COURNOT His and similar subjects. Among the more import- 445 mised must be diminished by the cost of production. This cost is to be regarded as a function of the quantity produced, say (D). The relation of cost to product may be graphically illustrated by the curve p='(D); where p, the price, as before is the abscissa, and '(D) represents the cost of producing the last unit of the quantity produced. In the most general and important case, the function '(D) increases with the variable D agreeably to the law of diminishing returns. After analysing the operation of monopoly, Cournot advances from the simple to the complex by introducing a second proprietor (ch. vii.) He argues, by reasoning which has been traversed by M. Bertrand (Journal des Savants for 1883; cp. Prof. Marshall, Principles of Economics, bk. v. chap. viii. § 2, note, 2nd ed.), that with the division of the proprietorship, the price diminishes. There is, however, one curious exception to this rule. Suppose two commodities have no other use but to enter into the formation of a certain compound commodity in the fixed proportions my: mq. And let the "sources" from which the component commodities are derived be initially in the hands of a single monopolist; but afterwards let each of the two sources pass into the hands of an independent proprietor. What effect on the price of the compound will be produced by this COURNOT, ANTOINE AUGUSTIN, eminent mathematician and philosopher (1801-1877), deserves notice as the first who successfully applied mathematics to political economy. His success was signal. His Recherches sur les Principes Mathématiques de la Théorie des Rich-breaking down of monopoly? Common sense esses, published 1838, is still the best statement in mathematical form of some of the highest generalisations in economic science. This work may be summarised under three headings: pure theory of price, abstract propositions on taxation, and miscellaneous applications of mathematical reasoning. I. Cournot appears to have been the first to represent by means of an equation, or curve, the relation between the price of a commodity and the quantity saleable at that price in a market consisting of purchasers competing with each other. Let D stand for quantity demanded, and p for corresponding price. Then the law of demand is expressed by the equation D=F (p), or the corresponding curve whose ordinate is D and abscissa p (ch. iv.) How much logomachy is saved by this appropriate conception! How difficult it is in words to distinguish between what has been called a "rise of demand occasioned by a change in the form of the function F, or displacement of the curve, and an "extension" of demand due to a change of the variable p, a movement along the curve. The price for which the total value is greatest is found by making the expression D xp or F (p) xp a maximum. The price thus determined is that which a monopolist would fix, on the supposition that the expenses of production are either zero, or a fixed charge independent of quantity produced, as in the case of a "mineral source. Otherwise, the expression to be maxi would probably reply that the price would be lowered by increase of competition. But Cournot's reasoning concludes that the price will be raised by the separation of the proprietorship (art. 57). Cournot gives the imaginary instance of zinc and copper having no other use but to make brass. The following would be a more important example. If a railway and line of steamers have no other use except to form part of a certain through journey; then prima facie, and in the abstract, it is more advantageous for the public that the two should be in the hands of a single monopolist than that they should be owned by two competing companies, each seeking independently to obtain for itself the maximum net profit. This theorem exhibits the power of Cournot's methods in a very striking light. When by the multiplication of producers, monopoly becomes "extinct," the equation for determining price assumes a certain simplicity. It becomes of the form (p)= F(p); where D= F(p) is as before the demand curve; and D=(p) is a curve expressing the quantity that would be offered at any assigned price. The function is compounded out of the functions expressing the cost of production to each producer, in such wise as to bring out very clearly the principle that the price is equal to the cost of production of the last unit produced. In symbols p= '(D); where p is the price, D is the quantity of commodity supplied by any one producer, and p' a function representing the cost to that producer of the last unit produced. It is to be observed, that cost of production as used by Cournot must be interpreted as expense, exclusive of the remuneration to the entrepreneur for his own labour. Cournot does not take into account what Jevons calls the "final disutility" of labour, any more than he has expounded the theory of final utility in the case of the consumer. II. The formula which take account of cost are well adapted to investigate the effect of a tax which may be regarded as an increase in cost of production. Cournot has discussed a variety of taxes, including "negative taxes," or bounties; on the supposition either of monopoly, or a regime of perfect competition. The following appear to be the most striking theorems. If a tax of so much per unit of commodity is imposed on a monopolised article, the consequent rise in price may be greater, equal to, or less than, the tax. The loss to the monopolist is greater than the gain to the treasury (arts. 33, 38). If a similar tax be imposed under a regime of competition, the rise in price will be less than the tax. There is no general relation between the loss to the producer and the gain to the treasury (arts. 51, 52). Converse propositions are true of bounties. Similar conclusions are deducible with respect to an ad valorem tax and a tithe (chaps. vi. and vii.) There are also some interesting theorems as to the effect of taxing one of two commodities employed in a fixed proportion in the "joint production" of a certain compound, and not useful for any other purpose (art. 62). The most remarkable results obtained by Cournot's method are those which relate to a tax on the importation or exportation of a commodity subject to the law of diminishing returns. Cournot finds that the price in the importing country may possibly be lowered by the imposition of the tax (art. 70). This paradoxical conclusion appears to the present writer to be due to a flaw in the mathematical reasoning. Equations (6) chap. x. appear not to be legitimately deduced. The following is another argument unexpectedly favourable to protection. Suppose a restriction of trade in respect of a certain commodity between two localities is removed. Cournot concludes that neither the quantity nor the total value of that commodity is necessarily increased by freedom of trade. III. Among miscellaneous topics treated mathematically there occurs first variation in general prices. Comparing ratios to differences upon the principle which is at the foundation of logarithms, Cournot illustrates the change in the value of money in relation to other commodities by the motion of one body relative to a set of other bodies. He compares the move ment of general prices caused by a change on the part of money to the apparent motion of the stars due to the revolution of the earth (chap. ii.) It will be seen that Cournot's measure of the variation in the value of money is of the nature of a mere type, or simple average as distinguished from a "weighted" index number (see INDEX NUMBERS). The next topic to be noticed is Cournot's mathematical treatment of the foreign exchanges (chap. iii.) We may say with Jevons of this investigation that it is "highly ingenious, if not particularly useful." It remains to speak of Cournot's theory of social revenue (chap. xi.) He well defines the national income so as to include the wages of so-called 66 'unproductive" labourers. He gives formulæ for the "real gain” and “real loss" in revenue which are very similar to the methods by which statisticians would now estimate a change in the "volume of trade." In the definition of "real gain and loss" abstraction is made of the detriment suffered by those consumers who are deterred by a rise of price from purchasing and the converse advantage accruing to those who are induced by a lower price to become purchasers. The peculiarity of this definition permits the truth, while it diminishes the importance, of Cournot's paradoxical conclusion that, when a restriction of trade in respect of a certain commodity between two localities is removed, the importing country suffers a "real loss" (art. 89). Cournot himself points out the limitations of his theory. He does not pretend to treat the question “au point de vue de l'homme d'État." But he adds with modest confidence, in words applicable to his whole book and the mathematical method in general: "Il y aurait toujours de l'avantage à éclaircir en quelques lignes, à la faveur de signes précis, et d'une methode d'argumentation plus rigoureuse, les difficultés soulevées par des volumes de controverse." The main outlines of Cournot's system have been presented by their author in a form divested of mathematical symbol, or rather in two such forms, in two works dated 1863 and 1876 respectively. Of these versions the latter seems best to preserve the elegance of the original investigation. Both paraphrases are accompanied with some additional and valuable matter. Particular attention may be called to the criticism of Mill's theory of international trade, and to the remarks on "economic optimism.' Some of these reflections may be found in an earlier work treating of the relation between the first principles of the different sciences. Yet another debt of gratitude is owed by political economists to Cournot. In his masterly work on chances he has pointed out the bearing of the calculus of probabilities on statistics. F. Y. E. COURT-COURT ROLLS The following are the works of Cournot which wholly or in part relate to political economy: Recherches sur les Principes Mathématiques de la Théorie des Richesses (1838).—Exposition de la Théorie des Chances et des Probabilités (1843). — Traité de l'Enchainement des Idées Fondamentales dans les Sciences et dans l'Histoire (1861).—Principes de la Théorie des Richesses (1863).-Revue Sommaire des Doctrines Économiques (1876). COURT, PIETER DE LA (1618-1685), born at Leyden where he succeeded his father as a clothmanufacturer after having studied law. He emigrated to Antwerp, 1672, being an adherent of the pensionary of Holland, John de Witt, murdered that year. In 1673 he settled at Amsterdam, where he resided until his death. His principal works, all of a polemical character, are: Het Welvaaren der Stadt Leyden (The Welfare of the City of Leyden), edited for the first time, 1845, by B. W. Uittewaall, under the title Proeve uit een onuitgegeven staathuishondkundig geschrift (Specimen of an unedited economical Work).-Intrest van Holland of te Gronden van Hollands Welvaren ungaaewezen door v. d. H.(Van den Hove de la Court), (Interest of Holland, or Grounds of Holland's welfare explained by V. D. H.), Amsterdam, 1662, translated into German 1665 (twice) and 1668. The second edition of the same work was entitled Aanwijsing der heilsame politike gronden en Maximen van de Republike van Holland en West-Vriesland, door v. d. H.-(Explanations of the wholesome political doctrines and maxims of the Republic of Holland and West-Friesland, by v. d. H.), Amsterdam, 1669, translated into German, 1670; into French, 1709, under the title Mémoires de Jean de Witt; into English, 1743, under the title Political Maxims of the State of Holland, etc. by John de Witt, Pensionary of Holland, etc. London, printed for T. Nourse at the Lamb, without Temple Bar. The fact is, that John de Witt added only some remarks, and wrote the chapters 5 and 6 of part iii., as is now placed beyond doubt. De la Court was a free-trader by conviction, but principally for the merchants' sake. Monopolies, especially those of the Indian Companies, he eagerly opposed. Industry too should be free in developing itself-guilds hinder improvement; governmental rules, prescribing the mode of producing and the quality of merchandise, give no security as to adulterations, and cannot have any salutary effect, the consumer being the only person who can judge of what he wants. A. F. v. L. COURT ROLLS, MANORIAL ACCOUNTS and EXTENTS. Among the mediæval documents most valuable for the purposes of economic history, must be placed those which illustrate the manorial system. These may be classified under the three heads specified above. I. COURT ROLLS. The practice of enrolling the business done in the king's court seems to have been begun near the end of Henry II.'s reign. The earliest extant roll is one of 1194, and from that date onwards there is a fairly 447 A continuous series of these rolls at the Public Record Office. Some of the entries on them are of interest to the student of economic history; but the rolls that are likely to interest him more are the rolls of local, usually manorial, courts. Such rolls, not being public documents, must be sought in the libraries and muniment rooms of cathedrals, colleges, and landlords; but the Record Office has a fine collection of rolls concerning manors which at one time or another came into the hands of the king. few lords of manors had begun to keep rolls before 1250, many before 1300; but rolls of the 13th century are not now very common. They are of great value as evidence of the condition of the peasantry, the terms on which they held their lands, and the mode in which justice was done between and upon them. The entries fall into three main classes: (1) cases of litigation between the tenants; (2) the punishment of petty offences, either against the manorial custom or against the general law; (3) the transfer of the customary tenements by surrender and admittance, for the villain or customary lands of the manor could not be alienated without being given up into the hands of the lord, who thereupon admitted the new tenant. In the earlier ages, entries of the two former classes prevail; in later times, the court almost ceases to exercise a contentious jurisdiction, and the court roll becomes little more than a register of the titles of the copyholders. The copyholders, as in the 15th century the customary tenants or tenants in villainage came to be called, acquired this name because copies of the entries on the court rolls concerning their lands served them as title-deeds. the older rolls a great deal may be learnt about villainage, the common field system and the state of agriculture. It may safely be said that we never shall know how far the tenure of the medieval peasant was precarious until these documents have been examined. Rolls of municipal courts, and of the courts which administered "the law merchant" in fairs and markets, illustrate another side of economic history, the condition of trade, the nature of merchant guilds and trade guilds, the treatment of foreigners and town life in general. We have some rolls of this class even from the thirteenth century. As yet hardly a beginning has been made towards publishing the court rolls; but the Selden Society's volume for 1889 contains a selection of entries from certain rolls of the 13th century which may be considered as typical. From II. MANORIAL ACCOUNTS. The accounts of the manorial officers, bailiffs, and reeves, are scarcely of such general interest as the court rolls and extents, but they afford excellent materials for the history of prices, and have been largely used by Professor Thorold Rogers. They have not been printed, at least on any 448 COURTEN-COURTS OF LAW A large scale, and must be sought in the Public Record Office and private muniment rooms. very full and very early set of accounts relating to the Bishop of Winchester's manors is in the possession of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It goes back as far as John's reign. III. MANORIAL EXTENTS. The "extent" of a manor is a description of it which generally gives the names of the tenants, the size of their holdings, the legal character of their tenure, the amount and nature of their rents and services, whether rendered in money, in produce, or in labour. Generally the extent is the result of a sworn verdict returned by a jury of tenants to a set of interrogatories addressed to them by the lord's steward. To "extend" (extendere) a manor is to obtain by this process a full statement and valuation of all the lord's rights. On the continent, the practice of making such manorial registers can be traced to very remote times and possibly is of Roman origin. The most famous of these very ancient registers is that of the Abbey of S. Germain des Prés, made in the time of Charles the Great (published 1844 by B. Guérard under the title Polyptyque de l'abbé Irminon; the first volume of a new edition by Auguste Longnon appeared in 1886). England of the days before the Conquest has apparently left us nothing at all comparable with this. But the "extent" comes in with the Conqueror, and is at once applied to England on a vast scale; Domesday Book is an extent of the realm made on the king's behalf by local juries. Gradually the lords of manors, especially the religious houses, followed the example thus set. We have a few extents from the 12th, many from the 13th century. Some have been printed; some believed to be of almost equal value still lie in manuscript. The [Among published extents are the Boldon Book, a survey of the Palatinate of Durham, printed as an appendix to the official edition of Domesday, and again by the Surtees Society.-The Glastonbury Inquisitions (Roxburghe Club).-The Cartulary of Burton Abbey (Salt Society).-The Black Book of Peterborough.-The Domesday of St. Paul's.-the Register of Worcester Priory.-The Cartulary of Battle Abbey (all for the Camden Society).-The Cartulary of Gloucester Abbey, and the Cartulary of Ramsey Abbey (both in the Rolls' series).-The Hundred Rolls, published by the Record Commissioners, give very valuable extents of manors in Cambridgeshire, and some other counties.] limit varying according to the subject matter of the action, but some matters cannot be taken before a County Court, while in others their jurisdiction is unlimited, as for instance in bankruptcy proceedings. England and Wales are for County Court purposes divided into five hundred districts. The districts are grouped together into fifty-nine circuits, one judge being as a rule appointed to each circuit. The county courts have no criminal business. The various statutes relating to these courts, which were first established in 1846, have been consolidated by the County Courts Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 43). The Supreme Court of Judicature consists of Her Majesty's High Court and Her Majesty's Court of Appeal. The High Court has taken the place (a) of the Courts of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer now united in the Queen's Bench Division; (b) of the High Court of Chancery now transformed into the Chancery Division; (c) the Courts of Probate and of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes and the High Court of Admiralty now merged in the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division. The London Bankruptcy Court has also been absorbed by the High Court, the London bankruptcy work being, at present, allotted to the Queen's Bench Division. The High Court has original jurisdiction in all civil matters which may be brought before an English tribunal, but a plaintiff instituting proceedings in the High Court for which a County Court would have been competent has to submit to unpleasant consequences as regards costs. The active judges of the High Court are the Lord Chief Justice, the President of the Probate, etc. Division and twenty puisne judges (fourteen in the Queen's Bench Division, five in the Chancery Division, and one in the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division). The judges as a rule sit alone, but some matters in the Queen's Bench Division (e.g. appeals from County Courts) are heard by divisional courts consisting of two, and in exceptional cases even of three judges. In Admiralty proceedings the judge has frequently the assistance of two nautical assessors. The courts of assize, sitting periodically in the provinces, are now considered as belonging to the High Court; the matters coming before these courts are generally tried by judges of the Queen's Bench Division, but they act as judges of assize by virtue of a special commission issued separately on each occasion. For the purpose of the assizes England and Wales are subdivided into seven circuits. There are also district registries in the provinces attached to the High Court in which all preliminary steps may be taken. In London these preliminary proceedings take place partly in the central office, partly in the judge's chambers. Criminal causes are tried at the assizes and also (exceptionally) by the Queen's Bench Division. Five judges of the latter division form the Court COURTS of Crown Cases Reserved, hearing appeals on points of criminal law reserved by judges of assize, and in cases of particular importance all the Queen's Bench judges sit together for that purpose. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the High Court. It is composed of four ex-officio judges: the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, and the President of the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division, and of five ordinary judges (called Lords Justices of Appeal). As a general rule, three judges of the Court of Appeal sit together; in particularly important cases the court is sometimes composed of six judges. The Supreme Court has been created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 66), and its constitution has been modified by a number of subsequent acts. The House of Lords hears appeals from the English Court of Appeal, and from the corresponding courts in Scotland and Ireland. There are four salaried judges forming part of that tribunal who are called lords of appeal in ordinary, and who enjoy all the privileges of the peerage during their lifetime (Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1887). Besides these, the Lord Chancellor and such peers as have held any high judicial office take part in the judicial proceedings of the House. It ought to be mentioned that the same lords and a few other members of the Privy Council form the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, a tribunal hearing appeals from the ecclesiastical courts and from the highest courts of appeal in India and the colonies and dependencies. In addition to the courts which we have enumerated, there are a number of courts of exclusively criminal jurisdiction (such as the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, the courts of quarter session and of petty session, the stipendiary magistrates' courts, etc.), and others of purely local importance (as the Lord Mayor's Court in the city of London, the Liverpool Court of Passage, etc.). E. S. COURTS (IRELAND). The courts in Ireland are, on the whole, organised on the same system as the English courts. There is a Supreme Court consisting of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, the former consisting of the Chancery, Queen's Bench, and Probate Divisions. The Chancery Division has taken over the jurisdiction of the former Landed Estates Court (40 & 41 Vict. c. 57; 50 Vict. c. 6). There is a Court of Bankruptcy which remains distinct from the High Court, and local bankruptcy courts have been constituted by an act passed in 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 44). The courts corresponding to English county courts are called Civil Bill Courts and are held before the chairman of Quarter Sessions or the recorder as the case may be. The chairmen of Quarter Sessions are now called "County Court judges and chairmen of Quarter Sessions," and are appointed by the Lord Lieutenant. They IV. 449 must be barristers of ten years' standing (14 & 15 Vict. c. 57; 40 & 41 Vict. c. 56). The Lord Lieutenant is also empowered to appoint stipendiary magistrates, having all the powers of justices of the peace in counties and boroughs (6 & 7 William IV. c. 13; 3 & 4 Vict. c. 108). The inspector-general of constabulary, his deputy, and assistants, have power to act as justices of the peace throughout Ireland (2 & 3 Vict. c. 75; 9 & 10 Vict. c. 97). The jurisdiction and constitution of the courts of Quarter Sessions and Petty Sessions is similar to that of the corresponding courts in England. The Land Commission constituted under the Land Law (Ireland) Act of 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 49) and the Purchase of Land Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 73) has quasi-judicial functions in connection with the carrying out of these statutes. E. S. COURTS (SCOTLAND). The principal courts in Scotland are (1) the Sheriff Courts, (2) the High Court of Justiciary, (3) the Court of Session. Courts are also held by justices of the peace and magistrates of burghs, but these are not of the same importance as the corresponding courts in England, as a great part of the jurisdiction exercised by the justices in England is in Scotland entrusted to the sheriffs. In the burghs of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, the magistrates (who are salaried officials) have the powers of a sheriff, and occupy, in fact, exactly the same position within their respective burghs as sheriffs within their respective counties. (1) A Sheriff Court exists for each county, and has an extensive civil and criminal jurisdiction (including bankruptcy jurisdiction); it is presided over by the sheriff principal (formerly called sheriff depute) or by the sheriff substitute; juries act in criminal trials only, and even in criminal trials the sheriff is frequently competent to act without a jury. The sheriff principal and sheriff substitute are both salaried judges and must be trained lawyers. An appeal lies from the sheriff substitute to the sheriff principal, and from the sheriff principal to the Court of Session. (2) The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court for Scotland. The judges of this court are called "lords commissioners of justiciary"; they hold sittings with juries both in Edinburgh and in the larger provincial towns (Circuit Courts). Since 1887 every judge of the Court of Session is one of the lords commissioners of justiciary. The lord president of the Court of Session, as president of the High Court of Justiciary, has the title of "lord justice general." (3) Before the Court of Session, actions which the sheriff is not competent to try must be brought in the first instance; and as regards 2 G |