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Comocladia Beyond Domaso the lake of Como receives the Adda, 

 II after which its channel is narrowed, and it takes the 



Co mpany. name f tne L a g ji Chiavenna. See the works quoted 

 in the preceding article, (t) 



COMOCLADIA, a genus of plants of the class Tri- 

 andria, and order Monogynia. See Botany, p. 97- 



COMORA Isles, is a cluster of islands situated in 

 the channel of Mozambique, between the northern ex- 

 tremity of Madagascar and the coast of Zanguebar in 

 Africa. The principal islands are Johanna, Mayotta, 

 Mohilla, Angazi, and Comora. The Portuguese, by 

 whom they were discovered, treated the inhabitants 

 with such cruelty, that almost all those who have since 

 visited those islands have been either massacred or ill 

 received. More recently, however, the inhabitants, who 

 are negroes of the Mahommedan religion, are said to 

 entertain European seamen with considerable humanity. 

 The islands abound in horned cattle, hogs, and sheep, 

 and produce sweet and sour oranges, citrons, bananas, 

 honey, sugar canes, rice, ginger, and cocoa nuts. E. 

 Long, between 43 and 45°, N. Lat. from 1° to 14°. (J ) 

 COMPANY, (Fr. compagnie, derived from the Latin 

 cum and pants,) means properly " an assemblage of se- 

 veral persons in the same place, or for the same pur- 

 pose." In the sense in which it is generally taken, and 

 in which it becomes an object of explanation in this ar- 

 ticle, it denotes an association of a number of merchants. 

 We say a " number," because the word partnership is 

 generally applied to a limited association. Company, 

 hesides, is currently understood as the designation of a 

 body of men conducting trade, with particular privile- 

 ges, or under specific exemptions; — partnerships, on 

 the other hand, have no particular privileges. 



A branch of commerce carried on with an uncivilized 

 people may require, particularly in the commencement, 

 more protection than the circumstances of unconnected 

 merchants can afford. In such cases, a fort and a gar- 

 rison may be necessary ; as well as a diplomatic agent, 

 for the purpose of maintaining a good understanding 

 with the government of their rude neighbours. These 

 considerations, varying materially in different quarters, 

 have given rise to mercantile associations of two kinds ; 

 regulated companies, and joint stock companies. The 

 former should hardly be called companies, according to 

 the current acceptation of the word, as they are obliged 

 to admit any person properly qualified, who will pay a 

 moderate fine, and submit to their regulations. This 

 done, the_new member proceeds, like his predecessors, 

 to trade on his individual capital, and at his own risk. 

 A regulated company, therefore, bears a great resem- 

 blance to an incorporated trade in a town, the object in 

 either case being the exclusion of all those persons who 

 have not performed certain specific obligations. The 

 fact, however, is, that improvements in commerce have 

 so much facilitated the admission of merchants into our 

 regulated companies, that little attention is paid by the 

 public to the nature of their constitution. Their names 

 «ven are not familiar to mercantile men. The regulated 

 companies in this country are five in number, and are 

 called the Hamburgh, the Russia, the Eastland, the Tur- 

 key, and the African company. 

 Turkey In looking back to former records, we are led to judge, 



company from the complaints of manufacturers and others, that 

 these companies possessed and exercised power in a 

 manner very different from what we see at present. 

 The Turkey company, for example, enacted by a bye- 

 law, that all British goods for that empire should be 

 .-shipped in their vessels exclusively. Another bye-law 



35 



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purported, that no persons who were not freemen of Company. 

 London should be allowed to become members of the S ™"*Y""™"' 

 company. The pretext for these regulations was the 

 necessity of excluding from the traffic individuals whose 

 conduct might give offence to the Turks. The restric- 

 tions, however, were found very injurious, and abroga- 

 ted, in a great measure, by an act of parliament in 1753, 

 which laid open the trade to persons out of London. 

 In regard to the Eastland and the Russia Companies, 

 the admission is now so easy as to be procured for a few 

 pounds. 



The latest institution in the shape of a regulated com- African 

 pany was the African, established by act of parliament com P a ny- 

 in 1 750. The object of it was to provide for the main- 

 tenance of certain forts and garrisons on the western 

 coast of Africa. A sum, generally L. 13,000, was an- 

 nually voted to them for that purpose by parliament ; 

 but in spite of all the precautions taken in drawing up 

 the charter, the directors of this association have been 

 accused of neglecting the charge entrusted to them. 



Joint stock companies come next to be considered, Joint stock 

 and will be found a more important and interesting sub- companies. 

 ject. Their leading characteristics, as distinguished 

 from private trading companies, are two ; exemption of 

 the individual member from responsibility beyond a spe- 

 cific sum, and liberty to sell the share held in the capi- 

 tal whenever he thinks proper. This limitation of risk, 

 coupled, as it generally is, with exemption from trouble, 

 recommends joint stock companies to many persons who, 

 from situation, would not otherwise think of vesting mo- 

 ney in trade. These persons, however, must not flat- 

 ter themselves that any united company can long main- 

 tain a competition with the vigilance and activity of 

 private traders. The directors find themselves the ma- 

 nagers rather of other persons' property than of their 

 own, and abuses infallibly creep in. We have seen un- 

 der the article Colony, the failure of joint stock com- 

 panies in one nation after another, in a kind of regular 

 succession. Such has likewise been the lot of the Eng- 

 lish African companies, of whom we have had, from first 

 to last, no less than four distinct associations. The g out jj gea 

 South Sea company were exempt from one great article C0[n pany. 

 of expence, the maintenance of forts and garrisons, but 

 their example is equally discouraging as that of others. 

 Their stock-jobbing projects belong to history, and are 

 too legibly written in characters of national misfortune 

 to require animadversions in this place. But their mer- 

 cantile arrangements are less generally known. Aided 

 by an exclusive privilege, they engaged to supply the 

 Spanish West Indies with negroes, and were allowed, 

 as a special advantage, to send an annual cargo of mer- 

 chandise to that far-famed market. Yet, of ten annual 

 voyages of this description, one only was profitable to 

 the company as a body, whatever may have been the 

 individual gains of their servants. The result was, 

 that the company petitioned and obtained leave from 

 government, to treat with the court of Spain, for a con- 

 sideration, for the relinquishment of the privilege of 

 importing this annual cargo. The Greenland trade 

 being undertaken by this hopeful association, was con- 

 ducted in the same style; and was wound up in 1730, 

 with a loss, in the course of eight years, of L. 237,000. 

 As many persons are not apprised how South Sea 

 stock continues a valuable property, after the total fai- 

 lure of the projects of the company, it is proper to add. 

 that their capital (nearly thirty-four millions sterling) 

 was lent to government. In i 722, it was agreed that 

 half this sum should be put on the same footing, m 



