Accordingly Captain Best, who commanded the eighth expedition, attacked four Portuguese war galleons, convoying 200 sail of merchantmen, off Surat, and gained a complete victory, which so impressed the Great Mogul that he immediafiely made a treaty with Captain Best, giving the English full liberty to trade in his dominions. This treaty was concluded on the 6th of February 1613. It was followed at once by a resolution of the Company to trade on a joint-stock. 429,000 pounds was raised as capital, and apportioned in fitting out four voyages for 1613, 1614, 1615, 1617. In 1617-18 the Company was so enlarged as to include 954 proprietors, while a new joint-stock of 1,600,000 pounds was subscribed.
In 1619 a treaty was made with the Dutch, by which the two companies were to work in harmony for twenty years; but in 1629 the Dutch massacred the leading members of the English factory at Amboyna. In the feeble reigns of James and Charles I, however, the outrage remained unredressed, and the English Company, ill supported by the crown, was often reduced to great straits. Their trade, impeded by the Dutch, became unprofitable, and, to add to their difficulties, Charles I in 1635 gave a license to a rival company.
At length, under Oliver Cromwell, the Company received a new charter. A territorial footing had been acquired in Madras in 1640, to which settlement was given the control of all the factories in Bengal and the Coromandel coast, the supreme council in India still remaining at Surat. A new charter, granted by Charles II in 1660, enlarged the powers of the Company, giving it political and judicial authority in the factories and colonies established by it, with the right to appoint governors.
On the Revolution of 1688 the Company was involved in new difficulties, and in 1692 the Commons presented an address to the crown praying for their dissolution. At this time, by an accidental failure to pay a tax upon their stock, the Company formally forfeited their charter, and were compelled to accept its renewal with the important proviso of a reservation to the crown of the right to alter or modify its conditions. The maximum stock to be held by any individual was fixed at 10,000 pounds, every 1000 pounds of which was to give a vote, while the right of membership was thrown open to all British subjects.
The Scottish Parliament also sanctioned a company, but a war with Spain and the bitter opposition of the English Parliament made difficulties under which this company succumbed. Meantime the misconduct of the English company had so strengthened its enemies, that, in spite of all its opposition, a resolution in favour of the formation of a new company passed the House of Commons on 4th May, 1698, and
this company was actually constituted by Act 9 William III. cap. xliv. This act provided for the extinction of the old company, but an amalgamation was eventually arranged in 1708. The possessions of the old company at the time of amalgamation, upon which the valuation of 330,000 pounds was placed in 1700, included a large number of places in India, a footing having been by this time acquired in each if the three presidencies, besides possessions in Persia, Cochin-China., Sumatra, etc. The dividends of the Company rose rapidly after the amalgamation, and finally settled at 8 per cent; and it procured without difficulty, at various periods, a prolongation of its exclusive privileges until 1780, still with three years' notice.
In the meantime the French possessions had, as well as the English, been growing in power and importance in the East, and on the outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession in 1741 commenced those struggles (Clive being the first great English leader) by which a mercantile company was led on to establish British supremacy over nearly the whole of India.
In 1766 the right of the Company to acquire territorial possessions formed a subject of parliamentary inquiry; and the question of the political rights of the Company being thus opened up, the ministry began to act on their view of it by sending out a crown plenipotentiary to India. A regulating act was passed in 1773 remodelling the powers of the Company, and placing it completely under the control of parliament, providing for the establishment by the crown of courts of judicature in India. The charter, which expired in 1780, was renewed until 1791. The renewal act provided that the Company, which was already bound to submit to the government all despatches received from India, should submit for approval all despatches proposed to be transmitted thither. In 1784 another act established a board, afterwards known as the board of control, to superintend, direct, and control all acts, operations, and concerns relating to the civil and military government or revenues of India. The board was to consist of a principal secretary of state, the chancellor of the exchequer, and four privy-councillors nominated by the crown. The directors of the Company were bound to submit all their papers except those referring to commercial matters to this board, and obey its instructions.
From this time the political power of the Company was little more than nominal. While the right of nominating the servants of the Company was still left to the directors, the absolute right of recall was vested in the crown. A subsequent declaratory bill regulated the power of the board of control to send out troops at the expense of the Company. In 1813 the charter was renewed on condition that the right of exclusive trade should be restricted to China, while the Indiatrade should be thrown open to all British subjects. A church establishment for India was also provided by this act. The appointment of governors-general, governors, and commanders-in-chief was no longer to be valid without the direct sanction of the crown. The renewal of the Company's charter in 1834 took place amid continued opposition to their mercantile, and even to their legislative privileges. It continued them in all their possessions except the island of St Helena, put an end to the exclusive right of trade with China, and enacted that the Company should with all convenient speed close their commercial business, and make sale of all their property not retained for government purposes; all their other property was to be held in trust for the crown, which was to take over their debts and guarantee their dividend out of the revenues of India. The stock was valued at 6,000,000 pounds, which was to bear interest at 10 per cent, and be redeemable after the 30th of April, 1874, on payment of 12,000,000 pounds. The Company was now fairly in liquidation, and on the outbreak of the mutiny of 1857 it was felt indispensable to vest the government of India directly in the crown, and this was accordingly done in 1858.
Henceforth the British East India Company existed only for the purpose of receiving payment of its capital, and of the dividends due upon capital until its repayment. Research East India Company
Econometrics is the study of economic phenomena based on observed data. Its aim is sometimes described as the statistical verification of economic theories, in much the same way as experiments are used to verify theories in the natural sciences. However, this is only a partial analogy as the object of the economist's research is not always amenable to experiment. In addition, the results of econometric analysis are usually open to more than one interpretation. The main tool of the econometrician is regression analysis. This establishes the statistical relationship between two or more sets of economic data. These results can then be used for forecasting. To achieve this the economic theorist relates one economic variable (the dependent variable) to one or more other economic variables (the independent variables). The regression establishes the nature of the relationship by yielding coefficients of the relevant parameters.
One of the problems of econometrics is to ensure that data adequately reflects the underlying variable in question. For example, a monetarist will claim that the demand for money is determined by, amongst other things, the interest rate. The econometrician can regress some measure of the money stock on some particular interest rate, but must be aware that the data may not exactly represent the variables suggested by the theory. Research Econometrics
In economics, the economic cost is the total sacrifice involved in doing something. It will include the opportunity cost and therefore is greater than the accounting cost, which is restricted to the total outlay of money. Research Economic Cost
Economics is a social science concerning behaviour in the fields of production, consumption, distribution, and exchange. Economists analyse the processes involved and investigate the consequences for the individual, such organizations as the firm, and society as a whole. There are many competing schools of thought in economics: the main division has been between the Classical and neoclassical schools. Adam Smith, the founder of the Classical school, emphasized primarily the concept of economic value and the distribution of wealth between the classes - workers, capitalists, and landlords. The Marxist school of thought is one of its offshoots. The neoclassical school, now the mainstream of western economic thought, emphasizes the role of allocating scarce resources between competing ends. The founders of this school, W S Jevons and M E L Walras, were known as Marginalists. Neoclassical economics is itself divided into two broad areas of research, microeconomics - analysing the relationship between individual economic units (the consumer, firm, etc.) - macroeconomics, which analyses the connection between economic aggregates, money, total employment, and government. Both fields place a heavy emphasis on the individual or household as the basic unit of analysis, rather than the classes. Research Economics
In economics, an economy of scale is the situation in which an equal proportional increase in all inputs leads to a more than proportional increase in output. This implies that (with given input prices) average costs fall with increased output.
Economies of scale may be internal to a firm or external. Internal economies of scale result from, for example, the division of labour or indivisibilities (minimum efficient size) of fixed or working capital. They commonly arise only over a certain range of output. Since it is large firms which tend to profit from economies of scale, this causes the emergence of oligopoly or monopoly, where a few firms or a single firm dominate the market. External economies of scale are of two kinds. Firstly, technological economies exist when an industry benefits from the shared experiences or facilities of its member firms. Secondly, financial advantages occur when there are industry-wide savings in the expenditure needed to create demand, carry out market research, or otherwise maintain profitability. Diseconomies of scale (in which output increases less than proportionately with inputs) may arise if an organization becomes too unwieldy or bureaucratic. Research Economies of Scale
In economics, the effective demand is the demand for goods and services for which money is available to convert them into actual purchases. In Keynesian theory it is often argued that in a recession or a depression there will be inadequate effective demand as unemployed workers demand goods but have no means to pay for them. Similarly, firms would demand labour if only there was someone to buy their goods. Pump priming can add to effective demand and move the economy towards full employment by means of the multiplier process. Research Effective Demand
Efficiency wage theory is the theory that the productivity of a worker increases with the wages he is paid. It was first applied in the late 1950s to developing economies; in this context it became clear that higher wages enable poor workers to improve their diets and thus to become more productive. Recently, however, the argument has been applied in developed economies to explain involuntary unemployment. Higher wages raise morale and company loyalty, attract better quality workers, and result in less shirking. Thus, even in a recession, when some workers are being made redundant, firms will be unwilling to reduce wages levels to reflect the balance of supply and demand. Research Efficiency Wage Theory
The British government established an office called the Employment Exchange in 1909 for the purpose of introducing unemployed men to vacancies notified by employers. In 1912 the office took on the additional role of administering unemployment insurance. Today, the office is known as the Department of Employment and the Employment Exchanges are called Job Centres. Research Employment Exchange
Endowment assurance is an assurance policy that pays a specified amount of money on an agreed date or on the death of the life assured, whichever is the earlier. As these policies guarantee to make a payment (either to the policyholder or his or her dependants) they offer both life cover and a reasonable investment. A with- profits policy will also provide bonuses in addition to the sum assured. These policies are often used in the repayment of a personal mortgage or as a form of saving, although they lost their tax relief on premiums in the Finance Act (1984). Research Endowment Assurance
Endowment Insurance is a form of insurance whereby, in return for regular contributions, a fixed sum is payable at death or at a certain age when the insured person ceases to pay premiums. Research Endowment Insurance
An Engel curve is a curve relating the expenditure on a good as income rises. The relationship was first analysed by the 19th-century statistician C L E Engel. Engel's law states that the proportion of expenditure on food will fall as income rises, i.e. food is a necessary good. Engel curves are useful for separating the effect of income on demand from the effects of changes in relative prices. Research Engel Curve
Engrossing, forestalling and regratting are terms formerly in use for the putchase of corn or other commodoties in order to sell gain at a higher price, or in order to raise the market price of the same. These practices were once regarded as criminal, and positive statutes against them were passed in England in 1266-67, in 1350-52, in 1552, in 1562, and in 1570. The offence of engrossing was described by the statute of Edward III. as the 'getting into one's possession, or buying up, large quantities of corn, or other dead victuals, with intent to sell them again; forestalling, as the ' buying or contracting for any cattle, merchandise, or victual, coming in the way to the market, or dissuading persons from bringing their goods or provisions there, or persuading them to enhance the price when there'; and regretting, ' the buying of corn or other dead victual in any market and selling it again in the same market, or within 4 miles of the place'. By the statute of Edward VI the engrossing of corn, which included the buying of it in one market to sell it in another, was made punishable by imprisonment and pillory; and no one could carry corn from one part of the kingdom to another without a license. All the positive statutes against these offences were repealed in 1772, but they were still found to be punishable by common law, and it was not until 1844 that they entirely ceased to rank among offences. However, the financial crisis of 2009 revealed that similar practices were being employed in the buying of stocks and shares, and the debate over legality once more emerged. Research Engrossing
Entail is a system of land tenure which was introduced by the statute De Donis in 1285, and by which the holder has only a life interest in the land, which passes on his death to his heirs. Research Entail
An enterprise zone is an area, designated as such by the government, in which its aim is to restore private- sector activity by removing certain tax burdens and by relaxing certain statutory controls. Benefits, which are available for a 10-year period, include: exemption from rates on industrial and commercial property; 100% allowances for corporation- and income-tax purposes for capital expenditure on industrial and commercial buildings; exemption from industrial training levies; and a simplified planning regime. Research Enterprise Zone
An entrepot is a port where foreign merchandise which cannot enter the interior of a country is deposited in magazines under the surveillance of the customhouse officers until it is re-exported; the term is also used to describe any place where goods are sent to be distributed wherever customers are found. Research Entrepot
Equation of payments is an arithmetical rule for the purpose of ascertaining at what time it is equitable that a person should make payment of a whole debt which is due in different parts, payable at different times. Research Equation of Payments
Equitable interest is an interest in, or ownership of, property that is recognized by equity but not by the common law. A beneficiary under a trust has an equitable interest. Any disposal of an equitable interest (e.g. a sale) must be in writing. Some equitable interests in land must be registered or they will be lost if the legal title to the land is sold. Similarly, equitable interests in other property will be lost if the legal title is sold to a bona fide purchaser for value who has no notice of the equitable interest. In such circumstances the owner of the equitable interest may claim damages from the person who sold the legal title. Research Equitable Interest
Equities are the ordinary shares of a company, especially those of a publicly owned quoted company. In the event of a liquidation, the ordinary shareholders are entitled to share out the asssets remaining after all other creditors (including holders of preference shares) have been paid out. Investment in equities on a stock exchange represents the best opportunity for capital growth, although there is a high element of risk as only a small proportion (if any) of the investment is secured. Although equities pay relatively low profit-related dividends, unlike fixed-interest securities, they are popular in times of inflation as they tend to rise in value as the value of money falls. Research Equities
In law, Equity of Redemption is the advantage allowed to a mortgager of a reasonable time to redeem an estate mortgaged, when it is of greater value than the sum for which it is mortgaged. Research Equity of Redemption
Estate duty was a former tax on the estate of a deceased person at the time of his death. This tax applied in Britain from 1894 to 1974, when it was converted to capital-transfer tax. The latter tax became inheritance tax in 1986, when it reverted to a form of taxation similar to the former estate duty. The tax is levied on the assets less the liabilities of the deceased, taking into account (to forestall avoidance) certain gifts made in a defined period before the death. Research Estate Duty
The European Community (EC) is comprised of the twelve nations (Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the UK) that joined together to form an economic community, with some common monetary, political, and social aspirations. The community grew from the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community. The Commission of the European Communities was formed in 1967 with the Council of the European Communities. The community policy emerges from a dialogue between the Commission, which initiates and implements the policy, and the Council, which takes the major policy decisions. The European Parliament, formed in 1957, exercises democratic control over policy, and the European Court of Justice imposes the rule of law on the community, as set out in its various treaties. Research European Community
The European Currency Unit (ECU) is a currency medium and unit of account created in 1979 to act as the reserve asset and accounting unit of the European Monetary System. The value of the ECU is calculated as a weighted average of a basket of specified amounts of European Community currencies; its value is reviewed periodically as currencies change in importance and membership of the EC expands. It also acts as the unit of account for all EC transactions. It has some similarities with the Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund; however, ECU reserves are not allocated to individual countries but are held in the European Monetary Cooperation Fund. Private transactions using the ECU as the denomination for borrowing and lending have proved popular. The ECU was the basis for the later European currency (the Euro) which replaced many national currencies within the European Union from early 2002. Research European Currency Unit
The European Economic Community (also known as the EEC or Common Market) is the European common market set up by the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1957. At the same time the European Atomic Energy Community was set up; the controlling bodies of these three communities were merged in 1967 to form the Commission of European Communities and the Council of European Communities.
The European Parliament and the European Court of Justice were formed in accordance with the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The treaty aimed to forge a closer union between the countries of Europe by removing the economic effects of their frontiers. This included the elimination of customs duties and quotas between members, a common trade policy to outside countries, the abolition of restrictions on the movement of people and capital between member states, and a Common Agricultural Policy. In addition to these trading policies, the treaty envisaged a harmonization of social and economic legislation to enable the Common Market to work. The UK, Ireland, and Denmark joined in 1973, Greece joined in 1979, and Portugal and Spain became members in 1986, making a total of 12 nations. Research European Economic Community
An exchange is a place in large commercial towns where merchants, agents, bankers, brokers, and others concerned in commercial affairs meet at certain times for the transaction of business. The institution of exchanges dates from the 16th century. They originated in the important trading cities of Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, from which last-named country they were introduced into England. In some exchanges only a special class of business is transacted, Thus there are stock exchanges, corn exchanges, coal exchanges, cotton exchanges, etc.
In commerce, exchange, is that species of transactions by which the debts of individuals residing at a distance are cancelled by order, draft, or bill of exchange, without the transmission of specie. Thus, a merchant in London who owes 1000 pounds worth of cotton goods in Glasgow, gives a bill or order for that amount which can be negotiated through banking agencies or otherwise against similar debts owing by other parties in Glasgow. who have payments to make in London. The creditor in Glasgow is thus paid by the debtor in Glasgow, and this contrivance obviates the expense and risk of transmitting money. The process of liquidating obligations between different nations is carried on in the same way by an exchange of foreign bills. When all the accounts of one country correspond in value with those of another, so that there is an even balance, the exchange between the countries will be at par, that is, the sum for which the bill is drawn in the one country will be the exact value of it in the other. Exchange is said to be at par when, for instance, a bill drawn in New York for the payment of 100 pounds sterling in London can be purchased there for 100 pounds. If it can be purchased for less, exchange is under par and is against London. If the purchaser is obliged to give more, exchange is above par and in favour of London. Although the thousand circumstances which incessantly affect the state of debt and credit prevent the ordinary course of exchange from being almost ever precisely at par, its fluctuations are confined within narrow limits, and if direct exchange is unfavourable between two countries this can often be obviated by the interposition of bills drawn on other countries where an opposite state of matters prevails. Research Exchange
The Exchequer Court was established during the reign of Henry I to deal with questions of finance. It later took upon itself judicial business. The equity business of the Exchequer was transferred to the Court of Chancery in 1842, and in 1873 became the Exchequer division of the High Court of Justice. Research Exchequer Court
Excise is a tax on the production of goods. It was first levied in Britain in 1643 on wines, beers, tobacco etc. to raise funds to support the army against Charles I.
In the USA the first excise law was passed after an excited debate in 1790, Secretary Hamilton insisting upon the necessity of such an enactment. It levied a tax varying from nine to twenty-five cents upon every gallon of liquors distilled in the United States and a higher rate for imported liquors. Lower rates were established in 1792. The opposition was strong throughout the country, culminating in the Whisky Insurrection in Pennsylvania in 1794.
During Jefferson's administration the excise was abolished, but was revived in 1813 during the War of 1812, imposing a tax on liquor, sugar, salt, carriages, and instruments of exchange, and a stamp duty. In 1817 these duties were repealed and no excise duty was levied until 1862, during the American Civil War. This system embraced taxation upon occupations and trades, sales, gross receipts and dividends, incomes of individuals, firms and corporations, manufactures, legacies, liquors, tobacco, distributive shares and successions. Research Excise
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Money
Research Eagle
