EAST INDIA COMPANY

The East f India Company was originally established for prosecuting the trade betw'een England and India, which they acquired a right to carry on exclusively. Since the middle of the last century, however, the company's political af- G fairs had become of more importance than their commerce. In 1858, by 21 & 22 Viet. c. 106, the government of the territories of the company was transferred to the crown. Wharton. H EASTER..A feast of the Christian church held in memory of our Saviour's resurrection. The,Greeks and Latins call it "pascha," (pa over,) to which Jewish feast our Easter answers. This feast has been annually cele- I brated since the time of the apostles, and is one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, being that which regulates and determines the times of all the other movable feasts. Enc. Lond. -Easter-o:fferinga, or Easter-dues. In J English law. Small sums of money paid to the parochial clergy by the parishioners at Easter as a compensation for personal tithes, or the tithe for personal labor; recoverable under 7 & 8 Wm. III. r:. 6, before justices of the peace. -Easter term.. In English law. One of the K four terms of the courts. It is now a fixed term, beginning on the 15th of April and ending on the 8th of May in every year, though sometimes prolonged so late as the 13th of May, under St. 11 Geo. IV. and 1 Wm. IV. c. 70. I<'rom November 2, 1875, the division of the legal year into terms is abolished so far as con- L cerns the administration of justice. 3 Steph. Comm. 482-486; Mozley & Whitley. [s. 415]