JOHNSTONE JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES. 



257 



In the cause of his country. He was the author of a 

 paper on the Customs and Manners and Languages 

 of the Northern Indians of America, published in the 

 63d volume of the Philosophical Transactions. 



JOHNSTONE; a thriving town in Renfrewshire, 

 situated within the abbey parish of Paisley, about 

 three miles west from that town, and eleven from 

 Glasgow. Fifty years ago it consisted only of one or 

 two cottages, built near the bridge over the Black 

 Cart river, and was hence popularly called the ' Brig 

 of Johnstoue.' It is now a considerable and flour- 

 ishing town, with a population, in 1841, of 5824. It 

 owes its rapid strides to the introduction of cotton- 

 spinning, its situation being highly favourable for that 

 manufacture, whether as regards the supply of water 

 or of coal. In Johnstone and the neighbourhood, 

 there are now upwards of twenty cotton-mills, some 

 propelled by water, others by steam. There are also 

 several machine manufactories, brass and iron foun- 

 dries, and a public gas work. The inhabitants enjoy 

 the benefit of a subscription library, a mechanics' in- 

 stitution, news-rooms, &c. The Ardrossan canal from 

 Glasgow terminates in a basin at the east end of the 

 town. (See article Canal, vol. ii. p. 7.) The census 

 of Johnstone is taken with that of Paisley, and its 

 population cannot therefore be accurately given. 



JOHNSTONE, or JOHNSON, CHARLES, an in- 

 genious writer, was a native of Ireland. He was 

 born in the early part of the last century, was called 

 to the bar, and went over to England to practise, 

 but, being afflicted with deafness, confined himself to 

 the employment of a chamber counsel. His success 

 not being great in this way, he turned his attention 

 to literature, and his first literary attempt was the 

 celebrated Chrysal, or the Adventures of a Guinea 

 (two volunies, 12mo), a work which attracted much 

 attention. The secret springs of some political in- 

 trigues on the continent were unfolded in this pro- 

 duction, which, together with smart and piquant 

 sketches of many distinguished characters and per- 

 sons claiming a share of public notice, rendered it ex- 

 ceedingly popular. As usual in such works, how- 

 ever, some truth is blended with much fiction, and 

 although, in regard to known personages, little is 

 absolutely without foundation, much exaggeration 

 prevails. His exposure of the orgies of a club of 

 fashionable profligates, held at the seat of a dissipated 

 nobleman in Buckinghamshire, produced no small 

 sensation at the time. He wrote other works of a 

 similar class, in which much knowledge of life and 

 manners is united to a considerable talent for spirited 

 caricature. In 1782, he went to India, and became 

 concerned in editing a Bengal newspaper. He died 

 in Calcutta, about 1800. 



JOINT, in general, denotes the juncture of two or 

 more things. The joints of the human body are 

 called, by anatomists, articulations. The supple- 

 ness to which the joints may be brought, by long 

 practice, from the time of infancy, is very surprising. 

 Every common posture-master shows us a great deal 

 of this ; but one of the most wonderful instances of it 

 was in a person of the name of Clark, and famous for 

 it in London, where he was commonly known by the 

 name of Clark the posture-master. This man had 

 found the way, by long practice, to distort many of 

 the bones, of which nobody before had ever thought 

 it possible to alter the position. He had such an 

 absolute command of his muscles and joints, that he 

 could almost disjoint his whole body ; so that he 

 once imposed on the famous Mullens, by his distor- 

 tions, in such a manner, that he refused to undertake 

 his cure ; but, to the amazement of the physician, no 

 sooner had he given over his patient, than he saw 

 him restore himself to the figure and condition of a 

 proper man, with no distortion about him. 



JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES. Where any 

 branch of business requires a greater capital to pro- 

 secute it with advantHge than can ordinarily be fur- 

 nished by an individual, or by a number of individuals 

 actually engaged in conducting it, or where the busi- 

 ness is attended with great risks, and may, as events 

 turn out, be very profitable, or result in great losses, 

 as in the case of insurance, it is desirable that the laws 

 should give facility to the combination of the con- 

 tributions of numerous persons, in great or small 

 amounts, to make up the requisite capital. The first 

 and most obvious combination for purposes of busi- 

 ness, is that of copartnerships, whereby each of the 

 members renders himself answerable, in solido, or 

 absolutely, and to the full extent, on all contracts 

 made by the company. This is a sort of association, 

 existing in all places; but if the business to be con- 

 ducted be of the descriptions above-mentioned, the 

 copartnership is not a convenient mode of associa- 

 tion, since the capital contributed by many must 

 necessarily be managed by few; and, therefore, if 

 each member is liable, in solido, on the contracts of 

 the company, the fortune of each is put in jeopardy, 

 by ever so small a contribution to the joint-stock. 

 This must operate, of course, to discourage useful 

 undertakings on a large scale, and even if it did not, 

 it might still be very important to provide for asso- 

 ciations, with a limited liability of the individual 

 members, since the ruin of any individual will neces- 

 sarily affect others to a greater or less extent. The 

 shocks, and individual derangements and reverses, 

 which are necessarily incident to enterprises of in- 

 dustry and trade, make it very desirable to secure, 

 by some modes of association, an apportionment of 

 risks, losses, and gains among a great number. This 

 is done by means of private corporations, joint-stock 

 companies, and limited copartnerships. In regard to 

 the two first descriptions of association, it is not 

 always the purpose of their institution to limit the 

 responsibility of the members. In the case of towns, 

 for instance, and so in regard to some other local 

 corporations, an execution, issuing on a judgment 

 recovered against the corporation, may be levied 

 upon the property of any member. So, in some of 

 the United States of America, the individual mem- 

 bers of banking or manufacturing corporations are 

 liable absolutely, and without limit, for the debts of 

 the company ; but, in general, in both corporations 

 and joint-stock companies, only the capital stock is 

 liable lor the contracts of the company. Each mem- 

 ber pays in his amount of this stock, which he knows 

 to be subject to the risks of the business to be pur- 

 sued. He can estimate precisely, therefore, the ex- 

 tent, the utmost limit, of his hazard in the most 

 unfavourable event. With this limitation, many will 

 be ready to embark their capital in enterprises 

 attended with the chances of great gain, or losses, 

 according to the event, who would be quite unwilling 

 to take the hazard of being individually liable for the 

 whole amount of the losses of the whole concern, or 

 of guaranteeing the responsibility of the other mem- 

 bers of the company as copartners. In this way, 

 enterprises conducive to the general prosperity are 

 promoted, which individuals would not otherwise 

 engage in. Formerly, when the pursuits of com- 

 merce were less systematically conducted, and its 

 risks and its prolits more uncertain, commercial 

 joint-stock companies were much more frequent 

 than at present. These companies were favoured 

 by governments, in the first place, as promoting 

 trade ; in the second, as the means of raising a 

 revenue. The government granted to a certain 

 company, or to certain persons, the exclusive right 

 to carry on a certain branch of trade or production, 

 for a certain time, or within certain limits. The 



