Desirable Qualities.—Smokelessness is one only of the desirable properties of a propellant. All the present so-called smokeless powders produce a little fume or haze, mainly due to the condensation of the steam which forms one of the combustion products. There is often also a little vapour from the substances, such as oils, mineral jelly, vaseline or other hydrocarbon added for lubrication or to render the finished material pliable, &c. The gases produced should neither be very poisonous nor exert a corrosive action on metals, &c. The powder itself should have good keeping qualities, that is, not be liable to chemical changes within ordinary ranges of temperature or in different climates when stored for a few years. In these powders slight chemical changes are generally followed by noticeable ballistic changes. All the smokeless powders of the present day produce some oxide of nitrogen, traces of which hang about the gun after firing and change rapidly into nitrous and nitric acids. Nitrous acid is particularly objectionable in connexion with metals, as it acts as a carrier of oxygen. The fouling from modern smokeless powders is a slight deposit of acid grease, and the remedy consists in washing out the bore of the piece with an alkaline liquid. The castor oil, mineral jelly or camphor, and similar substances added to smokeless powders are supposed to act as lubricants to some extent. They are not as effective in this respect as mineral salts, and the rifling of both small-arms and ordnance using smokeless powders is severely gripped by the metal of the projectile. The alkaline fouling produced by the black and brown powders acted as a preventive of rusting to some extent, as well as a lubricant in the bore.Danger in Manufacture.—In the case of the old gunpowders, the most dangerous manufacturing operation was incorporation. With the modern colloid propellants the most dangerous operations are the chemical processes in the preparation of nitroglycerin, the drying of guncotton, &c. After once the gelatinizing solvent has been added, all the mechanical operations can be conducted, practically, with perfect safety. This statement appears to be correct for all kinds of nitrated cellulose powders, whether mixed with nitroglycerin or other substances. Should they become ignited, which is possible by a rise of temperature (to say 180°) or contact with a flame, the mixture burns quickly, but does not detonate.As a rule naval and military smokeless powders are shaped into flakes, cubes, cords or cylinders, with or without longitudinal perforations. All the modifications in shape and size are intended to regulate the rate of burning. Sporting powders are often coloured for trade distinction. Some powders are blackleaded by glazing with pure graphite, as is done with black powders. One object of this glazing is to prevent the grains or pieces becoming joined by pressure; for rods or pieces of some smokeless powders might possibly unite under considerable pressure, producing larger pieces and thus altering the rate of burning. Most smokeless powders are fairlyinsensitive to shock. All these gelatinized powders are a little less easily ignited than black powders. A slightly different cap composition is required for small-arm cartridges, and cannon cartridges generally require a small primer or starter of powdered black gunpowder.It is desired that a propellant shall produce the maximum velocity with the minimum pressure. The pressure should start gently so that the inertia of the projectile is overcome without any undue local strain on the breech near the powder chamber, and more especially that as more and more space is given to the gases by the movement of the projectile up the gun to the muzzle, gas should be produced with sufficient rapidity to keep the pressure nearly uniform or slightly increasing along the bore. The leading idea for improvements in relation to propellants is to obtain the greatest possible pressure regularly developed, and at the same time the lowest temperatures.
Desirable Qualities.—Smokelessness is one only of the desirable properties of a propellant. All the present so-called smokeless powders produce a little fume or haze, mainly due to the condensation of the steam which forms one of the combustion products. There is often also a little vapour from the substances, such as oils, mineral jelly, vaseline or other hydrocarbon added for lubrication or to render the finished material pliable, &c. The gases produced should neither be very poisonous nor exert a corrosive action on metals, &c. The powder itself should have good keeping qualities, that is, not be liable to chemical changes within ordinary ranges of temperature or in different climates when stored for a few years. In these powders slight chemical changes are generally followed by noticeable ballistic changes. All the smokeless powders of the present day produce some oxide of nitrogen, traces of which hang about the gun after firing and change rapidly into nitrous and nitric acids. Nitrous acid is particularly objectionable in connexion with metals, as it acts as a carrier of oxygen. The fouling from modern smokeless powders is a slight deposit of acid grease, and the remedy consists in washing out the bore of the piece with an alkaline liquid. The castor oil, mineral jelly or camphor, and similar substances added to smokeless powders are supposed to act as lubricants to some extent. They are not as effective in this respect as mineral salts, and the rifling of both small-arms and ordnance using smokeless powders is severely gripped by the metal of the projectile. The alkaline fouling produced by the black and brown powders acted as a preventive of rusting to some extent, as well as a lubricant in the bore.
Danger in Manufacture.—In the case of the old gunpowders, the most dangerous manufacturing operation was incorporation. With the modern colloid propellants the most dangerous operations are the chemical processes in the preparation of nitroglycerin, the drying of guncotton, &c. After once the gelatinizing solvent has been added, all the mechanical operations can be conducted, practically, with perfect safety. This statement appears to be correct for all kinds of nitrated cellulose powders, whether mixed with nitroglycerin or other substances. Should they become ignited, which is possible by a rise of temperature (to say 180°) or contact with a flame, the mixture burns quickly, but does not detonate.
As a rule naval and military smokeless powders are shaped into flakes, cubes, cords or cylinders, with or without longitudinal perforations. All the modifications in shape and size are intended to regulate the rate of burning. Sporting powders are often coloured for trade distinction. Some powders are blackleaded by glazing with pure graphite, as is done with black powders. One object of this glazing is to prevent the grains or pieces becoming joined by pressure; for rods or pieces of some smokeless powders might possibly unite under considerable pressure, producing larger pieces and thus altering the rate of burning. Most smokeless powders are fairlyinsensitive to shock. All these gelatinized powders are a little less easily ignited than black powders. A slightly different cap composition is required for small-arm cartridges, and cannon cartridges generally require a small primer or starter of powdered black gunpowder.
It is desired that a propellant shall produce the maximum velocity with the minimum pressure. The pressure should start gently so that the inertia of the projectile is overcome without any undue local strain on the breech near the powder chamber, and more especially that as more and more space is given to the gases by the movement of the projectile up the gun to the muzzle, gas should be produced with sufficient rapidity to keep the pressure nearly uniform or slightly increasing along the bore. The leading idea for improvements in relation to propellants is to obtain the greatest possible pressure regularly developed, and at the same time the lowest temperatures.
(W. R. E. H.)
Law.—In 1860 an act was passed in England “to amend the law concerning the making, keeping and carriage of gunpowder and compositions of an explosive nature, and concerning the manufacture and use of fireworks” (23 & 24 Vict. c. 139), whereby previous acts on the same subject were repealed, and minute and stringent regulations introduced. Amending acts were passed in 1861 and 1862. In 1875 was passed the Explosives Act (38 & 39 Vict. c. 17), which repealed the former acts, and dealt with the whole subject in a more comprehensive manner. This act, containing 122 sections, and applying to Scotland and Ireland, as well as to England, constitutes, with various orders in council and home office orders, a complete code. The act of 1875 was based on the report of a committee of the House of Commons, public opinion having been greatly excited on the subject by a terrible explosion on the Regent’s Canal in 1874. Explosives are thus defined: (1) Gunpowder, nitroglycerin, dynamite, guncotton, blasting powders, fulminate of mercury or of other metals, coloured fires, and every other substance, whether similar to those above-mentioned or not, used or manufactured with a view to produce a practical effect by explosion or a pyrotechnic effect, and including (2) fog-signals, fireworks, fuses, rockets, percussion caps, detonators, cartridges, ammunition of all descriptions, and every adaptation or preparation of an explosive as above defined. Part i. deals with gunpowder, providing that it shall be manufactured only at factories lawfully existing or licensed under the act; that it shall be kept (except for private use) only in existing or new magazines or stores, or in registered premises, licensed under the act. Private persons may keep gunpowder for their own use to the amount of thirty pounds. The act also prescribes rules for the proper keeping of gunpowder on registered premises. Part ii. deals with nitroglycerin and other explosives; part iii. with inspection, accidents, search, &c. ; part iv. contains various supplementary provisions. By order in council the term “explosive” may be extended to any substance which appears to be specially dangerous to life or property by reason of its explosive properties, or to any process liable to explosion in the manufacture thereof, and the provisions of the act then extend to such substance just as if it were included in the term “explosive” in the act. The act lays down minute and stringent regulations for the sale of gunpowder, restricting the sale thereof in public thoroughfares or places, or to any child apparently under the age of thirteen; requiring the sale of gunpowder to be in closed packages labelled; it also lays down general rules for conveyance, &c. The act also gives power by order in council to define, from time to time, the composition, quality and character of any explosive, and to classify explosives, and such orders in council are frequently made including new substances; those in force will be found in theStatutory Rules and Orders, tit. “explosive substance.” The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 imposes restrictions on the carriage of dangerous goods in a British or foreign vessel, “dangerous goods” meaning aquafortis, vitriol, naphtha, benzine, gunpowder, lucifer matches, nitroglycerin, petroleum and any explosive within the meaning of the Explosives Act 1875. The act is administered by the home office, and an annual report is published containing the proceedings of the inspectors of explosives and an account of the working of the act. Each annual report gives a list of explosives at the time authorized for manufacture or importation, and appendices containing information as to accidents, experiments, &c.
Practically every European country has legislated on the lines of the English act of 1875, Austria taking the lead, in 1877, with an explosives ordinance almost identical with the English act. The United States and the various English colonies also have explosives acts regulating the manufacture, storage and importation of explosives. (See alsoPetroleum.)
(T. A. I.)
Bibliography.—M. Berthelot,Sur la force des matières explosives(Paris, 1883); P.F. Chalon,Les Explosifs modernes(Paris, 1886); W.H. Wardell,Handbook of Gunpowder and Guncotton(London, 1888); J.P. Cundill,A Dictionary of Explosives(London, 1889 and 1897); M. Eissler,A Handbook of Modern Explosives(London, 1896, new ed. 1903); J.A. Longridge,Smokeless Powder and its Influence on Gun Construction(London, 1890); C. Napier Hake and W. Macnab,Explosives and their Power(London, 1892); G. Coralys,Les Explosifs(Paris, 1893); A. Ponteaux,La Poudre sans fumée et les poudres anciennes(Paris, 1893); F. Salvati,Vocabolario di polveri ed explosivi(Rome, 1893); C. Guttmann,The Manufacture of Explosives(London, 1895 and later); S.J. von Romocki,Geschichte der Sprengstoffchemie, der Sprengtechnik und des Torpedowesens bis zum Beginn der neusten Zeit(Berlin, 1895);Geschichte der Explosivstoffe, die rauchschwachen Pulver(Berlin, 1896); P.G. Sanford,Nitro-explosives(London, 1896); L. Gody,Traité théorique et pratique des matières explosives(Namur, 1896); R. Wille,Der Plastomerite(Berlin, 1898); E. Sarrau,Introduction à la théorie des explosifs(1893);Théorie des explosifs(1896); O. Guttmann,Manufacture of Explosives(London, 1895); E.M. Weaver,Notes on Military Explosives(New York, 1906); M. Eissler,The Modern High Explosives(New York, 1906);Treatise on Service Explosives, published by order of the secretary of state for war (London, 1907). Most of the literature on modern explosives,e.g.dynamite, &c. , is to be found in papers contributed to scientific journals and societies. An index to those which have appeared in theJournal of the Society of Chemical Industryis to be found in the decennial index (1908) compiled by F.W. Renant.
Bibliography.—M. Berthelot,Sur la force des matières explosives(Paris, 1883); P.F. Chalon,Les Explosifs modernes(Paris, 1886); W.H. Wardell,Handbook of Gunpowder and Guncotton(London, 1888); J.P. Cundill,A Dictionary of Explosives(London, 1889 and 1897); M. Eissler,A Handbook of Modern Explosives(London, 1896, new ed. 1903); J.A. Longridge,Smokeless Powder and its Influence on Gun Construction(London, 1890); C. Napier Hake and W. Macnab,Explosives and their Power(London, 1892); G. Coralys,Les Explosifs(Paris, 1893); A. Ponteaux,La Poudre sans fumée et les poudres anciennes(Paris, 1893); F. Salvati,Vocabolario di polveri ed explosivi(Rome, 1893); C. Guttmann,The Manufacture of Explosives(London, 1895 and later); S.J. von Romocki,Geschichte der Sprengstoffchemie, der Sprengtechnik und des Torpedowesens bis zum Beginn der neusten Zeit(Berlin, 1895);Geschichte der Explosivstoffe, die rauchschwachen Pulver(Berlin, 1896); P.G. Sanford,Nitro-explosives(London, 1896); L. Gody,Traité théorique et pratique des matières explosives(Namur, 1896); R. Wille,Der Plastomerite(Berlin, 1898); E. Sarrau,Introduction à la théorie des explosifs(1893);Théorie des explosifs(1896); O. Guttmann,Manufacture of Explosives(London, 1895); E.M. Weaver,Notes on Military Explosives(New York, 1906); M. Eissler,The Modern High Explosives(New York, 1906);Treatise on Service Explosives, published by order of the secretary of state for war (London, 1907). Most of the literature on modern explosives,e.g.dynamite, &c. , is to be found in papers contributed to scientific journals and societies. An index to those which have appeared in theJournal of the Society of Chemical Industryis to be found in the decennial index (1908) compiled by F.W. Renant.
1Not necessarily heat energy entirely. A number of substances—acetylides and some nitrogen compounds, such as nitrogen chloride—decompose with extreme violence, butlittle heatis produced.
1Not necessarily heat energy entirely. A number of substances—acetylides and some nitrogen compounds, such as nitrogen chloride—decompose with extreme violence, butlittle heatis produced.
EXPRESS(through the French from the past participle of the Lat.exprimere, to press out, by transference used of representing objects in painting or sculpture, or of thoughts, &c. in words), a word signifying that which is clearly and definitely set forth or represented, explicit, and thus used of a meaning, a law, a contract and the like, being specially contrasted with “implied.” Thus in law, malice, for which there is actual evidence, as apart from that which may be inferred from the acts of the person charged, is known as “express.” The word is most frequently used with the idea of something done with a definite purpose; the term “express train,” now meaning one that travels at a high speed over long distances with few intermediate stoppages, was, in the early days of railways, applied to what is now usually called a “special,”i.e.a train not running according to the ordinary time-tables of the railway company, but for some specific purpose, or engaged by a private person. About 1845 this term became used for a train running to a particular place without stopping. Similarly in the British postal service, express delivery is a special and immediate delivery of a letter, parcel, &c. , by an express messenger at a particular increased rate. The system was adopted in 1891.
In the United States of America, express companies for the rapid transmission of parcels and luggage and light goods generally perform the function of the post office or the railways in the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe. Not only do they deliver goods, but by the cash on delivery system (seeCash) the express companies act as agents both for the purchaser and seller of goods. They also serve as a most efficient agency for the transmission of money, the express money order being much more easily convertible than the postal money orders, as the latter can only be redeemed at offices in large and important towns. The system dates back to 1839, when one William Frederick Harnden (1813-1845), a conductor on the Boston and Worcester railway, undertook on his own account the carrying of small parcels and the performance of small commissions. Obliged to leave the company’s service or abandon his enterprise, he started an “express” service between Boston and New York, carrying parcels, executing commissions and collecting drafts and bills. Alvin Adams followed in 1840, also between Boston and New York. From 1840 to 1845 the system was adopted by many others between the more important townsthroughout the States. The attempt to carry letters also was stopped by the government as interfering with the post office. In 1854 began the amalgamation of many of the companies. Thus under the name of the Adams Express Company the services started by Harnden and Adams were consolidated. The lines connecting the west and east by Albany, Buffalo and the lakes were consolidated in the American Express Company, under the direction of William G. Fargo (q.v.), Henry Wells and Johnston Livingston, while another company, Wells, Fargo & Co., operated on the Pacific coast. The celebrated “Pony Express” was started in 1860 between San Francisco and St Joseph, Missouri, the time scheduled being eight days. The service was carried on by relays of horses, with stations 25 m. apart. The charge made for the service was $2.50 per ½ oz. The completion of the Pacific Telegraph Company line in 1861 was followed by the discontinuance of the regular service.
The name “express” is applied to a rifle having high velocity, flat trajectory and long fixed-sight ranges; and an “express-bullet” is a light bullet with a heavy charge of powder used in such a rifle (seeRifle).
EXPROPRIATION,the taking away or depriving of property (Late Lat.expropriare, to take away,proprium,i.e.that which is one’s own). The term is particularly applied to the compulsory acquisition of private property by the state or other public authority.
EXPULSION(Lat.expulsio, fromexpellere), the act of driving out, or of removing a person from the membership of a body or the holding of an office, or of depriving him of the right of attending a meeting, &c. In the United Kingdom the House of Commons can by resolution expel a member. Such resolution cannot be questioned by any court of law. But expulsion is only resorted to in cases where members are guilty of offences rendering them unfit for a seat in the House, such as being in open rebellion, being guilty of forgery, perjury, fraud or breach of trust, misappropriation of public money, corruption, conduct unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman, &c. It is customary to order the member, if absent, to attend in his place, before an order is made for his expulsion (see May,Parliamentary Practice, 1906, p. 56 seq.). Municipal corporations or other local government bodies have no express power to expel a member, except in such cases where the law declares the member to have vacated his seat, or where power is given by statute to declare the member’s seat vacant. In the cases of officers and servants of the crown, tenure varies with the nature of the office. Some officials hold their officesad vitam aut culpam or dum bene se gesserunt, others can be dismissed at any time and without reason assigned and without compensation. In the case of membership of a voluntary association (club, &c. ) the right of expulsion depends upon the rules, and must be exercised in good faith. Courts of justice have jurisdiction to prevent the improper expulsion of the member of a voluntary association where that member has a right of property in the association. In the case of meetings, where the meeting is one of a public body, any person not a member of the body is entitled to be present only on sufferance, and may be expelled on a resolution of the body. In the case of ordinary public meetings those who convene the meeting stand in the position of licensors to those attending and may revoke the licence and expel any person who creates disorder or makes himself otherwise objectionable.
Expulsion of Aliens.—Under the Naturalization Act of 1870, the last of the civil disqualifications affecting aliens in England was removed. The political disqualifications which remained only applied to electoral rights. In the very exceptional cases in which it was retained in the statute book, expulsion was considered to have fallen into desuetude, but it has been revived by the Aliens Act of 1905 (5 Edw. VII. c. 13). Under this act powers are given to the secretary of state to make an order requiring an alien to leave the United Kingdom within a time fixed by the order and thereafter to remain outside the United Kingdom, subject to certain conditions, provided it is certified to him that the alien has been convicted of any felony or misdemeanour or other offence for which the court has power to impose imprisonment without the option of a fine, &c. , or that he has been sentenced in a foreign country with which there is an extradition treaty, for a crime not being an offence of a political character. There are also provisions applicable within one year, after the alien has entered the United Kingdom in the case of pauper aliens. Precautions are taken to prevent, as far as possible, any abuse of the power of expulsion. Under the French law of expulsion (December 3, 1849) there are no such precautions, the minister of the interior having an absolute discretion to order any foreigner as a measure of public policy to leave French territory and in fact to have him taken immediately to the frontier.
EXTENSION(Lat.ex, out;tendere, to stretch), in general, the action of straining or stretching out. It is usually employed metaphorically (cf. the phrase an “extension of time,” a period allowed in excess of what has been agreed upon). It is used as a technical term in logic to describe the total number of objects to which a given term may be applied; thus the meaning of the term “King” in “extension” means the kings of England, Italy, Spain, &c. (cf.Denotation), while in “intension” it means the attributes which taken together make up the idea of kinghood (seeConnotation). In psychology the literal sense of extension is retained,i.e.“spread-outness.” The perception of space by the senses of sight and touch, as opposed to semi-spatial perceptions by smell and hearing, is that of “continuous expanse composed of positions separated and connected by distances” (Stout); to this the term “extension” is applied. The perception of separate objects involves position and distance, but these taken together are not extension, which necessarily implies continuity. To move one’s finger along the keys of a piano gives both the position and the distance of the keys; to move it along the frame gives the idea of extension. By expanding this idea we obtain the conception of all space as an extended whole. To this perception are necessary both form and material. It should be observed the actual quality of a stimulus (rough, smooth, dry, &c. ) has nothing to do with the spatial perception as such, which is concerned purely with what is known as “local signature.” The elementary undifferentiated sensation excited by the stimuli exerted by a continuous whole is known as its “extensive quantity” or “extensity.” The term has to do not with the kind of object which excites the sensation, but simply with the vague massiveness of the latter. As such it is distinguishable in thought from extension, though it is not easy to say whether and if so how far the quantitative aspect of space can exist apart from spatial order. Extensity as an element in the complex of extension must be carefully distinguished from intensity. Mere increase of pressure implies increase of intensity of sensation; to increase the extensity thearea, so to speak, of the exciting stimulus must be increased. Thus the extensity (also called “voluminousness,” or “massiveness”) of the sensation produced by a roll of thunder is greater than that produced by a whistle or the bark of a dog. It should be observed that this application of the idea of extensity to sensation in general, rather than to the matter which is the exciting stimulus, is only an analogy, an attempt to explain a common psychic phenomenon by terminology which is intrinsically suitable to the physical. As a natural consequence the term represents different shades of meaning in different treatises, verging sometimes towards the physical, sometimes towards the psychic, meaning.
In connexion with extension elaborate psycho-physical experiments have been devised,.e.g.with the object of comparing the accuracy of tactual and visual perception and discovering what are the least differences which each can observe. At a distance two lights appear as one, just as two stars distinguishable through a telescope are one to the naked eye (seeVision): again if the points of a compass are brought close together and pressed lightly on the skin the sensation, though vague and diffused, is a single one.
SeePsychologyand works there quoted; alsoSpace and Time.
SeePsychologyand works there quoted; alsoSpace and Time.
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.This expression is used in law with reference to crimes, to describe cases in which, though an offence has been committed without legal justification or excuse, its gravity, from the point of view of punishment or moral opprobrium, is mitigated or reduced by reason of the facts leading up to or attending the commission of the offence. According to English procedure, the jury has no power to determine the punishment to be awarded for an offence. The sentence, with certain exceptions in capital cases, is within the sole discretion of the judge, subject to the statutory prescriptions as to the kind and maximum of punishment. It is common practice for juries to add to their verdict, guilty or not guilty, a rider recommending the accused to mercy on the ground of grave provocation received, or other circumstances which in their view should mitigate the penalty. This form of rider is often added on a verdict of guilty of wilful murder, a crime as to which the judge has no discretion as to punishment, but the recommendation is sent to the Home Office for consideration in advising as to exercise of the prerogative of mercy. Quite independently of any recommendation by the jury, the judge is entitled to take into account matters proved during the trial, or laid before him after verdict, as a guide to him in determining the quantum of punishment.
Under the French law (Code d’instruction criminelle, art. 345), it is the sole right and the duty of a jury in a criminal case to pronounce whether or not the commission of the offence was attended by extenuating circumstances (circonstances atténuantes). They are not bound to say anything about the matter, but the whole or the majority may qualify the verdict by finding extenuation, and if they do, the powers of the court to impose the maximum punishment are taken away and the sentence to be pronounced is reduced in accordance with the scale laid down in art. 463 of theCode pénal. The most important result of this rule is to enable a jury to prevent the infliction of capital punishment for murder. In cases of what is termed “crime passionel,” French juries, when they do not acquit, almost invariably find extenuation; and a like verdict has become common even in the case of cold-blooded and sordid murders, owing to objections to capital punishment.
EXTERRITORIALITY,a term of international law, used to denominate certain immunities from the application of the rule that every person is subject for all acts done within the boundaries of a state to its local laws. It is also employed to describe the quasi-extraterritorial position, to borrow the phrase of Grotius, of the dwelling-place of an accredited diplomatic agent, and of the public ships of one state while in the waters of another. Latterly its sense has been extended to all cases in which states refrain from enforcing their laws within their territorial jurisdiction. The cases recognized by the law of nations relate to: (1) the persons and belongings of foreign sovereigns, whether incognito or not; (2) the persons and belongings of ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary, and other accredited diplomatic agents and their suites (but not consuls, except in some non-Christian countries, in which they sometimes have a diplomatic character); (3) public ships in foreign waters. Exterritoriality has also been granted by treaty to the subjects and citizens of contracting Christian states resident within the territory of certain non-Christian states. Lastly, it is held that when armies or regiments are allowed by a foreign state to cross its territory, they necessarily have exterritorial rights. “The ground upon which the immunity of sovereign rulers from process in our courts,” said Mr Justice Wills in the case ofMighellv.Sultan of Johore, 1804, “is recognized by our law, is that it would be absolutely inconsistent with the status of an independent sovereign that he should be subject to the process of a foreign tribunal,” unless he deliberately submits to its jurisdiction. It has, however, been held where the foreign sovereign was also a British subject (Duke of Brunswickv.King of Hanover, 1844), that he is amenable to the jurisdiction of the English Courts in respect of transactions done by him in his capacity as a subject. A “foreign sovereign” may be taken to include the president of a republic, and even a potentate whose independence is not complete. Thus in the case, cited above, ofMighellv.Sultan of Johore, the sultan was ascertained to have abandoned all right to contract with foreign states, and to have placed his territory under British protection. The court held that he was, nevertheless, a foreign sovereign in so far as immunity from British jurisdiction was concerned. The immunity of a foreign diplomatic agent, as the direct representative of a foreign sovereign (or state), is based on the same grounds as that of the sovereign authority itself. The international practice in the case of Great Britain was confirmed by an act of parliament of the reign of Queen Anne, which is still in force. The preamble to this act states that “turbulent and disorderly persons in a most outrageous manner had insulted the person of the then ambassador of his Czarish Majesty, emperor of Great Russia,” by arresting and detaining him in custody for several hours, “in contempt to the protection granted by Her Majesty, contrary to the law of nations, and in prejudice of the rights and privileges which ambassadors and other public ministers, authorized and received as such, have at all times been thereby possessed of, and ought to be kept sacred and inviolable.” This preamble has been repeatedly held by our courts to be declaratory of the English common law. The act provides that all suits, writs, processes, against any accredited ambassador or public minister or his domestic servant, and all proceedings and judgments had thereupon, are “utterly null and void,” and that any person violating these provisions shall be punished for a breach of the public peace. Thus a foreign diplomatic agent cannot, like the sovereign he represents, waive his immunity by submitting to the British jurisdiction. The diplomatic immunity necessarily covers the residence of the diplomatic agent, which some writers describe as assimilated to territory of the state represented by the agent; but there is no consideration which can justify any extension of the immunity beyond the needs of the diplomatic mission resident within it. It is different with public ships in foreign waters. In their case the exterritoriality attaches to the vessel. Beyond its bulwarks captain and crew are subject to the ordinary jurisdiction of the state upon whose territory they happen to be. By a foreign public ship is now understood any ship in the service of a foreign state. It was even held in the case of the “Parlement Belge” (1880), a packet belonging to the Belgian government, that the character of the vessel as a public ship was not affected by its carrying passengers and merchandise for hire. In a more recent case an action brought by the owners of a Greek vessel against a vessel belonging to the state of Rumania was dismissed, though the agents of the Rumanian government had entered an appearance unconditionally and had obtained the release of the vessel on bail, on the ground that the Rumanian government had not authorized acceptance of the British jurisdiction (The “Jassy,” 1906, 75 L.J.P. 93).
Writers frequently describe the exterritoriality of both embassies and ships as absolute. There is, however, this difference, that the exterritoriality of the latter not being, like that of embassies, a derived one, there seems to be no ground for limitation of it. It was, nevertheless, laid down by the arbitrators in the “Alabama” case (Cockburn dissenting), that the privilege of exterritoriality accorded to vessels had not been admitted into the law of nations as an absolute right, but solely as a proceeding founded on the principle of courtesy and mutual deference between different nations, and that it could therefore “never be appealed to for the protection of acts done in violation of neutrality.”
The exterritorial settlements in the Far East, the privileges of Christians under the arrangements made with the Ottoman Porte, and other exceptions from local jurisdictions, are subject to the conditions laid down in the treaties by which they have been created. There are also cases in which British communities have grown up in barbarous countries without the consent of any local authority. All these are regulated by orders in council, issued now in virtue of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890, an act enabling the crown to exercise any jurisdiction it may have “within a foreign country” in as ample a manneras if it had been acquired “by cession or conquest of territory.” A very exceptional case of exterritoriality is that granted to the pope under a special Italian enactment.
(T. Ba.)
EXTORTION(Lat.extorsio, fromextorquere, to twist out, to take away by force), in English law the term applied to the exaction by public officers of money or money’s worth not due at all, or in excess of what is due, or before it is due. Such exaction, unless made in good faith (i.e.in honest mistake as to the sum properly payable), is a misdemeanour by the common law and is punishable by fine and (or) imprisonment. Besides the punishment above stated, an action for twice the value of the thing extorted lies against officers of the king (1275, 3 Edw. I. c. 26). There are numerous provisions for the punishment of particular officers who make illegal exactions or take illegal fees:e.g.sheriffs and their officers (Sheriffs Act 1887), county court bailiffs (County Courts Act 1888), clerks of courts of justice, and gaolers who exact fees from prisoners. A gaoler is also punishable for detaining the corpse of a prisoner as security for debt. The term “public officer” is not limited to offices under the crown; and there are old precedents of criminal proceedings for extortion against churchwardens, and against millers and ferrymen who demand tolls in excess of what is customary under their franchise.
The term extortion is also applied to the exaction of money or money’s worth by menaces of personal violence or by threats to accuse of crime or to publish defamatory matter about another person. These offences fall partly under the head of robbery and partly under blackmail, or what in French is termedchantage.
SeeRussell on Crimes(6th ed., vol. i. p. 423; vol. iii. p. 348).
SeeRussell on Crimes(6th ed., vol. i. p. 423; vol. iii. p. 348).
EXTRACT(from Lat.extrahere, to draw out), in pharmacy, the name given to preparations formed by evaporating or concentrating solutions of active principles;tincturesare solutions which have not been subjected to any evaporation. “Liquid extracts” are those of a syrupy consistency, and are generally prepared by treating the drug with the solvent (water, alcohol, &c.) and concentrating the solution until it attains the desired consistency. “Ordinary extracts” are thick, tenacious and sometimes even dry preparations; they are obtained by evaporating solutions as obtained above, or the juices expressed from the plants.
Extraction, in chemical technology, is a process for separating one substance from another by taking advantage of the varying solubility of the components in some chosen solvent. The term “lixiviation” is used when water is the solvent. In laboratory practice all the common solvents are employed. With small quantities it may suffice to shake the substance with the solvent, the mixture being heated if necessary, filter and distil or otherwise remove the solvent from the distillate. For larger quantities continuous extraction is advisable. This may be carried out in many forms of apparatus; one of the most convenient is the Soxhlet extractor, in which the extract siphons into the flask containing the solvent, and so maintains the quantity of available solvent practically constant. Continuous extraction is generally the practice in technology. One of the most important applications is in the fat and gelatine industries.
EXTRADITION(Lat.ex, out, andtraditio, handing over), the surrender of an alleged criminal for trial by a foreign state where he has taken refuge, to the state against which the alleged offence has been committed. When a person who has committed an offence in one country escapes to another, what is the duty of the latter with regard to him? Should the country of refuge try him in its own courts according to its own laws, or deliver him up to the country whose laws he has broken? To the general question international law gives no certain answer. Some jurists, Grotius among them, incline to hold that a state is bound to give up fugitive criminals, but the majority appear to deny the obligation as a matter of right, and prefer to put it on the ground of comity. And the universal practice of nations is to surrender criminals only in consequence of some special treaty with the country which demands them.
There are two practical difficulties about extradition which have probably prevented the growth of any uniform rule on the subject. One is the variation in the definitions of crime adopted by different countries. The second is the possibility of the process of extradition being employed to get hold of a person who is wanted by his country, not really for a criminal, but for a political offence. In modern states, and more particularly in England, offences of a political character have always been carefully excluded from the operation of the law of extradition.
1.United Kingdom.—The Extradition Acts 1870-1873 (33 & 34 Vict. cc. 62, and 36 & 37 Vict. c. 60) and the Fugitive Offenders Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 69) deal with different branches of the same subject, the recovery and surrender of fugitive criminals. The Extradition Acts apply in the case of countries with which Great Britain has extradition treaties. The Fugitive Offenders Act applies—(1) as between the United Kingdom and any British possession, (2) as between any two British possessions, and (3) as between the United Kingdom or a British possession and certain foreign countries, such as Turkey and China, in which the crown exercises foreign jurisdiction.
Conditions of Surrender.—In spite of some earlier authorities it has long been settled that in English law there is no power to surrender fugitive criminals to a foreign country without express statutory authority. Such authority is now given by the Extradition Acts 1870-1873, but only in the case of the offences therein specified, and with regard to countries with which an arrangement has been entered into, and to which the acts have been applied by order in council. The acts are further to be applied, subject to such “conditions, exceptions and qualifications as may be deemed expedient” (s. 2); and these conditions, &c. , are invariably to be found in the extradition treaty which is set out in the order in council applying the Extradition Acts to a particular country. To support a demand for extradition from Great Britain it is therefore necessary to show that the offence is one of those enumerated in the Extradition Acts, and also in the particular treaty, and that the acts charged amount to the offence according to the laws both of Great Britain and of the state demanding the surrender.
Surrender of Subjects.—A further question arises where a state is called on to surrender one of its own subjects. Some of the treaties, such as those with France and Germany, stipulate that neither contracting party shall surrender its own subjects, and in such cases a British subject cannot be surrendered by his own country. The treaties with Spain, Switzerland and Luxemburg provide for the surrender by Great Britain of her own subjects, but there is no reciprocity. Other treaties, such as those with Austria, Belgium, Russia and the Netherlands, give each party the option of surrendering or refusing to surrender its own subjects in each particular case. Under such treaties British subjects are surrendered unless the secretary of state intervenes to forbid it. Lastly, some treaties, such as that with the United States, contain no restriction of this kind, and the subjects of each power are freely surrendered to the other. Surrender by Great Britain is also subject to the following restrictions contained in s. 3 of the Extradition Act 1870:—(1) that the offence is not of a political character, and the requisition has not been made with a view to try and punish for an offence of a political character; (2) that the prisoner shall not be liable to be tried for any but the specified extradition offences; (3) that he shall not be surrendered until he has been tried and served his sentence for offences committed in Great Britain; and (4) that he shall not be actually given up until fifteen days after his committal for extradition, so as to allow of an application to the courts.
Political Offences.—The question as to what constitutes a political offence is one of some nicety. It was discussed inIn re Castioni(1890, 1 Q.B. 149), where it was held, following the opinion of Mr Justice Stephen in hisHistory of the Criminal Law, that to give an offence a political character it must be “incidental to and form part of political disturbances.” Extradition was accordingly refused for homicide committed in the course of an armed rising against the constituted authorities. In the morerecent case ofIn re Meunier(1894, 2 Q.B. 415), an Anarchist was charged with causing two explosions in Paris—one at the Café Véry resulting in the death of two persons, and the other at certain barracks. It was not contended that the outrage at the cafe was a political crime, but it was argued that the explosion at the barracks came within the description. The court, however, held that to constitute a political offence there must be two or more parties in the state, each seeking to impose a government of its own choice on the other, which was not the case with regard to Anarchist crimes. The party of anarchy was the enemy of all governments, and its effects were directed primarily against the general body of citizens. The test applied in the earlier case is perhaps the more satisfactory of the two.
With regard to the provision that surrender shall not be granted if the requisition has in fact been made with a view to try and punish for an offence of a political character, it, was decided in the case ofArton(1896, 1 Q.B. 108) that a mere suggestion, that after his surrender for a non-political crime, the prisoner would be interrogated on political matters (his alleged complicity in the Panama scandal), and punished for his refusal to answer, was not enough to bring him within the provision. The court also held that it had no jurisdiction to entertain a suggestion that the request of the French government for his extradition was not made in good faith and in the interests of justice.
Extradition Offences.—The following is a list of crimes in respect of which extradition may be provided for under the Extradition Acts 1870-1873, and the Slave Trade Act 1873.Extradition Act1870:—(1) Murder; (2) Attempt to murder; (3) Conspiracy to murder; (4) Manslaughter; (5) Counterfeiting and altering money, uttering counterfeit or altered money; (6) Forgery, counterfeiting, and altering and uttering what is forged or counterfeited or altered; (7) Embezzlement and larceny; (8) Obtaining money or goods by false pretences; (9) Crimes by bankrupts against bankruptcy law; (10) Fraud by a bailee, banker, agent, factor, trustee or director, or member or public officer of any company made criminal by any law for the time being in force; (11) Rape; (12) Abduction; (13) Child-stealing; (14) Burglary and housebreaking; (15) Arson; (16) Robbery with violence; (17) Threats by letter or otherwise with intent to extort; (18) Crimes committed at sea: (a) Piracy by the law of nations; (b) Sinking or destroying a vessel at sea, or attempting or conspiring to do so; (c) Assault on a ship on the high seas, with intent to destroy life or to do grievous bodily harm; (d) Revolt, or conspiring to revolt, by two or more persons on board a ship on the high seas against the authority of the master; (19) Bribery.Extradition Act1873:-(20) Kidnapping and false imprisonment; (21) Perjury and subornation of perjury. This act also extends to indictable offences under 24 & 25 Vict. cc. 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, and amending and substituted acts. Among such offences included in various extradition treaties are the following:—(22) Obtaining valuable securities by false pretences; (23) Receiving any money, valuable security or other property, knowing the same to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained; (24) Falsification of accounts (seeIn re Arton, 1896, 1 Q.B. 509); (25) Malicious injury to property, if such offence be indictable;. (26) Knowingly making, without lawful authority, any instrument, tool or engine adapted and intended for the counterfeiting of coin of the realm; (27) Abandoning children; exposing or unlawfully detaining them; (28) Any malicious act done with intent to endanger the safety of any person in a railway train; (29) Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm; (30) Assault occasioning actual bodily harm; (31) Assaulting a magistrate or peace or public officer; (32) Indecent assault; (33) Unlawful carnal knowledge, or any attempt to have unlawful carnal knowledge, of a girl under age; (34) Bigamy; (35) Administering drugs or using instruments with intent to procure the miscarriage of women; (36) Any indictable offence under the laws for the time being in force in relation to bankruptcy.Slave Trade Act1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 88, s. 27):—(37) Dealing in slaves in such manner as to constitute a criminal offence against the laws of both states.
The United Kingdom has extradition treaties with practically all civilized foreign countries; and though it is not practicable to state which of the statutory extradition offences are included in each, it may be said generally that crimes 1 to 17 inclusive are covered in all, though Rumania has reserved the right to refuse, and Portugal does refuse, to surrender for a crime punishable with death.
The act of 1873 provides for the surrender of accessories before and after the fact to extradition crimes, and most of the treaties contain a clause by which extradition is to be granted for participation in any of the crimes specified in the treaty, provided that such participation is punishable by the laws of both countries. Several of the treaties also contain clauses, providing for optional surrender in respect of any crime not expressly mentioned for which extradition can be granted by the laws of both countries.
It is further to be noted that the restrictions on surrender in the Extradition Acts apply only to surrenders by Great Britain. Foreign countries may surrender fugitives to Great Britain without any treaty, if they are willing to do so and their law allows of it, and such surrenders have not infrequently been made. But when surrendered for an extradition crime, the prisoner cannot be tried in England for any other crime committed before such surrender, until he has been restored, or has had an opportunity of returning, to the foreign state from which he was extradited.
Procedure.—To obtain from a foreign country the extradition of a fugitive from the United Kingdom, it is necessary to procure a warrant for his arrest, and to send it, or a certified copy, to the home secretary together with such further evidence as is required by the treaty with the country in question. In most, cases an information or deposition containing evidence which would justify a committal for trial in Great Britain will be required. The home secretary will then communicate through the foreign secretary and the proper diplomatic channels with the foreign authorities, and in case of urgency will ask them by telegraph for a provisional arrest. For the arrest in the United Kingdom of fugitive criminals whose extradition is requested by a foreign state, two procedures are provided in ss. 7 and 8 of the act of 1870:—(1) On a diplomatic requisition supported by the warrant of arrest and documentary evidence, the home secretary, if he thinks the crime is not of a political character, will order the chief magistrate at Bow Street to proceed; and such magistrate will then issue a warrant of arrest on such evidence as would be required if the offence had been committed in the United Kingdom. (2) More summarily, any magistrate or justice of the peace may issue a provisional warrant of arrest on evidence which would support such a warrant if the crime had been committed within his jurisdiction. In practice a sworn information is required, but this may be based on a telegram from the foreign authorities. The magistrate or justice must then report the issue of the warrant to the home secretary, who may cancel it and discharge the prisoner. When arrested on the provisional warrant, the prisoner will be brought up before a magistrate and remanded to Bow Street, and will then be further remanded until the magistrate at Bow Street is notified that a formal requisition for surrender has been made; and unless such requisition is made in reasonable time the prisoner is entitled to be discharged. The examination of the prisoner prior to his committal for extradition ordinarily takes place at Bow Street. The magistrate is required to hear evidence that the alleged offence is of a political character or is not an extradition crime. If satisfied in these respects, and if the foreign warrant of arrest is duly authenticated, and evidence is given which according to English law would justify a committal for trial, if the prisoner has not yet been tried, or would prove a conviction if he has already been convicted, the magistrate will commit him for extradition. Under the Extradition Act, 1895 the home secretary, if of opinion that removal to Bow Street would be dangerous to the prisoner’s life, or prejudicial to his health, may order the case to be taken by a magistrate at the place where the prisoner was apprehended, or then is, and the magistrate may order theprisoner to be detained in such place. After committal for extradition, every prisoner has fifteen days in which to apply forhabeas corpus, and after such period, or at the close of thehabeas corpusproceedings if they are unsuccessful, the home secretary issues his warrant for surrender, and the prisoner is handed over to the officers of the foreign government.
The Extradition Acts apply to the British colonies, the governor being substituted for the secretary of state. Their operation may, however, be suspended by order in council, as in the case of Canada, where the colony has passed an Extradition Act of its own (see Statutory Rules and Orders).
Fugitive Offenders Act.—There are no extradition treaties with certain countries in which the crown exercises foreign jurisdiction, such as Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, China, Japan, Corea, Zanzibar, Morocco, Siam, Persia, Somali, &c. In these countries the Fugitive Offenders Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 69) has been applied, pursuant to s. 36 of that statute, and the measures for obtaining surrender of a fugitive criminal are the same as in a British colony. The act, however, only applies to persons over whom the crown has jurisdiction in these territories, and generally is expressly restricted to British subjects.
Under this act a fugitive from one part of the king’s dominions to another, or to a country where the crown exercises foreign jurisdiction, may be brought back by a procedure analogous to extradition, but applicable only to treason, piracy and offences punishable with twelve months’ imprisonment with hard labour or more. The original warrant of arrest must be endorsed by one of several authorities where the offenders happen to be,—in practice by the home secretary in the United Kingdom and by the governor in a colony. Pending the arrival of the original warrant a provisional arrest may be made, as under the Extradition Acts. The fugitive must then be brought up for examination before a local magistrate, who, if the endorsed warrant is duly authenticated, and evidence is produced “which, according to the law administered by the magistrate, raises a strong or probable presumption that the offender committed the offence, and that the act applies to it,” may commit him for return. An interval of fifteen days is allowed forhabeas corpusproceedings, and (s. 10) the court has a large discretion to discharge the prisoner, or impose terms, if it thinks the case frivolous, or that the return would be unjust or oppressive, or too severe a punishment. The next step is for the home secretary in the United Kingdom, and the governor in a colony, to issue a warrant for the return of the prisoner. He must be removed within a month, in the absence of reasonable cause to the contrary. If not prosecuted within six months after arrival, or if acquitted, he is entitled to be sent back free of cost.
In the case of fugitive offenders from one part of the United Kingdom to another, it is enough to get the warrant of arrest backed by a magistrate having jurisdiction in that part of the United Kingdom where the offender happens to be. A warrant issued by a metropolitan police magistrate may be executed, without backing, by a metropolitan police officer anywhere, and there are certain other exceptions, but as a rule a warrant cannot be executed without being backed by a local magistrate.