Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/253

COMITIUM. 205 COMMANDER ISLANDS. ing those of the Augur Attua Naevius, Pythag- oras, Alcibiades, and Horatius Codes ; the Ficus Rumiiialis; and a bronze statue of the she- wolf suckling Ronuilus and Remus. Wooden furniture was provided when needed on special occasions, and furnished the fuel for the con- flagration which destroyed the neighboring curia at the burial of C'ludius. COMITY OF NATIONS. That species of international legal euurlesy by which the laws and institutions of one country are recognized and given effect to by those of another. It is often called by its Latin equivalent, coinilas gentium. "lu the silence of any positive rule," says Mr. Justice Story, "aHirniing, or denying, or restraining, the operation of foreign laws, courts of justice ])resiuiie the tacit adojitiou of them by their own government, unless they are repugnant to its policy or prejudicial to its in- terests." From the existence of so great a num- ber of independent States on the Continent of Europe, and of fedevated States in America, the comitas gciitiiiin is more called into play in these countries than in England, and it has con- sequently been more extensively discussed by their legal writers. See Conflict of L.^w; In- TEKNATiONAi, LAW; and the authorities there referred to. COMMA (Lat., Gk. k4(H^o, fcomma, clause, piece, from KbirTuv, kopteiii, to strike). In the mathematical study of sound, in which tones are expressed in exact values by means of their vi- bration nuTubers, we find that by reckoning up- ward in-two difl'erent ways to a certain note, the two results show an infinitesimal difl'erenee in pitch. This minute interval, called a comma, is only perceptible in theory, and has no actual musical value in our modem 'tempered' scale. By tuning upward four perfect fifths from a given note, and tlien two octaves and a major third from the same note, we reach apparently the same tone; but, calculating the vibrations, we find the first result exceeds the second in the proportion of 81 to 80. This diff'erence is called the comma syntoiuiiii, or comma of Didy- mus. The difl'erence obtained by tuning upward twelve fifths and seven octaves from a given tone is flj'ijj-, and is called the comma (litmiictim, or comma of Pythagoras. These same figures result as the dilTcrence between six whole tones above a. note and its octave. COM'MA BACIL'LUS. See Choleea. COMMA BUTTERFLY. A North American nymphaline buttcrlly ((Irapta, or I'uhjrionia, com 1)1 (I ). one of the angle-wings, reddish-browii with darker spottings, and a light mark, shaped like a comma, on the hinder wing. It is widely distributed and common, feeding upon nettles, and is injurious to hops. See Hop-Insects. COM'MANDANT' (Fr. commniicJniit, pres. part, of commander, to command, ML. coni- mandure, to command, from liat. com-, together -]- mandure, to enjoin). A relative title, inci- dent to a military command, and applied to the commander of a garrison, fortified post, or mili- tary school, without any regard to his absolute rank. The Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kan. ; the Artillery School at Fort Monroe. Va.: the UnitM States ^Military Academy at West Point; Sandhurst, Hythe. and Kneller Hall, England, are all governed by officers of var^'ing ranks, holding the local title of commandant. ■ In the United States Navy the title of com- mandant is a])plied to the commanding ollicer of a navy-yard or naval station. The coiiinian- dants of the principal navy -yards are line (jflicers of the rank of rear-admiral; lesser stations are connnanded by captains or ollicers of less rank. To tlie commandant is given full jurisdiction over all vessels lying at the yard, and lie is responsible for all building and rc|)air work. lie is also re- sponsible for the pro]ier organization of the work- ing forces; for the effective organization of the yard force for protection against lire; and for the care and management of all machinery, ecpii])- ment. etc. under his control. He isassistcd by an officer of the rank of captain, or of less rank when the commandant is not a rear-admiral, who acts as his executive officer and is called the captain of the yard. Master-Commandant was formerly the title of oflicers in the United States Navy next junior in I'ank to cajitains. In 1838 Con- gress enacted that muster-commandants should thereafter be known as and styled commanders (see Commander) ; the latter title had previous- ly been recognized in the pay hill of Alareh 3, 1835. The title of nuister-comniandant was a relic of the days of transition from the time when the fighting on board ships was done by soldiers comnuinded by an officer of the lanjl forces to that when the fighting and navigating forces were combined. The titles of sailini/- master, master, master's mate, etc., were evi- dently of pretransition origin ; master-comman- dant, on the contrary, was evidently a recognition of a new state of things in which the master- mariner had become the naval commander. COMMANDER. The title of officers of the United States and British navies next junior in rank to captains. In the LTnited States Navy it was established by law in 1838. (See Com- mandant.) By order of the President, of June 7, 1901, a commander may serve as command- ing officer of a division, or of a ship of the second or third rate. The pay of a. commander is $3000 per annum when at sea, with an addi- tion of 10 per cent, for each five years of service, provided the total amount does not exceed !i<-1000; the pay on shore duty is 15 per cent. less. COMMANDER, Lieutenant. See Lieuten- ant-C'o.i m a xder. COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. A relative mili- tary title, ]iertaining to an ollicer in supreme local military command, as commander-in-chief of the troops in the field. In the United States, it is primarily the absolute rank and title at- tached to the office of President, and also the military title of many Governors of States. Under the sixty-third article of the German Con- stitution of 1871, the Emperor is the supreme commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy. In England, the rank, in its permanent sense, is the highest staff appointment in the service, being subject only to the ruler, through the Sec- letary of State for War, who is the virtual com- mander-in-chief. COMMANDER ISLANDS. A group of ishuuls of the maritime territory of Siberia, situ- ated in Bering Sea, east of' Kamchatka, be- tween latitudes 54° 32' and 55° 24' N. and longi- tudes 105° 45' and 168° 12' E. (Map: Asia, Q .3"). The group consists of the two large and inhabit- ed islands of Bering (C07 square miles) and