has different significations. No general can be said to be in any degree qualified for the important situation which he holds, unless, like an able minister of state, he be constantly prepared with the requisite means to obtain the best intelligence respecting the movements and the designs of the enemy he is to oppose. On the other hand, it is not possible to conceive a greater crime than that of affording intelligence to an enemy, and thereby bringing about the overthrow and destruction of a whole army. A French military writer makes the following observations respecting the latter species of intelli. gence, which he classes under two spe. cific heads. He justly remarks, that to hold correspondence, or to be in intelligence with an enemy, is not only to betray your king, but likewise your country. Armies and fortified places are almost always surprised and taken by means of a secret intelligence which the enemy keeps up with domestic traitors, acting in conjunction with commissioned spies and delegated hirelings. A garrison town may be taken by surprise, under the influence of secret intelligence, in two different ways. The one is, when the assailant, to whom the place has been surrendered, is not bound to join his forces to those troops by whom he has been admitted; the other, when it is necessary that an assault should be made by openly storming, by throwing shells, and by petards, or by stratagem. The first species of intelligence may be held with a governor, who has influence enough to direct the will and actions of the garrison; with a garrison, which is indisposed towards the governor and the officers that command the troops; with the inhabitants, who have undertaken to defend a place where no garrison is stationed; and, lastly, with the prevailing faction, where there are two parties that govern in a free town. The other species of intelligence may be practised with a governor, who either wants power or is afraid to tamper with the fidelity of the garrison; with some particular officer, serjeants, or soldiers; with the body of inhabitants, who think differently from the armed force that overawes them; or with active and shrewd individuals, who have access to the ruling party, and can skilfully combine affected loyalty with secret disaffection.. There is not, however, in human nature, perhaps, a more insidious or a more dangerous ground to tread on, than that of secret intelligence; nor are the faculties of the mind ever so much put to the test, as when it is necessary to listen to the report of an individual, who, whilst he is betraying one side, may be equally disposed to dupe the other. A wise general will consequently hear every thing, and say nothing; and a wise man, let his secret wishes be what they may, will warily consider, whether the person, who insinuates to him even the possibility of a plot, does not at that instant endeavour to get into his confidence, for the sole pur pose of acting contrary to his supposed views, and of betraying the man who has unfolded other schemes. It is certainly justifiable policy, either in the governor of a town, or in a general, to affect to give into the views of any man or party of men whom he has cause to suspect, and whose ultimate object he is determined to defeat. But he should be equally cautious how he listens to the communications of spies or informers. The veil of honesty is often assumed to cover a deep-laid scheme of villany; and apparent candour is the surest path to unguarded confidence. When villains voluntarily unfold themselves in such a manner as to convince an able and penetrating officer that their treachery can be depended upon, much blood may be spared by making a proper use of their intelligence. This axiom has prevailed in every civilized country; and should be well attended to by thinking men. For when a battle has been gained, it avails little to ask whether the enemy owed his success to force or treachery? No treachery, however, is admissible, or should be sanctioned by belligerent powers, which militates against those laws of nations which are founded upon the wise basis of humanity. Private assassination, the use of poison, or the disregard of paroles of honour, must be generally reprobated; and whatever general obtains his ends by any of these dark means, his name should be stamped with infamy, and he himself be exposed to all the melancholy casualties of retaliation. See James's Military Dictionary. INTENSITY, in physics, is the degree or rate of power or energy of any quality, as of heat and cold. The intensity of qualities, as gravity, light, heat, &c. vary in the reciprocal ratio of the squares of the distances from the centre of the radiating quality. INTERCALARY, in chronology, an appellation given to the odd day inserted in leap-year; which was so called from calo, calare, to proclaim it, being pro claimed by the priests with a loud voice. See BISSEXTILE. INTERCEPTED axis, in conic sections, the same with abscisse. See AB SCISSE. INTERDICT, an ecclesiastical censure, by which the Church of Rome forbids the performance of divine service in a kingdom, province, town, &c. This censure has been frequently executed in France, Italy, and Germany; and in the year 1170, Pope Alexander III. put all England under an interdict, forbidding the clergy to perform any part of divine service, except baptizing of infants, taking confessions, and giving absolution to dying penitents. But this censure being liable to the ill consequences of promoting libertinism and a neglect of religion, the succeeding popes have very seldom made use of it. INTEREST, an allowance or compensation for the loan or use of a sum of money for a certain time, according to a fixed rate or proportion. The rate of interest varies in different countries, and at different times, according to the scarcity or plenty of money, and the security of lending; in most commercial states, it has been thought necessary to establish by law a fixed rate of interest for the use of money this restriction, however, must nearly correspond with the current rate of interest, that is, the rate at which money can be readily borrowed on good security; for if it be attempted to reduce by law the common rate of interest below the lowest ordinary market rate, the restriction will be generally evaded, as under all such attempts it has hitherto invariably been. By 37th Henry VIII. cap. 9, all interest above 10 per cent. was declared unlawful: before that time higher rates had usually been taken. In the reign of Edward VI. religious zeal prohibited all interest for money but the prohibition, like all others of the same kind, is said to have produced no effect, and probably rather increased than diminished the evil of usury. The statute of Henry VIII. was revived by the 15th Elizabeth, cap. 8, and 10 per cent. continued to be the legal rate of interest till the 1st of James I. when it was restricted to 8 per cent. In 1651, the rate of interest in several other countries being lower than in England, the parliament reduced the legal rate to 6 per cent which, soon after the restoration, was confirmed by 12th Charles II. c. 13. The last act of parlia. ment for regulating the interest of money was 12th Anne, st. 2. c. 16, by which it was fixed at five per cent. per annum. These different statutory regulations seem to have been made with great propriety, as they followed the market rate of interest; and since the time of Queen Anne, 5 per cent. appears to have been rather above than below the market rate. Before the American war, government bor. rowed at little more than 3 per cent.; and about the year 1792, good bills were readily discounted at 4 per cent. The legal rate of interest in France was not always regulated by the market rate. In 1601, Henry IV. issued an edict for reducing the interest of money in that kingdom to 6 per cent.; but the current rate afterwards rose above this limit. In 1720, interest was reduced from the twen tieth to the fiftieth penny, or from 5 to 2 per cent. In 1724, it was raised to the thirtieth penny, or to per cent. In 1725, it was again raised to the twentieth penny, or to 5 per cent. In 1766, it was reduced to the twenty-fifth penny, or to 4 per cent; but a few years after, it was raised again to the old rate of 5 per cent. The supposed purpose of many of these violent reductions of interest was, to pre. pare the way for reducing that of the pub. lic debts; a measure which, when it is not justified by a previous fall in the current rate of interest, is nothing better than defrauding the public creditors. In Holland, previously to the revolution, the government frequently borrowed at 2 per cent. and private persons of good credit at 3 per cent. This lowness of interest induced many of the Dutch to invest their property in the French and English funds. In the United States of America, the lawful rate of interest is 6 pcr cent. in most of the states; in a few it is 7 per cent.; and in one it is only 5 per cent. In Greece, the mean rate of interest is 20 per cent. and in the other parts of Turkey nearly the same; in Persia, 25 per cent.; and in the Mogul empire, 30 per cent. In Bengal, and the other British possessions in India, the interest is generally from 8 to 12 per cent. on government security, but individuals are frequently obliged to pay a much higher rate. In these countries there is no fixed rate of interest, and the usual high rate arises chiefly from the insecurity of lending. Interest is generally payable yearly, half-yearly, or quarterly, and is distinguished into simple interest and compound interest; the former being merely the compensation paid for the use of a capital at a certain fixed rate for a year, and a proportionately greater or less sum for a greater or less time; while in the latter the interest which becomes due in the first year, or other interval, is added to the principal, and thus forms a new capital, on which the interest of the second year is to be computed; and thus the capital, and consequently the amount of interest, are continually increasing. Simple interest only is lawful in loans between individuals, and in discounting notes or bills of exchange; but in the granting or purchasing of annuities, either for terms of years, or for lives, or of leases, or reversions, it is usual to allow the purchaser compound interest for his money, unless there is a particular agreement to the contrary. INTEREST, simple. If 51. is the interest 5 of 1001, for a year, or .05, is the in 100' Ex. 1. What sum will one penny amount to in 1808 years, if put out to interest at 5 per cent. per annum ? Multiply .004166 by 1808 and by .05, the product is 3,6666, which, added to the principal, gives .380833 78. 7 d. Ex. 2. What sum will amount to 1007. in seven years, at 4 per cent. per annum? Multiply 7 by ,04, and add 1, which makes 1.28; divide 1001. by this sum, and the quotient is 78.125 = 781. 2s. 6d. Ex. 3. At what rate per cent. per annum, will 1007. amount to 145l. 10s. in 7 years, at simple interest? Subtract 100l. from 145l. 10s. the remainder is 457. 10s. which, divided by the product of the principal and time, or 700, gives .065 64 per cent. Ex. 4. In what time will 1251. amount to 2124. 108. at simple interest of 5 per cent. per annum ? Subtract 1251. from 2127. 10s. the remainder is 877. 10s. which, divided by the product of the principal and rate, or 6.25, gives the answer, 14 years. Tables of simple interest are easily computed, and many such have been published, but those only are of much utility, which show readily the interest of any sum for any number of days. Such a table is unavoidably very extensive, and forms of itself a thick volume; it cannot therefore be inserted in a work of this nature, but that which follows will answer all useful purposes to those who are acquainted with decimal arithmetic. Such as prefer a table expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence, are referred to the interest tables published by Mr. John Thompson of Edinburgh, Mr. Joseph King of Liverpool, and particularly to the improved interest tables of Mr. William Reed, which show at one reference the interest at 5 per cent. of all sums, at the dates that usually occur in business. The interest of any sum, for one day, is found by dividing the annual interest by 365; thus, at 5 per cent. the interest of 11. for one day is which, multiplied by 2, gives the interest for 2 days by 3 by 4 3 00013699 00027397 00041096 00054795 and by proceeding in this manner, the following table is easily formed. TABLE, Showing the Simple Interest of One Pound for any Number of Days, at 5 per cent. per Annum. .0031506 .0032876 .0034246 .0035616 Ex. 1. What is the interest of 250l. for 63 days? = .0086301 X 250 21. 3s. 13d. The interest for any number of days, not specified in the table, may be easily found, by adding two of the numbers contained in it. Ex. 2. What is the interest of 1151. for 237 days? The interest of 11. for 200 days is .0273972, and for 37 days .0050684, which added together make 0324656; therefore, .0324656 × 11531. 148. 8d. = the interest required. By the act of 12 Anne, no person is to take for the loan of money, above 51. for the interest of 1001. for a year; and all notes, bonds, or other contracts made for money at a greater rate of interest, are to be void, and the offender to forfeit treble the value. INTEREST, compound, is allowing interest upon interest, or adding the interest as it becomes due to its principal, and Considering the whole as a new principal, bearing interest at the same rate as be = fore. Let r now represent the amount of one pound in one year, that is, principal and interest; let n the number of years; the principal; a = the amount. Then 1:r::r: the amount of 11. in 2 years, 1: r::r2: 3 the amount of 14. in 3 years, 1:r::r3: + the amount of 1/. in 4 years, &c. Whence it appears, that r raised to the power whose exponent is the given number of years, or rn, will be the amount of 17. in those years; and as from which the following theorems are easily deduced, viz. if the principal, time, and rate of interest, are given, to find the amount. Theo. 1. p X = a If the amount, time, and rate, are given, to find the principal? If the principal, amount, and rate, are given, to find the time? a a =rn, therefore, being p p Theo. 4. divided by r till nothing remains, the number of divisions will be n. It seldom happens, however, that it is necessary to work questions relative to compound interest by these rules, as very extensive and accurate tables have been published by Mr. John Smart and others, which save much labour in such calculations, and are therefore generally resorted to in practice. The principles on which such tables are formed will appear from what has been already said: thus, the Tables of this kind being usually confined to six or eight places of decimals, necessarily give the amount beyond the. first three or four years somewhat less than the true amount, but the difference is so small as to be of no importance in the purposes to which they are usually applied. TABLE I. Showing the Sum to which 17. Principal will increase, at 5 per cent. Compound Interest, in any Number of Years not exceeding a Hundred. Years. Amount. Years. Amount. Years. Amount. Years. Amount. |