one time ten duchesses in his court. The | mouth. In 1664 he restored to the Howfamilies to whom the dignity was granted ards the title of duke of Norfolk; and in in this reign were the Staffords, Beau- 1665 he created a Cavendish, who had champs, and De la Poles. In 1470, under held a high military command in the the reign of Edward IV., George Nevil civil war, duke of Newcastle. In 1682 was made duke of Bedford, but he was he created the marquis of Worcester soon deprived of the title, and Jasper duke of Beaufort. As for the rest the Tudor was made duke of Bedford by his dignity was granted only to issue of the nephew king Henry VII. in the year of king or to their mothers. The only duke his accession. created by king James II. was the duke of Berwick, his natural son. King Henry VIII. created only two dukes, and both were persons nearly connected with himself; one was his own illegitimate son, whom he made duke of Richmond, and the other was Charles Brandon, who had married the French queen, his sister, and who was made by him duke of Suffolk. King Edward VI. created three dukes; his uncle, Edward Seymour, the Protector, duke of Somerset (from whom the present duke of Somerset derives 'his descent, and, by reversal of an attainder, his dignity), Henry Grey, duke of Suffolk, and John Dudley, duke of Northumberland. Queen Elizabeth found on her accession only one duke, Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, attainder or failure of male issue having extinguished the others. He was an ambitious nobleman, and aspiring to marry the queen of Scotland, Elizabeth became jealous of him: he was convicted of treason, beheaded, and his dignity extinguished in 1572; and from that time there was no duke in the English_peerage except the sons of king James I., till 1623, when Ludovick Stuart, the king's near relative, was made duke of Richmond, which honour soon expired. In 1627 George Villiers was created duke of Buckingham, and he and his son were the only dukes in England till the civil wars, when another of the Stuarts was made duke of Richmond, and the king's nephew, best known by the name of Prince Rupert, duke of Cumberland. In the first year after the return of Charles II. from exile, he restored the Seymours to their rank of dukes of Somerset, and created Monk, the great instrument of his return, duke of Albemarle. In 1663 he began to introduce his illegitimate issue into the peerage under the title of duke, his son James being made in that year duke of Mon Of the families now existing, beside those who are descended from king Charles II., only the Howards, the Seymours, and the Somersets date their dukedoms from before the Revolution. The existing dukedoms originally given by Charles II. to his sons are Grafton, Richmond, and St. Albans. To the duke of Richmond Charles granted letters patent which entitled him to a tonnage duty on coal. In 1799 this duty was commuted for an annuity of 19,000l. a-year. The duke of Grafton is still paid a pension of 58431. a-year out of the Excise revenue, and 34071. out of the Post-office revenue. The duke of St. Albans is Hereditary Grand Falconer of England. Under king William and queen Anne several families which had previously enjoyed the title of earls were advanced to dukedoms, as Paulet duke of Bolton, Talbot duke of Shrewsbury, Osborne duke of Leeds, Russell duke of Bedford, Cavendish duke of Devonshire, Holles duke of Newcastle, Churchill duke of Marlborough, Sheffield duke of Buckinghamshire, Manners duke of Rutland, Montagu duke of Montagu, Douglas duke of Dover, Gray duke of Kent, Hamilton duke of Brandon; besides members of the royal family and Marshal Schomberg, who was made an English peer as duke of Schomberg. This great accession gave an entirely new character to the dignity. King George I., besides the dukedoms in his own family, made Bertie duke of Ancaster, Pierrepoint duke of Kingston, Pelham duke of Newcastle, Bentinck duke of Portland, Wharton duke of Wharton, Brydges duke of Chandos, Campbell duke of Greenwich, Montagu duke of Manchester, Sackville duke of Dorset, and Egerton duke of Bridgewater. George II. created no duke out of his own family, and the only addi Europe. By the English it is called earl, a name derived to us from the ealderman of the Anglo-Saxons and the eorle of the Danes. By the French it is called comte, by the Spaniards conde, and by the Germans graf, under which title are in landgraves or counts of provinces, palsgraves, or counts palatine, markgraves, or counts of marches or frontiers (whence marchio or marquess), burggraves, or counts of cities, counts of the empire, counts of territories, and several others. [COUNT; BARON.] tion he can be said to have made to this | branch of the peerage was by enlarging the limitation of the Pelham dukedom of Newcastle so as to comprehend the Clintons, by whom the dukedom is now possessed. From 1720 to 1766 there was no creation of an English duke except included several distinct degrees of rankthe royal house. In that year the representative of the ancient house of Percy was made duke of Northumberland, and the title of duke of Montagu, which had become extinct, was revived in the Brudenels, the heirs. The same forbearance to confer this dignity existed during the remainder of the reign, and during the reign of George IV. no dukedom was created out of the royal house, till the eminent services of the duke of Wellington marked him out as deserving the honour of the highest rank which the king has it in his power to confer. His dukedom was created in 1814, forty-seven years after the creation of a duke of Northumberland. The marquis of Buckingham was advanced to the rank of duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822, so that for a hundred years, namely from 1720 to 1822, only four families were admitted to this honour. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror recompensed his followers with grants of the lands of the Saxon nobles who had fallen in the battle, to be held of himself as strict feuds; and having annexed the feudal title of earl to the counties of the Saxon earls (with whom the title was only official), he granted them to his principal captains. These earldoms were of three kinds, all of which were by tenure. The first and highest was where the dignity was annexed to the seisin or possession of a whole county, with "jura regalia.” In this case the county became a county palatine, or principality, and the person created earl of it acquired royal jurisdiction and seigniory. In short, a county During the reign of William IV. two dukedoms were created, Gower duke of Sutherland, and Vane duke of Cleveland. The whole number of dukes in the Eng-palatine was a perfect feudal kingdom in lish peerage is at present twenty, exclusive of the blood royal. There are seven Scottish dukes (Argyll, Atholl, Buccleuch, Hamilton, Lennox, Montrose, and Roxburghe), of whom one (Hamilton) is also an English duke. The only Irish duke is the duke of Leinster. All the dukes of England have been created by letters patent in which the course of succession has been plainly pointed out. Generally the limitation is to the male heirs of the body. DUTY. [RIGHT.] E. EARL. The title of count or earl, in Latin comes, is the most ancient and widely spread of the subordinate or subject titles. This dignity exists under various names in almost every country in itself, but held of a superior lord. The counties of Chester, Pembroke, Hexham, and Lancaster, and the bishopric of Durham, have at different times been made counties palatine; but it does not appear that the title of earl palatine was given to the most ancient and distinguished of them, the earl of Chester, before the time of Henry II., surnamed Fitz-Empress, when the title of palatine was probably introduced from the Germanic Empire. The earls of Chester created barons and held parliaments, and had their justiciaries, chancellors, and barons of their exchequer. This county palatine reverted to the crown in the reign of Henry III. The second kind of earls were those whom the king created earls of a county, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, with a grant of the third part of the profits of the county court, but without giving them actual seisin of the county. The third kind was where the king erected a large tract of land into a county, and granted it with civil and criminal jurisdiction to be held per servitium unius comitatús. Under the early Norman kings, all earls, as well as barons, held their titles by the tenure of their counties and baronies; and the grant, or even purchase, with the licence of the king, of an earldom or a barony, would confer the title on the grantee or purchaser; but with the solitary exception of the earldom of Arundel, earldoms by tenure have long since disappeared, and in late times the title has been conferred by letters patent under the great seal. Earls have now no local jurisdiction, power or revenue, as a consequence of their title, which is no longer confined to the names of counties or even of places; several earls, as Earl Spencer, Earl Grey, and others, have chosen their own names, instead of local titles. The coronet of an English earl is of gold surmounted with pearls, which are placed at the extremity of raised points or rays, placed alternately with foliage. The form of their creation, which has latterly been superseded by the creation by letters patent, was by the king's girding on the sword of the intended earl, and placing his cap and coronet on his head and his mantle on his shoulders. The king styles all earls, as well as the other ranks of the higher nobility or peerage, his cousins. An earl is entitled right honourable, and takes precedence next after marquesses, and before all viscounts and barons. When a marquess has an earldom, his eldest son is called earl by courtesy; but notwithstanding this titular rank, he is only a commoner. unless he be summoned to the House of Lords by such title. So the eldest sons of dukes are called earls where their fathers have an earldom but no marquisate, as the duke of Norfolk. The number of earls in the House of Lords is at present 116. EARL MARSHAL OF ENGLAND, one of the great officers of state, who marshals and orders all great ceremonials, takes cognizance of all matters relating to honour, arms, and pedigree, and directs the proclamation of peace and war. The curia militaris, or court of chivalry, was formerly under his jurisdiction, and he is still the head of the heralds' office, or college of arms. Till the reign of Richard II., the possessors of this office were styled simply Marshals of England: the title of Earl Marshal was bestowed by that king in 1386 on Thomas lord Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham. The office is now hereditary in the family of Howard, and is enjoyed by the duke of Norfolk. (Chamberlaine's State of England; Dallaway's Inquiries into the Origin and Progress of Heraldry in England, 4to. Glouc. 1793, pp. 93-95.) EARTHENWARE. According to the census of 1841, the number of persons in Great Britain employed in this important and most useful_manufacture (Pottery, China, and Earthenware,') was 24,774, of whom 17,442 were returned for Staffordshire, which is the great seat of the manufacture. The district in this county known as 'The Potteries' is about a mile from the borders of Cheshire, and extends through a distance of more than seven miles, in which there are towns and villages so close to each other, that to a stranger, the whole appears like one straggling town. There are likewise extensive manufacturers of earthenware and porcelain in Yorkshire and Worcester, and the commoner kinds of ware are made in many parts of England. Earthenware is a general term applicable to all utensils composed of earthen materials, but it is usual to distinguish them into three different kinds: the brown stone-ware, red pans and pots, and articles of a similar kind are called pottery; and porcelain is distinguished from earthenware as being a semi- vitrified compound, in which one portion remains infusible at the greatest heat to which it can be exposed, while the other portion vitrifies at a certain heat, and thus intimately combines with and envelopes the infusible part, producing a smooth, compact, shining and semi-transparent substance well known as the characteristic of porcelain. Until the beginning of the eighteenth century the manufacture of earthenware was confined to a few coarse articles, which were devoid of taste. Earthenware was largely imported from Holland, and su perior kinds from Germany and France. Even till nearly the close of the century the porcelain of China was still in common use on the tables of the wealthy, as the home manufacture, generally speaking, had not established its reputation. The improvement of the earthenware manufacture originated with Mr. Wedgwood, who carried it to great perfection. He availed himself of the services of artists and men of taste; and by this association of the manufacture with the fine arts it has been still further improved. In the five years from 1831 to 1835, the declared value of earthen manufactures exported gradually rose from 461,0907. in 1831 to 540,4217. in 1835. The value of the exports to the United States of North America in 1835 was 246,2201. The number of pieces of earthenware exported and the real value of the same for the last four years were as under: Germany ries and Ceylon East India Company's territo British West Indies Holland Cuba and Foreign West Indies Italy and Italian Islands Rio de la Plata Chili Denmark Peru. Sumatra, Java, and Indian Archipelago. £. 168,873 | aise, aisement, ease) is defined by the old law writers as a service or convenience which one neighbour hath of another by charter or prescription without profit; as a way through his ground, a sink, or the like. It includes rights of common, ways, water-courses, antient lights, and various other franchises, issuing out of corporeal hereditaments, and sometimes, though inaccurately, the term is applied to rights of common. At the common law these rights (which can only be created and transferred by deed) might be claimed either under an immemorial custom or by prescription; but twenty years' uninterrupted and unexplained enjoyment of an easement formerly constituted sufficient evidence for a jury to presume that it originated in a grant by deed; except in the city of London, where the presumption of a grant from twenty years' possession of windows was excluded by the custom which required that there should exist "some written instrument or record of an agreement." Nonuser during the same period was also considered an extinguishment of the right, as raising a presumption that it had been released. By the statute 2nd & 3rd William IV. cap. 71, several important alterations have been made with regard to this description of property: forty years' enjoyment of any way or other easement, or any watercourse, and twenty years' uninterrupted 66 access and use of any light to and for any dwelling-house," &c., now constitute 28,891 an indefeasible title in the occupier, unless 26,155 he enjoys "by some consent or agreement 24,645 expressly given or made for that purpose 18.024 by deed or writing." The same statute also 17,201 enacts that nonuser for the like number of 15,946 years (according to the description of the 14,414 particular right) shall preclude a litigat 12,434 ing party from establishing his claim to it. 11,421 The easements of the English corre spond to the Servitutes of the Roman and the Servitudes of the French law. (Code Civil, liv. ii. tit. 4, Des Servitudes ou Services Fonciers.) 11,198 The earthenware manufacture in France is far inferior to that of England. (M'Gregor's Statistics.) In the United States The Roman Servitutes comprehended of North America, the number of pot- those rights which a man had in the proteries in 1840 was 659; but no earthen-perty of another, and in a corporeal thing. ware is exported. The subject of easements forms a large EASEMENT (from the French words head in the Roman Law, which was so far elaborated as to form a basis on which modern decisions may repose. The title De Servitutibus in the eighth book of the Digest contains the chief rules of Roman law on this subject, which have been discussed by various modern writers, as Mühlenbrach, Doctrina Pandectarum, p. 268, &c.; Savigny, Das Recht des Besitzes, p. 525, 5th ed.; Dirksen, Zeitschrift für Geschichtliche Rechtswissenschaft, vol. ii.; Puchta, Cursus der Institutionen, ii. 739, &c. EASTER INGS.] OFFERING. [OFFER EAST INDIA COMPANY. This association originated from the subscriptions, trifling in amount, of a few private individuals. It gradually became a commercial body with gigantic means, and next, by the force of unforeseen circumstances, assumed the form of a sovereign power, while those by whom it was directed continued in their individual capacities to be without power or political influence, thus presenting an anomaly without a parallel in the history of the world. The Company was first formed in London in 1599, when its capital, amounting to 30,000l., was divided into 101 shares. In 1600 the adventurers obtained a charter from the crown, under which they enjoyed certain privileges, and were formed into a corporation for fifteen years, with the title of "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading to the East Indies." Under this charter the management of the company's affairs was intrusted to twenty-four members of a committee chosen by the proprietors from among their own body, and this committee was renewed by election every year. The first adventure of the association was commenced in 1601. In the month of May of that year five ships, with cargoes of merchandise and bullion, sailed from Torbay to India. The result was encouraging, and between 1603 and 1613 eight other voyages were performed, all of which were highly profitable, with the exception of the one undertaken in the year 1607. In the other years the clear profits of the trade varied from 100 to 200 per cent. upon the capital employed. At this time the trading of the company was not confined to the joint stock of the corporation, but other adventurers were admitted, who subscribed the sums required to complete the lading of the ships, and received back the amount, together with their share of the profits, at the termination of every voyage. The charter of the Company was renewed for an indefinite period in 1609, subject to dissolution on the part of the government upon giving three years' notice to that effect. In 1611 the Company obtained permission from the Mogul to establish factories at Surat, Ahmedabad, Cambaya, and Goga, in consideration of which permission it agreed to pay to that sovereign an export duty upon all its shipments at the rate of 3 per cent. After 1612 subscriptions were no longer taken from individuals in aid of the joint-stock capital, which was raised to 420,000l., and in 1617-18 a new fund of 1,600,000l. was subscribed. This last capital, although managed by the same directors, was kept wholly distinct from the former stock, and the profits resulting from it were separately accounted for to the subscribers. The functions of government were first exercised by the Company in 1624, when authority was given to it by the king to punish its servants abroad either by civil or by martial law, and this authority was unlimited in extent, embracing even the power of taking life. In 1632 a third capital, amounting to 420,700l., was raised, and its management, although confided to the same directors, was also kept distinct from that of the first and second subscriptions. It is uncertain whether the capitals here severally mentioned were considered as permanent investments, or were returned to the subscribers at the termination of each different adventure. A rival association, formed in 1636, succeeded in obtaining from the king, who accepted a share in the adventure, a licence to trade with India, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the chartered body. After carrying on their trade for several years in a spirit of rivalry which was fatal to their prosperity, the two |